“Hey, sweetie.” I turn to greet my mother. She is grinning from ear to ear. We hug and kiss, and then we sit down. “How are you?” she asks.
“The usual. What about you and dad?”
“Oh, you know your father, stubborn as a mule. I suggested to him we could go to a dinner for our anniversary, but he insists it’s just a waste of money and that we can have a nice dinner at home.” My parents are celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary this June, and even though they’ve been through a lot, they are still very much in love. “He says he doesn’t need anything other than me.” The waiter comes over to take our orders, and then mom continues. “So, I managed to convince him to take me to the movies. Can you imagine? I can’t remember the last time we went to the movies. I was probably the same age as you.” I smile at the thought of mom and dad at the movies. My parents are very simple people. They rarely indulge in anything, not because they are stingy or anything, but their philosophy is that you don’t need to spend much to be happy. I admire them so much.
The waiter brings us our food. I ordered gnocchi with chicken and cream sauce and my mother is having vegetable lasagna. We are also drinking red wine. “When are your father and I going to meet this Jake guy?” I shrug.
“I don’t know, even I barely see him these days. But I promise we’ll soon come to visit.”
“Oh, Ella, I’m so happy you found someone. My heart was breaking when I watched you after Josh died. I thought you will never pick yourself up, and I felt so helpless when I couldn’t help you.”
“I saw Beth and Dean last week again,” I say with my mouth full, changing the topic. I don’t want to talk about me. “I was leaving work, and they were just passing by. They invited me over for some coffee.” My mom is watching me, listening intently. “It felt so weird being in their house again. It used to be my second home, and now I felt like an intruder there, even though they were really nice to me. They asked about Jake. I thought they were going to be mad at me because I’m in a new relationship, afraid they were going to think I got over Josh so quickly. But Beth squeezed my hand sympathetically, and told me how happy she is I found someone who loves me.”
“They are good people,” my mom says. “I feel so bad for them; having lost their child, and going through this horrible ordeal. I cannot imagine how painful it must be.”
“Jake asked me to move in with him,” I switch the topic again, because my mom’s words poked at the wound that has still not healed. It’s hard for me to talk about Josh without bursting into tears. Mom freezes, her fork midway to her mouth, and looks at me with wide eyes.
“Isn’t this moving a little too fast?”
“I told him the same thing, but he said he just wants to be with me.”
“He loves you,” mom states.
“I know, and I love him, too. I told him I’m going to have to think it through. I don’t want to act too rashly.”
After our pleasant lunch, we head to the shopping center. I don’t plan to buy anything; it’s enough for me to spend some quality time with my mother before I start my work in the afternoon.
Chapter Fourteen
Jake
We’re in France. I’m heading to practice, and we have qualifications in the afternoon. The weather conditions are not ideal; it has been drizzling lightly the whole morning. I check my gloves, put on the helmet, and hop on the bike. I start my motorcycle, and it roars to life. I love this sound. I ride out of the pit-box, and furiously past the green patch of grass. I execute the first turn perfectly, and relax into the second one, confident. Then I start accelerating. A fraction of a moment too late, I realize I have started decelerating a second too soon, which causes my tires to lose grip. I feel my motorcycle skidding under me, and the next second, I hit the ground, sliding toward the barrier. I feel a burning pain in my wrist, and hit the wall with force. As fast as I can, I pick myself up, and limp to my bike. Mad at myself for losing control because of a moment of carelessness, I swear loudly. I’m holding my injured hand in my other hand. Members of my team run to me. I kick a rock in front of me, and angrily stomp away. I need to cool down.
I’m sitting in an ambulance, where they’re cleaning my wound. I have my phone in my uninjured hand, reading messages from Ella. She heard I fell off my bike and hurt myself, but nobody told her I was okay.
Ella: Jake, are you all right?
Ella: Jake, please call me so I know you aren’t hurt.
Ella: Jake, I’m scared and worried sick. Please, call me ASAP.