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Seth nodded. “Yeah. Some of them were not good people. I’m glad she finally met Paul when she did. He did us both good and I’m thankful he’s in my life and taught me what being a real man is all about. He taught me how to be a person in general and not just someone to be walked all over.”
“I’m thankful for him too, then,” I whispered.
“Thank you, Cadence.”
I held the bag out to him. We walked for a little bit without drawing anything, taking a moment to absorb what we told each other.
I was already beginning to feel vulnerable with Seth, but in a good way. It made me feel better about taking it more seriously when I wrote down my responses.
“Okay, another,” Seth said after turning down another tree I picked out. He drew another piece of paper. “I am thankful for my passion for music. That’s a good one.”
“I mean, I kind of have to be, right? I know it was something used against me so often, but it’s also my safe space too. If I didn’t have music, I’m not so sure where I’d be. It feels a bit twisted to say it, but I am thankful that Lindie pushed me to become better at it. Her methods weren’t the best, but in a way, she kept my love for music going. When my dad left, for a time, I couldn’t hear it anymore, the beauty in music. But Lindie forced me to keep going, and I was able to find it again.”
“Then I’m thankful that she was able to do something right. I can’t say I understand it, but I do know you love music. More than Toby does. And the fact that you already made a career out of it is a bit mind blowing. Not many people are able to do that, especially at our age.”
“I guess it’s the only thing Lindie did right even if she did it wrong. I guess it’s the same as yours. The bad experiences shaping us into who we are.”
“I just wish she did it in a way that didn’t have to make you suffer,” Seth said softly.
“It is what it is, and I’m slowly learning to accept that. I don’t want to think about who I’d be if things didn’t happen. It’s too tiring and there’s no way to really know. I can’t get stuck in the what ifs. I’ve already gone down that black hole and it nearly destroyed me. Now give me. I want another one of yours.”
I pulled out a paper. “I’m thankful for all the new friends I made. Hey, this one is mine. Where are yours?”
Seth chuckled and snagged the bag before I could dig through to find his. “Not how it works.”
I grunted and shoved the paper into his pocket with the others. Sighing, I expanded, “It’s funny. Senior year, now emancipated, and I only just met you guys. Not just you all, but also Hazel and Lillian. And Micah moved here. It’s unbelievable.”
“I agree. While it was scary as shit when Cal got lost, I’m glad he did and he found you.”
“And that we live next to each other.”
Seth chuckled. “For sure. Oh, this is a decent looking tree.” He crossed over the path to another tree and circled around it, feeling the branches and checking out the trunk and everything.
“Did we finally find it?” I asked.
Seth frowned. “Unfortunately not, it’s already drying out.” He rustled one of the branches and a bunch of the needles fell off.”
“That sucks.”
Seth shrugged. “Moving on. Let me draw something.”
“Make sure it’s yours. We can’t keep picking mine.”
Laughing, Seth said, “No guarantees.” He dug in the bag and pulled one out. His eyebrows rose as he read it. “I am thankful for Seth’s punny shirts.”
“Dammit.”
He laughed. “You really love them, don’t you?”
I shrugged and glanced away, my face becoming a little hot. “They’re a guaranteed laugh. Why do you have so many anyway?” I asked.
“It was what got Justin laughing for the first time after he was in the hospital.”
“What?” That surprised me.
“We were with Aunt Laura, buying him some clothes. He didn’t have much to begin with. We found a section full of shirts like that and must have spent half an hour just going through them. Then he saw one and for some reason, he just started laughing. He couldn’t stop for like five minutes. Just stood there laughing as he stared at the shirt.”
“What did it say?”
