Pretty Sweet - Christina Lee Page 0,27

anything, but he directed us in what to take and the best way to pack it all in the truck. He was good at making it all fit, moving things around so we only had one load in a small U-Haul.

Jake drove the rental to Bonnie’s new place, and I followed along in my car, Bonnie in hers.

She lived on the third floor of a cute little light-blue building with flowers out front and lots of windows. We went inside before we began unloading. Bonnie must have made a previous trip because she already had some sports drinks in the fridge, which she gave us both.

“Let me show you around!” The excitement in her voice was palpable. It made a giddy feeling rush through me too.

It was a small place—one bedroom, one and a half baths, and a patio. It was on the older side but had been taken care of well. I couldn’t wait to see what she did with it.

“I would love a little place like this,” I said.

“Are you kidding? You live in a gorgeous complex.” Jake frowned, then looked at his mom. “Not that your place isn’t great.”

She laughed. “I get what you’re saying.”

“Yeah, I know, but it’s…a lot? Sort of like what we were talking about the other day. It’s not my style.”

I hoped they would drop it right there. Jake was looking at me as if I was this puzzle he couldn’t figure out, and Bonnie was giving me the mom look, which I loved but was embarrassed of all the same. “Should we start unloading?” I asked. Thankfully, they let the subject go.

The three of us took load after load into the apartment. Each box had the room it belonged in written on top, and before we knew it, we were done, and I had no reason to continue hanging out. “I guess I should go.”

“Are you kidding? You helped us with this. At least let us buy you lunch,” Jake said. “Do you like Chinese food?”

My eyes rolled back. “Oh my God. I love Chinese.”

He ordered some delivery, and we walked around, listening to Bonnie tell us where she thought she would put everything, until lunch arrived.

“Carpet picnic?” Jake asked, and Bonnie smiled.

“Carpet picnic.”

I could feel there was a memory behind it. “Is that a thing?” I asked as we placed boxes of food in the middle of the living-room floor, along with paper plates and plastic utensils.

“Yes, it’s one of the best things,” Bonnie said.

“Well, we made it a good thing,” Jake added. “When I was growing up, when my dad was in one of his moods and drinking a lot, we would hang out in my bedroom. Sometimes we’d spend most of the day in there, and we would watch movies and have carpet picnics and try to forget he was there.”

Sadness and anger blended into the memory, and I hated to think of what Jake’s dad had possibly done to them. It was obvious it wasn’t good. “The carpet picnic sounds great. Sort of like us the other night,” I said. “I mean, I know it’s not the same. That’s a special mother-son thing between the two of you, but—”

“It’s the same.” Bonnie placed her hand on my knee and squeezed.

“Definitely,” Jake added.

So the three of us sat there, chatting and eating Chinese food on the floor of an apartment full of boxes.

It wasn’t long before some of her furniture began getting delivered. “Do you think the couch should go on this wall?” she asked.

“Nope. The light from the window will glare on the TV. I think you should put the couch on the opposite wall with the window across from it.”

“Perfect!” she replied.

A couple of hours later, after I’d helped Jake build a bookshelf, he said, “Too bad you have to work tonight. You could help me here with her. I’m shit at decorating, and she’s not the best at helping me put furniture together.”

“I heard that!” Bonnie called from the kitchen.

“I didn’t try and hide it!” Jake countered. There was an ache inside me. I wanted what they had so badly.

“Like I said earlier, I’m not great at it either. If you’re not done, I can help tomorrow.”

Bonnie came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. “I really appreciate your helping out today. You didn’t have to do that, especially since you work later tonight.”

There was nowhere else I’d rather be. “It’s no problem.”

She pointed to Jake. “And you should head out soon too.