but I didn’t want him to get arrested again. He’d already been arrested twice thanks to me and there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen again.
“I’m not leaving you,” he said with determination.
And in that moment I knew I had to be like Zeke. I had to lie about my feelings and push him away. I cut my eyes at him and then rolled them. Then I said something that made my stomach turn.
“Look, it was fun, but now it’s time you go back to your shitty little trailer park. I wanted to see if what they said about you was true, and now that I see it isn’t, I’m done messing around with you.”
I had indeed hit my mark. The crushed look in his eyes told me it was a direct hit. I didn’t wait around for him to respond. I turned away and got in the passenger’s seat of my dad’s car. Zeke stood there in shock, staring back at my father, until finally he turned, got in his car, and drove away.
The window was cracked and I could hear my dad talking to the police officers. He was thanking them for finding me and thanking them for their service. He was playing the role of good politician so if the stories circulated about his delinquent daughter he could play it up as the good guy who was trying to help his child.
I knew the way these things worked. I wasn’t an idiot to that side of life. The cops seemed to fall into the palm of his hand just like everyone else did. It wasn’t long until he joined me in the car and another silent ride home commenced.
It was nearly dawn before I was free of my dad. I stood in the hot shower and tried to wash his punishment away. It was the worse one yet, but I made it through thinking about all the wonderful things Zeke said to me in his car.
The next day, I spent most of my time with my mom. She looked good and was actually sitting up in bed watching TV, versus being completely out of it.
“So, are you going to tell me who he is?” she asked as I painted her thin nails with a bright-pink polish.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She smiled at me and shook her head.
“I wasn’t always a sick woman, you know. I remember what it was like to be young and in love. Don’t tell your father this, but I was in love before him. His name was Robert and he was wonderful. I fell in love with him almost instantly.” She had a happy, dreamy look that made me smile.
“So what happened?” I asked.
“Well, my father told me to stay away from him. He said he wasn’t good enough. I guess you could say he was a bad boy.” She grinned. “But when it came to me, he was the sweetest guy in the world.”
I was shocked by how similar our stories were. Maybe that’s what made me comfortable enough to open up to her.
“His name’s Zeke,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, now we’re getting somewhere.” She patted my hand. “Tell me more about this Zeke. Is he a bad boy?”
And in that moment I’d never felt more close to my mother. I didn’t tell her the entire story of how I met Zeke because I didn’t want her to worry, but I did give her a few details.
“I’m so glad I got to see this,” she said sadly.
“See what?” I asked confused.
“The look on your face. I didn’t think I’d live to see the day when one of my girls would fall in love and I’m grateful that I at least got to see it once.”
A tear slipped down her cheek and I couldn’t hold mine back no matter how hard I tried. I reached out and hugged my mother’s small frame to me and we cried together.
“Do me a favor, Patience,” she said to me as she captured my tear-stained face in her hands.
“Anything,” I croaked.
“If you love him, don’t let him go for anyone and tell him how you feel. I never got that chance with Robert, and I found out ten years ago that he died. I never got a chance to tell him how much I loved him. Don’t let that happen to you.”
An hour later, my mother slept and I was standing in the middle of the garage next to