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“It’d help her much more if her father started working on the healing process as well,” she says when she slips out of myarms.
I clear my throat to bring out my kindest warning voice. “Ma…”
She wipes her eyes and then places her hand on my shoulder. “Dallas, honey, I loved Lucy. We all did. We all miss her, but she’sgone.”
“She was mywife.” I’m using all my power not to get pissed with her. “You’d be lost withoutDad.”
“I would. The difference between you and me is, I’m in my sixties. I have thirty years on you, son. A whole life is waiting for you. Happiness is out there, but you’re never going to find it if you’re blocking it out. Find someone for Maven. Find someone foryou.”
My mother is the best person I know. She’s beautiful. Selfless. Caring. There will never be another woman with a heart as kind and nurturing as hers. She raised us to be strong, fearless, andindependent.
Her age doesn’t show, and Lauren is the spitting image of her. They’re both short and have long brown hair. Lauren keeps hers down most of the time while my mom’s stays in a bun. They also have a personality with enough spark to light up a city. Mom doesn’t make it easy to get upset withher.
“Can we talk about this another time?” Iask.
“Of course.” A smile plays on her lips. “Are you going shopping byyourself?”
I shake my head. “Willow is coming withme.”
“Stella’sassistant?”
I nod, and her lips form a slysmile.
“Word on the street is, you’ve been spending an awful lot of time together. Beautiful girl, I must say. The few times I met her, she was such asweetheart.”
“I see the Blue Beech gossip is still alive and kicking,” Imutter.
“You go have fun, honey. If it gets too late, stay there, and have a nice dinner. I’ve already told Maven she could spend the night, so we haveplans.”
“You spoil her toomuch.”
“That makes two of us.” She pulls me in for another hug. “Now, I’m ready for some more grandchildren. I don’t know why my children are taking so long to give them tome.”
Oh,shit.
She’s about to besurprised.
* * *
The American Girlstore is packed with moms and daughters, and I have no idea where to make my firstmove.
Willow cracks up before grabbing my hand. “Come on. I’ll try to lead the way the best I can. It’s been about two decades since I had one of these dolls, but surely, not that much haschanged.”
We don’t lose our connection and dodge people while migrating through the loudcrowd.
“We’re looking for one that resembles her!” I yell over the noise, as if it were normal to be hunting for the incarnation of yourchild.
I scan the aisles and stop her each time I think I’ve found it, but Willow shakes her head and continues hersearch.
Good thing she came with me, or I would’ve grabbed the first doll I saw and bolted out of here. Lauren most likely wouldn’t have had the patience to deal with this crowd either. She didn’t play well with dolls. She drove my mom crazy because she popped all the heads off them, so she could play outside with Hudson andme.
Unlike us, Willow is thorough. She’ll assess every doll until she finds the perfectfit.
We’ve been in the store for thirty minutes when she spots the one and clutches the doll to her chest for me to see. “What do youthink?”
It eerily resembles Maven. The dark brown hair, a bow clipped to the side of it, bright purple sunglasses, and a checkereddress.
I tilt my head toward the doll. “Sold.”
