Page 192 of The Moment We Know

“Not anymore. Now it’s yours.”

“Oh.” There was a pause, followed by a somewhat shy, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She took his hands again. “Now, there’s one more thing I want to tell you. Something I want you to think about.”

He looked at her expectantly.

“Our lives are made up of constant change—sometimes good, sometimes bad—and usually it’s obvious which one it is,” she said. “Make sense? For instance, you’ll probably be starting pre-kindergarten soon. That will obviously be a good change, don’t you think?”

Jacob nodded in agreement.

“But sometimes, when change occurs, it might seem bad, like what’s happening with your mom,” Lauren said. “Because your life is going to be different, and that might seem scary.”

He nodded again.

“But what if it turns out to not be scary? What if it turns out to be different in a good way?” she asked.

Jacob frowned at that.

“You haven’t had a visitation with your mom in ten weeks,” she pointed out softly. She knew from David that during all that time Jacob hadn’t once asked about Ashley, or questioned why he hadn’t seen her, so Lauren was pretty sure she knew what the answer was going to be when she asked, “Has that been scary?”

“No,” Jacob answered slowly.

“Has it seemed like a bad change, being with only your dad, doing all the things you normally do with him? Going to the park, watching movies, eating dinner?”

This time his answer was quicker. “No.”

“So, sometimes, what first seems like a bad change, can sometimes end up being a good change, can’t it?” At his quick nod, she leaned forward and said, “That’s what I want you to think about, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now then, it’s time for you to pick a crystal from the bowl,” Lauren told Jacob, sliding the bowl toward him. “Eyes open this time.”

He got off the loveseat and kneeled in front of the coffee table, then began digging through the colored stones, finally picking a stone with very distinctive striations of color in a lacy pattern.

“Ah, good choice. That’s a crazy lace agate, and it’s known as ‘the laughter stone’ because it’s thought to encourage uninhibited laughter and increased feelings of happiness, while at the same time helping you to release feelings of unhappiness.”

Jacob smiled, pleased with his choice, and turned it over in his hands, looking at it from all angles.

Lauren turned to David. “You’re next.”

“What?” he asked, blinking at her.

“It’s your turn to pick a crystal.”

“No, really, that’s okay—”

“Eyes closed the first time,” she said, pushing the bowl toward him. “House rule.”

“To pick the one you need, not want,” Jacob piped up.

“That’s right,” Lauren said, smiling that he’d remembered.

Feeling slightly ridiculous, David closed his eyes and put his fingers in the bowl, then felt around for about thirty seconds or so, before finally settling on one. As he pulled it out, he opened his eyes and looked down to see a deep reddish-orange stone.

“What is it?” Jacob demanded.

Clearly amused, Lauren replied, “It’s carnelian. It has many benefits, but is mostly known to enhance physical stamina and boost—” she broke off to mouth the word ‘sexual’ over Jacob’s head, before finishing with, “—energy.”

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