Page 100 of First Comes Forever

My mom lets out a laugh.

“Hi, Holly,” Amani says. “Nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you, sweetheart.” She stands, opens her arms, and Amani dives into her hug. I envy how easy that is for her. Amani’s relationship with my mom is untainted. It’s sweet to see, actually. I’m glad she got to meetthisversion of my mom. Hell, I’m glad she got to meet this version of me, too. My girl deserves everybody’s best version.

“I was just about to walk my mom out,” I say to Amani. “The park is closing for general admission in about forty-five minutes.”

Amani buries her face in her hands. “I missed everything,” she whines. “I’m so sorry. Did Carson love his shoes?”

“Sure,” I offer, seriously doubting that Alex opened the box.

“Was Alex annoyed?”

“Thoroughly.”

“Good,” Amani says with glee. “Two birds, one stone.”

I chuckle as I hold out my hand and pull her into my chest. Goddamn, she smells good. I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s a mixture of the perfume I used to hate but have grown to love again. Her minty shampoo. The face cream that has a hint of lemon essential oils. The combination is intoxicating. I inhale, and I relax. When she’s near me, I’m calm.

I kiss her in front of my mom. I don’t care. “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

“Definitely,” she says with an odd smile. I’ll ask her when we’re back home about her appointment. I just feel bad she drove all the way out here for nothing. Maybe I should book a room at the resort tonight. I’m willing to bet the presidential suites are available.

“All right.” I wrap my hand around Amani’s and then smile at my mom. “You ready? Let’s go.”

Amani looks around the theme park. The foot traffic is light. Everyone has taken their exhausted children home by seven-thirty. “I can’t believe I made it to Disneyland, and I didn’t get to ride anything. Lame.”

I glance at the Ferris wheel. “Line looks short.”

She beams at me. “Yeah?”

My mom plops back down on the bench. “Go.Go have some fun. I’ll be right here.”

“Okay, Mom…uh, be safe. Don’t talk to strangers,” I say. Amani squints her eyes and looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. I ask her as we walk toward the line entrance, “Was that weird to say?”

“Oh, yeah.” She snorts in laughter. “Really awkward.”

I laugh with her and squeeze her hand. She squeezes right back. After weaving through several rows lined by metal railings, we’re nearly at the front of the line with about twenty people in front of us. I’m positive we won’t make it this round until the attendant bellows over the small crowd.

“Anyone interested in a stationary gondola? Parties of six or less.”

“Come on,” Amani says, tugging on my hand.

“Yeah? You don’t want one of the swinging ones? I thought you were more of a thrill-seeker.”

“I am,” she says. “But I also hate waiting in lines.”

I raise my hand in the air to catch the attendant’s attention. “We’ll take it,” I call out. The rest of the line scoots out of the way as we squeeze past. Amani murmurs “thank you” and “excuse us” as we body bump strangers on our way to the front of the line.

They load us into a pink cart with the girl duck whose name I still can’t remember. I slide into the bench next to Amani and ask, “What’s Donald Duck’s girlfriend’s name? It’s been driving me crazy all day.”

“All day? You could have googled it,” Amani says.

I give her a deadpan stare. “You know what? That didn’t even occur to me.”

She laughs as she drapes her legs over mine. “Daisy. Her name is Daisy Duck. She’s the only one without a painfully annoying voice.”

“Minnie Mouse is okay,” I say.

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