Page 52 of Mia Amata

“It would be my pleasure. You know, it is early yet,” I said, as we pulled up to my house. “Do you want to come in? I can make us some sandwiches or leftover lasagna.”

He shut the truck off, “Now that’s a deal. Your homemade lasagna is fantastic. Don’t tell Sal, but I think it is probably better than his.” I laughed as we entered the house with Lucky greeting us inside the door. “Hey, boy,” I said. I looked at Jacob. “I need to take Lucky out, then I will get the lasagna warmed up for us.”

“I’ll join you outside. I’m not in a hurry to eat.” We went outside with Lucky. I walked to the deck rail, watching as Lucky chased a squirrel. Jacob came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned back against him. This felt nice, but I still had an inner argument about if this was the right thing to do. Lucky soon tired of chasing the squirrel, took care of his business, and then came running back up the steps to us. The three of us went back into the house.

“Make yourself at home,” I told Jacob. “I’ll be right back.” I used the bathroom, washing up some before I started cooking. Walking into the kitchen I started the oven. “Turn on the TV if you want.”

“I’d rather sit here and talk to you,” he said, as he sat on one of the stools at the counter.

I smiled at him. Pulling the lasagna out of the refrigerator, I set it on the counter to warm it a little before sticking it in the oven. I prepared a couple pieces of fresh garlic bread. I put both the lasagna and bread in the oven to heat them up, then pulled the fixings out for a little salad.

“Is there something I can do?” he asked.

“I have this under control, but you could set the table if you don’t mind…”

“Sure.” He slid off the stool, finding the things easily enough. We worked together quietly, chatting about nothing and everything. It seemed more relaxed, easy, not pressured or stressed than before. Soon, we were sitting down at the table, eating and chatting about the day. He told me stories of staying in the cabin at the lake when he was younger and all the fun they used to have there. We laughed at some of the trouble he and his two siblings used to get into.

“I envy you. You have some great memories of your childhood. Ones you will cherish forever.” I smiled at him.

“I do,” he replied. “I wish you did. Do you have any happy memories from your childhood?”

“Not really,” I said. “I moved from foster home to foster home, never really staying very long in one place, so it made it hard to develop friendships. One foster home though, the lady that ran it introduced me to books. Thanks to her I developed a love of reading. Other than that, there were not a lot of happy moments.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “How did you come out with such a great attitude? A lot of people that have gone through half of what you have such a negative attitude toward life.”

We had finished eating, I stood up to clear off the table. He stood up, helping me. Together we loaded the dishwasher, cleaning everything up. I offered him a glass of tea, took one myself. We went to sit down on the couch, automatically sitting on the small couch. “So you never answered my question,” he said, smiling.

“What? Oh, yes, my attitude.” I smiled. “I guess I do have one good memory, something that probably has a lot to do with my attitude. I ran away from the last foster home at the age of 16, as I told you before. I left with a backpack with a few clothes, a couple books, and what little cash I managed to save from babysitting.”

I took a sip of tea, setting the glass down on the coffee table. “I traveled by foot for a few days, hiding when I saw police. The last thing I wanted was to go back to another foster home. I ate what I could find. Sometimes, I’d go into stores to buy something, but I was trying to budget my money very carefully. One day, I was walking when it started raining.”

“I had no shelter, jacket. I just kept walking until it was dark out. I came across a farm on the outskirts of a small town. I snuck up to the barn, found a way in, curled up in the hay, and fell asleep. I figured I would get up after a couple of hours of rest, leaving before anyone could find me there. I felt horrible by the time I got there, feverish, and chilled. I woke up two days later.”

“Two days?” Jacob asked.

I nodded. “I was no longer in the barn. I woke up in a bed in the farmhouse. The farmer discovered me the next morning. He and his wife managed to me in the house. She took care of me, getting me out of my wet things, tucking me in the bed, and then nursing me back to health.”

“They were very kind to me, decent people. They let me stay there until I was well and then invited me to stay there with them full-time, offering me room and board and a little money for helping them on the farm. I told them my story. The farmer’s wife cried. I stayed with them and helped them on the farm, taking care of all the animals they had. Probably one of the happiest times of my life.”

“What happened? Why did you leave?” Jacob asked, reaching out to stroke my hair.

I frowned, “The couple ended up having some bad luck strike them. The economy went bad, they were losing money on their farm. They ended up selling their animals and most of their equipment. The man suffered a stroke, dying shortly afterward. Their son showed up and moved his mother to live with him.”

“I found myself homeless again. He made it clear that he didn’t want me anywhere near his mom and thought I was a freeloader no matter how much his mother protested. I packed what little I had into my backpack, hitting the road again. They taught me a lot about how decent people can be and how to respect others.”

“They helped me overcome the bitterness that I had from my past. Taught me that if I let my past affect me on a daily basis, then the past wins. I had to choose not to let the past dictate my future. I guess they had a lot more influence on me than I thought they did.”

Jacob put his glass on the table next to mine. “What did you do next?” he asked.

“I traveled around, doing odd jobs here and there. Discovered that most people are essentially kind and generous, like the farming couple. I finally found a town and a job that I really liked. Soon, I was able to get a small apartment and started to make a life for myself. I was there until I started over again here.”

“Makes the things that happened to me in my life, that I considered awful, seem so… insignificant,” Jacob said.

“Don’t minimalize the things that happened to you.” I smiled at him. “I really believe those things help make us who we are today.”

Jacob leaned over and kissed me tenderly. “I am glad you are here now. I hope I can help make some good memories for you.” He said quietly as he leaned in, kissing me some more. The kisses started to become more passionate until I finally pulled away.

“I should go.” He said breathlessly. I nodded. We stood up and walked to the front door with our arms wrapped around each other.

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