Page 29 of Falling For Us Again

“Nana, can I watch Barbie please?” Kim asks, tugging on my mother’s hands.

“Sure, sweetheart.”

I grab a banana on the dining table and walk back to the living room where Kim is already settled on the couch watching Barbie for the umpteenth time.

My mother glances over at me, her eyes sharp and probing as we resume our dance of small talk to cover the awkwardness between us. “How’s the cafe?”

I shrug as I bite into the banana. “Maggie’s running it like the military, so all’s well. She sends her regards.”

She nods. “My regards to her as well. Tell her to come visit me one of these days.”

My mother likes Maggie a lot, and she has even asked why we’re not together yet. I’ve told her that Maggie’s just a close friend and business partner.

“Will do.”

"I heard Jenna's back in town."

I stiffen at the mention of her name. I’ve not seen her since THAT Saturday. I spent the night, and it felt like we made up for ten years of passion in one night. I didn’t realize how much I had missed touching her. Even now I marvel about how perfectly she fit against my body, as if made for it. We didn’t talk about anything, just felt.

Before she woke up the next morning, I had left.

What we shared that night was magical, and I don’t think I’ll be able to forget it ever. But I also know that we have such a complicated history that one night of incredible sex won’t be enough to fix it.

It’s been about a week now, and she hasn’t been to the cafe. I haven’t reached out to her either, even though I can’t get her out of my mind. That night seems to be on continuous replay in my dreams making me wake up with a hard-on and an irritable mood.

Like Jenna, sometimes I also blame my mother for her leaving. If she hadn’t been so against our friendship and eventual relationship, maybe Jenna would have trusted me more.

My mother never liked her for some reason, and it bothered me deeply. Maybe if she hadn’t sent me back to London when Jenna was going through the worst time of her life, or if I had insisted on staying in Hartlow, or if Jenna’s dad had been a better man...

Maybe, maybe, maybe...

“Dylan?” My mother’s voice cuts through my thoughts, her eyebrows raised in question.

I nod my head, pushing those wishful thoughts away. Unfortunately, wishing doesn’t change things. I have to deal with the present.

"Yes, she is," I reply, remembering her question. I try to keep my tone neutral. My mother is very observant, and I don't want to get into discussing Jenna with her.

“Have you seen her?”

“Yes.”

She purses her lips but doesn't press further, instead turning her attention back to Kim, whose rapt attention was on the screen. My mother pats her hair affectionately as they sing the songs together. I watch the movie with them, but I doze off within a few minutes. I had seen it too many times to count.

Later, when the movie ended, Kim clapped her hands, a satisfaction on her face. Her clap wakes me up, and I yawn, brushing a palm over my face.

“Uncle Dylan, did you enjoy the movie?”

I nod, trying to stifle another yawn as I raise a thumbs up.

"How about we go outside and play on the swing set?" My mother says.

Kim cheers, and as they head out to the backyard, I follow, my mind drifting back to the last time I brought Jenna here.

It was after school, and my mom wasn’t supposed to be home. Instead of hanging out in town, I convinced Jenna to come here. She’d been avoiding me all day, and I wanted to know what was going on. I was waiting outside her classroom to catch her after school was over.

“Jenna,” I called, grabbing her arm as she was about to dash out.

She flinched at my touch, and that’s when I realized she had an injury there.

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