Page 123 of Unforgettable

She laughed as we stepped into the foyer, immediately overwhelmed by the smell of spices—the smell of home.

“Finally! Come in, come in!” We heard her voice and the click of her heels on the dark, hardwood floors before she appeared from around the corner to our left. She smiled and waved us farther into the house.

“It’s been too long!” she cried the second her hands wrapped around my neck.

“Hi, Mamá,” I said, returning her hug and savoring the comfort only a hug from my mom could provide.

“How are you doing? Remember you’re supposed to eat between working out.” She stepped back and appraised me from head to toe and back again. With one eyebrow raised, and her hands propped on her hips, a corner of her mouth tugged upward.

She turned to Josh and Amanda.

“And two of my other favorite people. I’m so glad you’re here.” I could see some of their apprehension dissipate.

She sauntered to them, smoothing her hands over her apron. It was tied around her dark-green dress, and her black hair that cascaded down her back was twisted into a bun. They both smiled fondly at her and returned each embrace.

“I’m so glad Reed finally brought some of his friends. There’s too much food, so the more, the better! Now, let’s go into the living room. What would you like to drink?”

She led us into the living room, discussing what she was preparing in the kitchen, and stopped in front of the fully stocked wet bar.

“I can make the drinks, Mamá,” I said, noticing her eyes constantly darting back to the adjoining kitchen.

“Okay, let me just finish up a few things, then I’ll be right back.” She hurried back into the kitchen without a glance back in our direction.

“Do you want help?” Amanda called after her, but my mom waved her off and told her to make herself at home.

From the wet bar, I chose three crystal tumblers and poured whiskey for me and Josh while I added gin to the third for Amanda. I turned to find the two of them standing in front of the fireplace, eyeing the framed photos on the mantel. The warm glow from the small fire bathed them in soft light and there was a feeling in my chest that seemed to mirror that glow. It was pleasant and happy watching the two of them together.

“This one has always been my favorite.” Amanda laughed as I handed her her drink.

She was pointing to a photograph of me when I couldn’t have been more than four or maybe five years old. I’d found an old football helmet and jersey of my dad’s and immediately begged my parents to let me try them on. They conceded, but I looked like a little bobblehead doll with the massive helmet and my little body. The jersey was hanging off of me in every direction, but through the face guard, you could see the largest, toothless grin splitting my face.

Simpler times. When a few missing teeth and having to wait to grow into a football helmet were my biggest concerns. When my dad didn’t act like everything I did had disappointed him so thoroughly.

“It’s my mom’s, too. That’s why it is still on the mantel even though I ask her to take it down nearly every time I’m here.”

“Wow,” Josh said from a foot or two away, and I knew which photo had caught his eye. “That was the first Friendsgiving with Hazel. When Blakely was trying her damnedest to break them up. I thought for sure Hazel wasn’t going to stick around through that.”

The photograph was all of us seated around Luke’s couch after dinner with our stomachs full and smiles on our faces. Blakely’s smile was clearly forced, sad even, but the rest of us were happy.

The three of us stood and stared at the photo, a sadness swirling around us that wasn’t there moments before. The photo was taken before everything happened and before Blakely disappeared completely.

“Oh, that’s one of my favorites,” my mom crooned as she stepped between us. We all collectively sighed in relief at her perfectly timed interruption.

She took Josh and Amanda through the rest of the pictures on the mantel, sharing embarrassing stories of my school days and anecdotes from family vacations. I hung back, lounging on one of the dark leather armchairs near the fireplace, and watched the three of them. Every so often, I would cringe at a more mortifying account from my childhood.

But Josh and Amanda were eating it up. Occasionally, they would glance back at me, and I would chime in with my own version of the story, to which my mom would chide and silence me with only one fierce look.

“Where is Dad?” I asked after my mom finished another story of my childish antics.

“Office,” she tsked and replaced the frame in her hands on the mantel, not letting her annoyance show. “He’ll be down for dinner. Oh, could you and Josh move something for me, please? There’s a dresser in the hallway by your room that I need to put in the attic. It should only take a second for the two of you.”

“Of course, Mama G,” Josh answered for us both and set his nearly empty glass on a coaster on the side table. He hesitantly reached his hand out like he was searching for mine but quickly tucked it into his pocket and moved toward the stairs.

Behind us, I could hear Mom ushering Amanda into the kitchen, requesting that she taste the dinner she had prepared.

As we climbed the curved wooden staircase to the second floor, I did a shameful job not staring at Josh’s ass. It wasn’t my fault that the hours we’d spent in the gym meant his ass was perfectly sculpted and on display in his tight dress pants.

I didn’t notice until I got to the top of the stairs that Josh was watching me, too, except he had a knowing grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Yeah, he’d caught me gawking, and honestly, I couldn’t give a fuck. We were together, and I couldn’t keep my eyes to myself. It was already going to be torturous getting through dinner without touching either of them, I couldn’t be accountable for also keeping my eyes off of them.

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