Page 114 of August
“Do you love her? I’m about to leave for school, and so is Adele. I don’t want her to be alone or with someone who will hurt her.”
“Oh,” Myra said with a nod. “I care about your mom a lot, but I think when I say those words for the first time, they should be to her.”
“You saidwhen,” AJ observed.
Myra just winked at him instead of responding.
“Cool,” he said, nodding a bunch. “So, I need to apologize to you. I was a dick.”
“I think I get it. You walked in on your mom and me. That’s a pretty big shock.”
“Yeah, but it’s not the woman thing. I don’t care about that. I mean, it’s weird, yeah, but it’s who she is, so I get it. I’ve just been dealing with a lot, and I took it out on Mom and you. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Mom and I did at dinner. And Adele, too.”
“Okay,” Myra said, not wanting to pry.
“But it’s weird,” he added. “Everything’s happening all at once. I thought my parents were supposed to be together forever, you know? They were supposed to be happy, and I was supposed to be smart enough to go to the same school as Adele. I don’t like being without her. I know that sounds weird if you’re not a twin, but that’s how it feels sometimes: she got in there, and I couldn’t. I was also supposed to be atschool already, practicing with my new team and trying not to think about it, but I had to get into a lame school that has no coach yet, so there’s no summer practice.” AJ leaned back and sighed. “And when I saw you with Mom… It’s like she’s moving on without us; without me. She bought a house. She got a dog. She has a girlfriend now. We’re about to go off to school, and it’s a lot.”
“AJ?”
“Yeah?” he said, turning his head to her.
“Your mom needed to get out of that house to be happy.”
“I get that now.”
“But she spent months fixing up that house next door. Your rooms were the first things she worked on. She bought you both beds, hung curtains, and got you clothes to hang in the closets. She finished the living room next and started on the kitchen before she realized the damage, but she didn’t put her own room together until right before you all got here. Your mom has always and will always put you and your sister first. When she found out that you two wanted to stay with your dad for all your breaks, it hurt her. I don’t say that to make you feel bad. I just want you to understand something: your mom will never move on withoutyou. She hoped to move onwithyou.”
AJ nodded again and said, “My dad is an asshole.”
“I heard you defended your mom today.”
“He said some shit to her that isnotokay,” he replied.
“I’m glad you were there. I wishIwould’ve been.”
“It was better that you weren’t. He would’ve just said bad stuff to you, too. We talked to Mom. We’re staying here for breaks and stuff, and we’ll visit our friends and maybe stay with them. I don’t know yet. Adele and I are just really mad at him right now, so we don’t want to be there.”
“I get it,” Myra said.
“Then, there’s Adele dating the girl I like.”
“I heard that, too.”
“What do I do with that?”
“Well, is it that you really like Wendy, and that’s the main thing? Or is it something else, like Adele dating another girl?”
“It’s that my sister is moving on, too,” he replied. “Because I’m pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic.” Myra smiled at him. “You’re just growing up, and growing up sucks sometimes.”
“Tell me about it.”
“But it’s also pretty cool,” she added. “You’ll learn new things about yourself, discover what you want to do with your life and who you want in it as well while learning to live without the same people being in your life every single day. You’ll learn how to do your own laundry, how to cook ramen in the microwave, and how many spice packets you can add before it’s too spicy.”
