Page 15 of Still Love You

Willow smiles at me as she holds one of my mom's hand knit creations. I know she wants to laugh, but she won't because she doesn't want to hurt my mom's feelings.

"Your mom just finished it," Willow says, holding it up so I can see.

It's hideous. My mom is terrible at knitting. The sleeves of the sweater don't match up and the bottom hem isn't straight. The yarn she used is a mix of neon pink, army green, and dirt brown. It might be the worst sweater she's ever made.

"Isn't it cute?" my mom asks, standing back to admire it. "I know the sleeves aren't perfect but I think it gives it character and a modern flare. It's very youthful. You can have it, Willow, if you'd like."

"Oh, no. I don't want to take your sweater. I'll just wear it tonight." 

She'll never wear that sweater. Even if she was freezing, she wouldn't wear it. She'd let me warm her up before she'd ever wear that hideous sweater.

"Thanks, Mom." I kiss her cheek. "Willow and I need to get going. The movie's starting soon."

"Have fun!" She smiles at us both. "It's so good having you two home." My mom wants us to get back together, just like Willow's parents do. As we're leaving, I hear her talking to Martin. "Marty, are you eating a candy bar?"

Willow laughs as she goes outside. "She should just let him eat what he wants."

"She would, but he has high cholesterol and high blood pressure so she's trying to keep him alive by feeding him that healthy stuff."

"At least he still gets to have junk food once in a while."

"Speaking of junk food." I hold up the reusable grocery sack, which is the only kind we have. My mom refuses to use plastic sacks. "I loaded it up with your favorites. Chips, candy bars, licorice. We didn't have any soda but they sell it at the park."

"Thanks!" She smiles, then climbs into the truck, still clutching that horrible sweater.

"You're not actually going to wear that, are you?" I point to the sweater which is now sitting between us as we drive to the park.

She shrugs. "It depends on how cold it gets. It'll be dark out soon so no one will see."

"Maybe you could spill something on it so she has to throw it out. I don't even want my mom wearing that."

Willow laughs. "I know. It's pretty bad. Your mom should stick to making jewelry." She holds her arm out toward me. "See? I still have it."

She's wearing the bracelet I gave her as a goodbye gift before I left for Europe.

"My mom didn't make that. I did."

"I know." She lowers her arm back by her side. "But your mom taught you how."

My mom makes jewelry and sells it online and at craft fairs and farmers' markets. She makes decent money doing it, as much, if not more, than she'd make at a regular job. She didn't go to college so I don't know what she'd be doing if she didn't have her business. Making jewelry is her passion. I can't imagine her not doing that for a living.

"I love this bracelet," Willow says softly, almost to herself. I glance over and see her looking at it. "I wear it almost every day."

"Really?" I'm seriously shocked by that. I knew she liked it but I assumed she stashed it in a drawer after I left and never wore it. Wearing it would remind her of me and I didn't think she'd want that reminder, especially every day.

"I like the charm you made and the beads you picked out."

The bracelet is a black leather cord that has beads that surround a flat metal charm. The beads are a swirled mix of black, white, and gray. I picked them because I thought those colors would go with most anything she'd wear. The charm is an oval shaped piece of thin metal that I stamped with the infinity symbol. The symbol was meant to let Willow know that I'll always love her, even though we were broken up when I gave her that bracelet. I wanted her to know that I'd love her for all of eternity. No matter what, she'd always have a place in my heart, even if I never saw her again.

"I'm glad you like it," I say, glancing at her. "Maybe I'll make you another one."

"You don't have to." Her eyes are still on the charm, her finger tracing over the design.

"I want to. Besides, I need to practice. I haven't made one of those since I made that one."

"Are you making jewelry this summer?"

The answer is no because I won't have time with all the effort I need to put into helping Willow's parents, but she can't know that so I say, "Yeah. I told my mom I'd make a few pieces. You know how the ladies like a Silas original." I smile at her.

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