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Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 27

Double Take…

Watching him talk so easily to my mom endears me to him even more. He knows exactly what to say, from his tactful sympathies about Dad to his warm congratulations on her engagement; from his apologies for crashing the weekend to his excitement at meeting her.

Only when he goes to the bathroom does Mom clasp her hands and lean forwards, her eyes bright, to say, “He seems like a wonderful boy, Storie. I like him.”

“Thanks, Mom.” My cheeks heat up. She looks so certain. It’s so good to see Mom look certain after two years of doubt. She rests her elbows on the table, arms folded, and her gaze flickers across Tad for just a moment. When her eyes land back on me, they’re brighter, reflecting the brilliant blue of her engagement ring.

“He makes you happy,” she says, her tone lingering between a statement and a question. “You should always surround yourself with people who make you happy.”

“And then marry them,” Gray adds. Mom laughs quietly, and she nods.

“If you take a leaf out of my book,” she says. Gray’s expression changes, looking momentarily surprised and then awkward, and I frown after him when he excuses himself to the bathroom before Liam’s back.

A moment later, my phone buzzes with a stream of texts from him.

not trying to sneak a peek at your boyfriend’s junk I promise

your mom got my feet confused for my dad’s

I didn’t want to play footsie 3

oh damn your boyfriend is PACKINGGGGG

(just kidding don’t worry)

it’s tiny

Gray is a liability. I drink my water to cool my cheeks and hopefully hide the fact that I’m blushing furiously, but Mom’s too engrossed in a conversation with Tad to notice that I’m cringing at my phone, quickly sending him a reply.

I know you text with two hands. you better not make a mess. 3

He returns a moment later, after Liam, grinning so hard it looks like he’s about to burst out laughing when he sees my face. As he sits, he whispers, “I didn’t actually peek.”

“I hope not.”

“I’m sure he’s packing plenty,” he says, teasing.

I wait until he’s taking a sip to say, “Oh, trust me, he is.” 24

Gray splutters, choking on his water. His dad whacks his back. I laugh. Liam nudges me. 3

“What’s going on?” he asks, then he stops himself and shoots a glance at Gray. “Do I want to know?”

“No,” I say. “Probably not.” 1

• • •

After eating way too much, we end up wandering through the town. It’s a quiet, picturesque place that feels like it was picked out of a quaint movie, an idealization of suburban America. All the stores are independent and boutiquey, including a gorgeous bookstore that we can’t resist, and a florist with stunning bouquets spilling onto the sidewalk.

“This is the kind of place I’d love to live,” I say as we wander along a river that trickles over reeds and rocks through the center of the town. It’s so peaceful, but not as quiet as Five Oaks. There’s more of a soul here, and a few more people.

“Really?” Gray asks. “It’s very … white.” 6

“Have you seen Five Oaks?”

“Yeah, but this place gives me a distinct confederate flag vibe,” he says. “I bet there’s one somewhere. Time for a game. Find the flag.” He claps his hands together but his face is solemn. 25

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

“You’re like a puppy, you know,” Liam says. “Down, boy. Heel.” 8

Mom and Tad have wandered a few meters ahead of us, holding hands and occasionally stopping when Mom wants to take a photo. She loves to document happy moments, even if only with a photo of a random rose in a random park in a random town. Tad waits for her as she captures the stunning vista of the river flowing amidst the first leaves of fall. When she stands straight, he kisses her beneath an oak tree.

We’ve caught up by the time they pull apart. Tad’s lips are slightly rouged from Mom’s lipstick. He smiles at us.

“Such a perfect day, isn’t it?”

It’s not too bad. Although the forecast has been predicting storms for a couple of days now, so far the weather has held out and it’s the perfect temperature to wear a cardigan at the moment. When a breeze ripples through us, I pull it tighter around myself at the chill and Liam nestles closer as we start to head back to the car.

Gray comes to a sudden stop. He grabs his dad’s wrist, and Tad almost trips. He almost looks annoyed, not a look I’ve ever seen on him, until he follows Gray’s line of sight and his shoulders sink. 4

“What is it, honey?” Mom asks. I’m not sure if she’s talking to Tad or Gray, but it’s Gray who answers.

“My mom,” he says, nodding at a woman across the park. 33

I’ve never seen a picture of Gray’s mom, so I’ve had a hard time imagining what she would look like, but the image in my head doesn’t match the woman in the distance. I had built up a bitter picture, a stern and sharp-faced woman, but she’s just … ordinary. Mousy brown hair, flat and straight to her shoulders. Average height; average size. Average everything. She walks with her arms folded

Gray looks like he’s seen a ghost. For a moment, all five of us are staring, long enough to watch her disappear out of the park gate. There’s nothing extraordinary. No secret family exposed; no emotional outburst. Gray just stares. Then he turns to his dad.

