And She Made the Shape of My Heart With Her Hands

“What the hell? You’ve freaking asked that before, Kennedy!” Garrett yelled, leaning in his seat. “No repeats!”

“Ugh! You’re a faggot!”

Pat and I stayed quiet as we watched the two glare at one another. “So,” I said, breaking the silence. “Does this mean we’re done playing now?” I couldn’t help but smile a little. I noticed that Pat gave up concealing a grin as well.

“Eh… Yeah,” Kennedy admitted while running his hand through his messy hair.

I sighed contently as I leaned back against the seat and turned my eyes towards the window so I could stare out. This only resulted in me getting excited and sitting back up, for we were finally in Tempe. I could finally tell you with confidence what buildings were what and what they contained inside. We were finally home…

“Oh my God,” I whispered astonished.

“What?” Garrett demanded more than asked.

“We’re… We’re home!”

He sighed. “No shit,” he muttered.

I turned my head back and glared at him. I quickly wiped the feeling off my face. “Oh God,” I whimpered. “I’m gonna cry!”

Kennedy chuckled and Pat kissed my cheek while laughing. Jared turned back and smiled, as did Trevor. John kept driving but I know that I saw a small smile grace his features for at least a short moment. Tim didn’t really acknowledge my fake, dramatic act or me. Garrett groaned loudly and muttered, “Baby.”

“I was kidding,” I whispered to my brother as I leaned over the gray seats a little.

The truth was, however, that if I was alone and I thought about things a little more, I probably would have started crying a little.

Apparently, for some reason I’m still not clear on, they decided to drop Garrett, our things, and myself off at our house first. So with a quick round of goodbyes to the boys and a peck on the lips from Pat, Garrett and I hauled our bags into the house and dropped them on the living room floor, just like we did when we were in school with our backpacks.

“It looks different,” I muttered to my brother, looking around the place we called ‘home’. Things were tidier. Everything was cleaner than it’s ever been since a good while before the divorce.

“I know,” he replied. Garrett continued to eye the visible rooms around us as he carefully placed the last bag he had down on the hardwood floor. “That’s good though. It means Mom’s back to her normal self,” he explained to me.

“Oh,” I mouthed.

“Mom?” Garrett called out to the house, his voice echoing back to him and I.

“Garrett? Kids?” I heard my mom’s ordinary, clear voice sounding from somewhere up the stairs.

“Yeah, it’s us, Mom,” I hollered out to her as I started taking a couple strides towards the staircase. Garrett pulled me back silently. I gave him a confused look but then saw that he was looking forward, towards the top of the stairs. I turned towards the same direction as him.

There, trotting down the steps towards us was my mother. She looked good. She looked normal. She looked like nothing had even happened. The only difference was… her hair. My mom’s usual soft, tamed medium brown hair was dyed a loose curly, wild, deep red. It looked almost identical to pictures of her when she was in her senior year of high school to her second year of college, right before she met my dad.

She smiled brightly to us before rounding the corner into the kitchen. That’s when I also noticed the sweet smell of home cooking. You know. Actual food. Not Wendy’s.

“I like your hair, Mom!”

Garrett elbowed me somewhat lightly in the side, avoiding my broken arm. I looked up at him with a questioning look and he returned it with a slightly wide-eyed expression.

What a weirdo.

“Thanks, sweetie! I decided to switch things up a bit, you know?”

I walked into the kitchen, my brother following me. “Yep. I know exactly what you mean.” I waited until she was done checking on the food in the oven before I engulfed her into a warm hug. She kissed my cheek before moving onto my brother with the same motions.

“Hey, Ma,” Garrett greeted with a small smile.

“Hi, Baby,” she replied softly as she smiled, running a hand through her new hair. “So… How was your tour?”

“Great. Awesome,” he answered, sliding on the kitchen stool. I remained standing.

“Good, good,” she muttered, looking for something. “And Cara, how about your arm? How’s that?”

I glanced down at the sickly purple cast and the messy, yet unique signatures covering every square inch of the plaster. I turned my nose up just a bit. “Eh. It’s fine. I’m ready to get this freaking cast off though.”

She laughed lightly. “I’m sure you are.”

“You bet,” I answered. “Anyway, uh, Mom, I really want to go get a shower and start laundry, so… I’m going upstairs then. Okay?”

She smiled warmly and looked at me, like she was in awe or something. Garrett rolled his eyes and looked away from both of us. “You do whatever you want, dear.”

I laughed lightly and nodded before making my way up the stairs of my lovely house.

That was the mom I’ve missed all summer.