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I pushed from the table, making my way
to my parents’ room. The door was cracked open. I gripped the knob, pushed it
further open and peeked my head in. Mom was curled up on her side, sleeping
peacefully. I didn’t want to interrupt her rest, but I also didn’t want to be
away from her anymore. So, I did the only thing I could think of; I crawled
onto my dad’s side and curled up next to her.
There had been many summer afternoons
when she was sick the first time that I would refuse to play outside and just
spent them by my mom’s side in their bed. I took in my mom’s face, how pale and
drawn in it seemed since the last time I was here. Her hair was void of its
usual shine and fullness. I brushed a few strands off her forehead and tucked
them behind her ear. She moved at my touch, and I yanked my hand back to my
side. Her eyes slowly blinked open, and she gave me a tired smile.
“Hey, sweetie, when did you get here?”
Her voice came out rough. She sat up and took a sip of water from the glass on
the bedside table.
“Around eleven or so.” I watched as she
looked over at the clock.
“It’s already four-thirty? How did I
sleep so long?” She raised her arms over her head and stretched back and forth.
Color slowly started to return to her face. “It must have been because I
couldn’t sleep last night. Binge watching TV shows has been my thing for the
last few weeks.” She gave me a smile then threw her arms around me. “It’s good
to see you.”
“You too,” I murmured into her shirt.
Was she really staying up late and was that why she was looking weaker? Or was
she just putting on a front so I wouldn’t worry so much about her? My mind
chose to believe what she said was true. It was easier that way.
“So, tell me, how’s school, life?” She
asked me this like we didn’t have weekly phone conversations.
“Midterms are next week. Really looking
forward to them being over with. Work is…work. I smell like coffee daily, and
it’s starting to lose its enjoyable scent.” I put on my best frown face,
because I have always loved the smell of coffee, but it has started to wear on
me.
“Don’t worry. Next summer, you’ll have
some big fancy graphic design job, and coffee will be your love again.” Mom
smiled. “Speaking of love…” She trailed off and gave me a wink.
“Oh come on! Not you too!” I threw my
arms up in defeat. There was no way I wasn’t going to spill every single detail
about Eli to my mom. She knew me better than that, and by the way she was
adjusting her pillows behind her making herself comfortable, she knew I was
going to tell her. She eyed me expectantly. “Noah has a big mouth.”
Mom laughed. “Tell your mother all
about Eli Park.”
“Jeez! He gave last names and
everything? Did you do a background check too?”
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