Page 91 of Glass Half Full
I will count the miracles
In every moment I don’t take for granted.
I will count the miracles
In myself.
I will place my palm against hers
Feel the slide of her skin on mine
And say the words
I am strong enough to speak
And in love enough to believe:
We
Are
Miraculous.”
* * *
“Dylan, you were incredible!”My mom throws her arms around me. I have to bend down for her to latch on, and she refuses to let go once I do.
“Thanks, Mom. I think the hug is over now, though.”
“Nuh-uh,” she says cheerfully as she continues to strangle me. “I am never missing another one of these things again. I’ll drive to your college for every single one. They do have these in Ottawa, right?”
“Yep,” I assure her. “Now how about letting me breathe?”
I shake hands with my brother after that. Peter and I are still learning to find a sense of ease around each other, but we’ve been talking on the phone a few times a week, and I’m going to see much more of him after I move to the same city for school. I’m not missing any more of his life.
The handshakes and hugs just keep coming. Normally the crowd clears within twenty minutes after these things, but nobody seems to want to leave. I caught DeeDee passing out tequila shots to a bunch of staff in the kitchen, but I let it slide.
Now that the pressure is off, I’ve found it much easier to do my job as manager. It’s still not where my heart is, and I know I’m far from the world’s best, but I’m keeping the place together until Monroe and I figure out who’s going to take over.
Monroe herself finds me in the crowd, and after a few words of congratulations, she asks if I’ve seen Pat, one of our bussers.
“I can’t find him anywhere,” she explains, “and I’ve got a question for him. Could you check if he’s out smoking while I do another lap around the room?”
I don’t know what she could have to talk to Pat about that can’t wait until tomorrow, but since I’m standing right near the hall to the kitchen, I agree and make my way to the back door.
The motion sensor light is on in the alley. I don’t have time to notice more than that before I spot her. Every muscle in my body freezes at the sight.
“Hey.” She grins at me and pushes herself up off the milk crate she’s been sitting on. “I was starting to wonder if you’d actually come out here.”
My hand drops to my side to let the door swing shut behind me.
“What are...What?”
She’s here. Like some sort of wish granted by a genie in a bottle, she’s suddenlyhere.
“I didn’t want you to see me for the first time in there,” she explains, laughing softly at what I’m sure must be the totally ‘I’ve been mind fucked’ expression on my face. “I was waiting in the kitchen, and Monroe said she’d get you and send you out here. I take it she didn’t tell you you’d find me?”
“She said she needed to talk to Pat.”
