“You can. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to walk out of the front door toward the car. When those thoughts of worry and doubt start coming in your mind, you keep walking, okay? Even when you’re scared, you keep going. When the doubts get louder, you run. You run, Mama. You run until you’re back in his arms.”
“Why are you helping me? Maggie May, I’ve been awful to you. All those years I held you back from your life. Why are you being so helpful? So forgiving?”
I bit my bottom lip. “When I was younger a woman always told me that family looks out for each other no matter what, even on the hard days. Especially on the hard days.”
She took a deep breath.
“You’re scared?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “So let’s go.”
Once we made it to the car, and Brooks helped Mama into the passenger seat, she let out a breath of air. “Thanks for driving, Brooks,” Mama said, giving him a tiny smile.
“Anytime.” Brooks smiled and took Mama’s hand into his. “You okay today, Mrs. Riley?”
She squeezed his hand twice.
A quiet, but meaningful reply.
Yes.
As we drove over to Dad’s apartment building, I pulled out my dry-erase board and began writing. When Brooks drove into the parking lot and parked, I hopped out of the car with the board in my hand, and Mama followed.
“Wait, Maggie. You didn’t tell me what I was supposed to say to him.” Her body shook with nerves, panic, worry that somehow the man she loved didn’t love her anymore. “I don’t know what to do.”
I held the board out to her. As she read it, she stopped shaking. A wave of peace ran over her, and she took in a short inhale and released an eased exhale. “Okay,” she said. “Okay.”
She walked up to the front porch, dinged Daddy’s apartment number, and waited for him to come downstairs. I climbed into the passenger seat of the car and shut the door. Brooks bent forward to watch the interaction between my parents. When Daddy opened the door, I could see it—the love that came with no guidelines.
He placed his glasses on top of his head and didn’t say a word. Mama didn’t either. When it came time, she flipped the sign around for him to see, and Dad’s eyes watered over as he pounded his fist against his mouth. Tears fell from his eyes before he pulled Mama into a tight hug. As the board dropped to the ground, they hugged one another tighter and tighter. Their bodies become one. Then, they kissed. Their kiss was messy, and funny, and sad, and whole. So, so whole.
If kisses were able to fix the broken pieces of hearts, I believed my parents’ hearts were slowly falling back together.
“Wow,” Brooks whispered.
Yes, wow. “We can probably leave now,” I said.
As he pulled off, he asked, “What did the board say?”
I glanced once more toward my parents, who were still holding on tight, and swaying back and forth. My lips parted, and I grinned at their love. “Dance with me.”
We drove back to the house to fill Cheryl in on everything that was happening, and I watched her sigh with relief. “Good. Good.” She thanked me for coming to help. Brooks and I headed up to my bedroom, and we lay on my bed, with our feet hanging over the edge.
“They really love each other,” Brooks said, staring at the ceiling. “After everything they’ve been through, they still have that love.”
“Yeah. It’s beautiful.”
“Maggie May?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think we can listen to some music?”
His question was simple, but the meaning was huge. “Yes, of course.”
He stood up and grabbed the pair of earbuds from my desk, then plugged them into his iPhone. “What do you want to hear?” he asked, lying back down.