“Does she live here? Did you know?”

Tad looks equally shell-shocked. He shakes his head. I know he’s telling the truth. “No, I had no idea,” he says. “Last I heard, she told me she was in Arizona. But that was over a year ago,” he adds.

“Why’s she here?” He looks so distraught. I’ve never seen Gray like this. He hardly even talks about his mom, except to occasionally complain about her, but she’s his mom. He told me she had moved across the country, that it was the only reason he could accept not seeing her since he was sixteen. But she was right there. She’s here. An hour from home. 3

“I don’t know, Gray,” Tad says. He puts his hand on Gray’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s head back to the car.”

Gray doesn’t move for a moment. He stands rooted to the path until I squeeze his elbow and he drops his shoulders, shaking his head. He doesn’t say a word on the walk back to the car. He hardly says anything the whole way back to Five Oaks, his head bumping against the window. Mom and Tad chat away as usual up front, but I don’t know what to say to Gray. Seeing his mom put him in a funk. The mood has shifted. 1

I end up falling asleep with my head on Liam’s shoulder. I don’t wake up until Tad comes to a stop in the driveway. Gray has hardly moved a muscle.

“Hey.” I catch him when we get out of the car. The sky is a weird color, hazy before a storm. I glance at Liam, and I don’t need to say anything for him to know to give me a minute. He smiles and nods and follows Mom inside.

Gray scratches the back of his neck, looks up at the sky and back at me. “Hey.”

“Are you ok?”

He breathes in deeply and lets out a heavy sigh. “Yeah … no. Yeah. I’m fine,” he says, rolling back his shoulders. “It’s just weird. I was so mad when Mom left, but she went far, so it was ok. But she’s not far. She’s in freaking, I don’t know, Whitesville, Ohio.” 4

“Are you sure it was her?” 1

“I know what my mom looks like, Storie,” he snaps. 1

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry,” he says, pushing both hands through his hair and letting out a low groan. “I’m just … I feel weird. If she’s there, why hasn’t she told me? Why hasn’t she come to see me? She’s my mom.” 3

“I don’t know, Gray.” My voice falls small. “I really don’t know. Maybe she’s just here today? Maybe for work, or meeting someone?”

“Still. She should’ve called.”

“Maybe she will.” I don’t know what to say. I feel awful for him. I can’t imagine how terrible it must be to have such a fractured relationship. I pray there’s a simple explanation, that it isn’t what it looks like, because it looks bad.

“Hmm.” He crosses his arms, holding himself tightly. The first droplets of rain begin to fall. He looks up. “Let’s go inside.” He digs out his phone, staring at the screen as though his mom will suddenly decide to ring, but she didn’t even see us earlier. “Should I call her?” he asks me. “Maybe I should call her. Should I?”

“I don’t know, Gray. Maybe talk to your dad?” I hate myself for being so useless, for not having any of the answers.

“I’ll wait,” he says. “If she doesn’t call by the end of the weekend, then clearly she doesn’t care.” He shoves his phone back in his pocket. “I’m gonna go read.” 1

He heads upstairs, a shadow of his normal Grayness, and I hesitate in the hallway before I decide to give him some space. When I head into the kitchen, Tad meets my eye. 6

“Is Gray ok?” he asks, worry lines wrinkling his forehead.

“He’s upset, and a bit confused, I think,” I say. “He went to read.”

“I should go talk to him,” Tad says, heading upstairs before any of us can agree or disagree. I drop down next to Liam and sag against him, and he curls his arm around me, kissing my forehead. Mom watches us, saying nothing.

“I can’t imagine having a parent who doesn’t care,” I say. “You’re already a better mom to Gray than his actual mom.” 5

Mom blushes and looks down, then sits opposite us with a mug of coffee in her hands and brushes her hair out of her face. I know she wants to deny it, to try to give some credit to Gray’s mom, but she can’t. 1

“We don’t really know the situation, bogárkám,” she says, but we do.

Gray’s mom cheated and she left and she lied, and now she’s back but she’s not really back, and Gray is hurt. And I hate her. He’s my best friend; he’s a total puppy. This is the first time in five months that I have seen him so down and it’s all because he saw his mom from afar. It’s impossible to take the wag out of his tail, but she managed it without even trying. I hate her.


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