Page 74 of Loving the Sinner
“Is this your mom?” Elli whispers.
“Yeah. That was the day after Luke was born. Grams took the picture.”
“She’s beautiful, Wes.”
“Come look at this one. It’s my favorite picture of her. I have it in my nightstand drawer at home.” I say as I gently lead her to the living room where a five by seven picture frame holds a picture of my mom and me at the pond. Mom is in denim overalls with her dark hair clipped up, but a few errant strands are framing her face. Her eyes, so similar to mine, are clear, and her smile is brilliant, and she looks happy and healthy. My hair is cropped short and I’m wearing a blue bucket hat. Instead of looking at the camera, I’m looking up at my mom in adoration.
“I was eight, when this picture was taken. This was about a year before she met Keith and started doing drugs again. This is how I remember her.” Usually when I talk about Mom, it makes me want to cry. I don’t like talking about the bad things, but Elli makes me feel safe. I know she’d never judge me for crying, or for my past, so talking to her is much easier.
“I think it’s great that you have a picture of her to remember her that way.” Elli says, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Thanks baby. Over here,” I guide her over to a picture frame of some high schoolers at a school dance, “this is Jess and Kenny, and my mom and dad at their senior prom. This was two years before I was conceived. Dad joined the Army right out of high school, but he and mom got married on one of his breaks. I was conceived shortly after they made it official. Dad was deployed again when I was three, and died in combat. I don’t really remember him much.”
Elli goes to say something, but Luke bursts through the door declaring dinner time so I give her a kiss on the forehead, silently letting her know that I’m okay and we can talk about it later.
“Alright kids. Luke’s got his usual everything pizza, Wes, I’ve got your pineapple and ham with onion, Elli’s alfredo sauce with mushroom, pepper, and bacon, and my anchovy.” We all pretend to gag at Jess’s pizza order and she rolls her eyes. “I’ve also got cheesy breadsticks with ranch and marinara, and I made caramel chip cookies for dessert.”
Elli sits down and while we all immediately dig in, she folds her arms.
“You okay, Elli?” Jess asks.
Elli’s face turns red, “Yeah. Sorry. I’m just used to having to say a prayer before eating at family dinner.Force of habit I guess.” She reaches for her pizza and places two slices on her plate.
“Habits are tough to break. No worries sweetheart.” Jess says reassuringly. “So, update time. Wes! You’re first.”
“Alrighty. Ummm. I sent some of my new songs to some record labels, but I haven’t heard anything back yet. I did have Keely and the Kissers comment on one of my reels raving over the song so that was cool. That reel has over three hundred thousand views, which is wild to me. I still plan on teaching at Jude this school year. Elli and I are going to Utah in three weeks for her brother’s farewell thingy so that’ll be fun. Yeah. That’s about it.” I take a big bite of my pizza and look at Luke.
Luke shuffles in his seat, “I was able to fix the old ham radio I found at the thrift store so it’s functional now. I’ve been doing online classes to try and graduate early. Work’s been good. No one’s drowned so I call that a win. Izzy and I still plan on going to college together and I’m very upset no one is letting me go to Utah with them.” He says pointedly while looking between me and Jess.
Jess rolls her eyes, “You start school that week and I’m not letting you miss it. Sorry, bub. Glad to hear no one’s drowned. Wes, that’s cool about Keely and the Kissers. I don’t know who they are, but it sounds like they’re a big deal. My update I guess is that the salon is booked to capacity for the next three months and I might consider hiring another person to rent out the other booth, or maybe an assistant for the shop. It would be nice not to have to do things myself. Elli! What are your updates?”
“Oh, um. Let’s see. On Sunday I was talking to Claudia and Ernie, and they’re wanting to start hiring some more staff, possibly another chef and a manager so they can start to think about retiring. I’m going to helpthem figure out the proper paperwork and help them with the hiring process. I’d be more than happy to help you out too if you’d like. I know it can be overwhelming posting job applications and vetting new hires.” Elli beams at Jess.
“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks Elli. That’s really sweet of you to help out Claudia and Ernie too. Lord knows they need to retire soon. Neither of them can keep working twelve hour days.”
“Of course! I’m glad to help them. It’s a shame for me, but amazing for you that you’re booked out. I was hoping to make an appointment to add some highlights to my hair, and I’m in desperate need of a trim. Do you have anyone else you recommend?” Elli asks, taking another bite of her pizza.
“I think I can squeeze you in. The salon isn’t open on Sundays at all so I’d be more than happy to have you in on Sunday. How does that sound?” Jess says with a wink.
“Oh! That would be amazing, Jess. Thank you so much. I’ve never had my hair colored so I didn’t want to find a random person and risk it being bad.”
“Jess will take excellent care of your hair. She’s been doing mine forever and look how fantastic it is.” I say, flipping my hair over one shoulder, causing Elli to giggle.
The rest of the dinner is filled with easy conversation, reminding me how much I miss seeing Jess and Luke all the time. Elli’s like the missing piece of the puzzle to this little family, and it warms my heart.
Before we head back to Elli’s place, I head to the restroom and when I pull my phone out of my pocket, I see I have a direct message from Keely and the Kissers.
Keely:Hey, Wes! This is Keely from Keely and the Kissers. We have been non-stop watching your reels. Your new song “Love Bug” is AMAZEBALLS.We’re going on a North America Tour beginning in January of next year and we’d love for you to be our opening act. Send us over your email so our manager, Misha can send you the tour dates and the pay and whatnot. We’d really love to work with you.??
Oh my god.
OH MY GOD?!
Keely and the Kissers wantsmeto go on tour?
I respond immediately.
Wes:Hey! Thank you so much! I’m honored to be considered for this opportunity. My email is [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!
