“Well, you know my dad. When he split up the estate, he gave me and each of my brothers a chunk of property. I figured it was time to put it to good use. Now we’re smack dab in the middle of Colton and Drake.”
“We are?” I ask, looking over at him. I don’t remember seeing either of their houses.
He nods. “There’s miles and miles of forest between us, but yeah, they’re our neighbors.”
“Look at the sketch,” I say, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I pull up the picture that Clay sent to me to show off.
Brad takes it and looks over it. “Wow, that’s amazing,” he says, passing the phone over to my mom.
She looks at it and her mouth drops. She looks up at me, over to Hudson, then back to the screen. “This place is going to be beautiful, Deven. Looks like you’ve got yourself a good man here.” She flashes him a smile.
I nod. “I know,” I say, looking over at him and squeezing his thigh under the table.
My mom hands my phone back, and we all begin eating the dinner that Brad has prepared. Talk is easy among us. Brad talks about work and that girl Abby he’s been seeing. Hudson and I talk about our house and how we see our future going, and Mom just sits back and listens to it all, only adding in her opinion here and there. She never gives the conversation anything of her own, but what could she have that she actually wants to talk about? Her boyfriend of the last ten years has been arrested, pending charges, and she’s quit her job back in Denver to move all her things out of that big mansion into this tiny two-bedroom apartment she shares with her son. I can only hope that as time passes, she returns to the woman she used to be and not the woman before me.
After dinner, Mom and I offer to clean up while the guys move into the living room to watch TV and have a beer. Mom stands at the sink washing dishes while I’m cleaning off the table.
“Tell me what happened, Deven. What really lead to that final argument we had?”
I take a deep breath and tell her the story just as I told it to Hudson. I tell her about coming home from a party and being drunk. I tell her about how I thought Marco was the boyfriend I had at the time, but how I quickly realized my mistake and how I pushed him away.”
She hangs her head. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you then, Dev. I just…was so confused. Marco didn’t seem like the type and not that I’m saying you did, but you were so troubled back then. You’ve really blossomed into a beautiful, smart, responsible young lady, you know?”
I offer up a smile. “Thanks, Mom. I have the suspicion that it’s thanks for Brad and Hudson. I really got my ass handed to me when I moved here. I suddenly had to get a job and provide for myself. It was my personal mission to recover from my past.”
She nods in understanding. “I can’t believe I brought him back into your life after you were doing so well.”
“You didn’t know,” I say.
“That’s because I didn’t trust you, Dev. All I had to do was listen, but I was convinced that you were a bad apple and that you couldn’t be trusted. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how you could ever forgive me, but I pray that one day you’ll be able to find it in your heart to do so.”
I place my hands on her shoulders. “I already have,” I promise, pulling her in for a hug.
I feel a sob run through her as I hold her.
“I miss your father,” she says, crying on my shoulder.
“I do too,” I whisper, feeling tears stinging at my own eyes.
“None of this would’ve happened had he been here with us, you know?”
“I do know, Mama, but we can’t change the past. We can only look to the future and make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes. You have a long road ahead of you, but one of these days, you’ll be looking back at these times and you’ll be able to say, I made it. I know because that’s what I’m doing now. I look at how I used to be and look at everything I have now,