Page 41 of Just Like in the Movies
Lew nodded and let go of his Dad. “Just one more thing.” He ran his hand down my arm then headed in my parents’ direction.
“Mike,” Lew’s mom said, distracting me. “Please look out for him.”
She means please don’t hurt him.
I glanced back and forth between her and her husband. “I’ve been meaning to say thank you to both of you. For cleaning up the mess I left behind and for giving us some space here to figure ourselves out.”
His mother watched me with a solemn look in her eyes, but it was his dad that spoke. “Lew’s always had a mind of his own, but he’s generally level-headed, except where you’re concerned. You should know he has a ticket home, open ended, and enough money to get him to the airport from wherever. Neither of us are huge fans of this, but he says he wants you, and we’re trusting you not to make him worry.”
I thought there was a hint of a threat somewhere in there, though I couldn’t figure out if it was in the words or the tone. And then I decided that if they wanted to threaten me a little to make me behave, I’d certainly earned it and I’d have to take my lumps. “I know. I don’t plan to and I appreciate you not making this harder for him than it already is. I know he’s got one foot out the door already and that I’m still on probation. All I can promise is my best, but I know that isn’t really enough. I have to show you. All of you, but most especially Lew.”
They nodded and I tried not to be hurt that they didn’t at least reach out to me for a handshake. It really brought home the idea that I’d burned more than just my bridges with Lew when I’d made that stupid phone call.Better get busy with that hammer then, Maddie would have said, reminding me that building bridges took work and rebuilding them even more. She’d been talking about a film career at the time, but it struck with a clarity I’d never before experienced that it also applied to everyday relationships too.
I turned to see Lew slipping out of one of my mother’s hugs, then he reached out to Dad and they said something to each other, too low to be over heard. Dad folded him into a tight hug, like he already considered Lew to be his son. Lew patted his back and laughed softly, and then Dad let go of him and walked him over to my car.
Lew smiled at me and went to hug his parents again. I hugged my Mom, then turned to my dad. “I’ll call you to let you know we made it,” I said.
He nodded and, after a moment’s hesitation, he pulled me into a hug as fierce as the one he’d given Lew. “You two be careful with each other, okay? I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”
“We will,” I promised. “I’ll keep you posted on how things are going. You can yell at me if you think I’m being stupid again, maybe stop me in time.”
He snorted lightly, but I thought I saw a glitter of tears in his eyes when he stepped back. “You two better get on the road if you’re going to make the plane,” he said gruffly. “I want pictures.”
“Me too,” Lew’s mother said.
“I’ll make sure to send them,” Lew said.
After that, it was only a moment’s scramble to get us into the car, and then we were barreling down the road, heading for what I hoped would be our future together.
Lew looked out the passenger window, watching the streets of our home whizz by with a smile on his face, and when we’d made it out onto the highway, he reached for my hand and squeezed it with a smile.
