by Alison Mello
"Thanks, Stella."
"You're welcome. How are you?"
He pauses for a minute. "I'm good."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I went back to counseling, and it's helping a lot."
"I'm glad, but know if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."
He smiles at me. "Thanks, but after I realized I felt so much better not drinking and I got to talk it out more while sober, it made me realize I don't want to drink. I don't ever want to feel that shitty again. I drank to forget at first, and then I drank because I was hungover. It felt better to drink than to sober up, but now I'm past it and I have you and the guys to thank. If they hadn't stayed with me, I'm not sure I would have made it." He pats me on the arm, grabs one more water, and brings it over to Daisy who thanks him. It makes me smile to see the two of them friends. I may not know Daisy's history, but clearly, they are good for each other, and I'm happy for both of them.
Time has been flying by. Every week we have practice on Tuesday followed by pizza with Misty and her family. A game on Sunday, and we almost always end up at someone's house afterward for a cookout and some team fun. The team is doing an amazing job. They've only lost that one game on opening day, and since then they've really come together and learned the meaning of team spirit. I can't believe the season is almost over. They have one game left in the regular season, and then it's off to the playoffs. There's only one team that is better than us. They've had an undefeated season, but they face us next weekend and if we can beat them we will end the season in a tie. Not every win has come easy, but they fight till the end and so far it's paid off for them.
This weekend there's no game because it's a holiday, but a bunch of us are getting together at the county fair for some fun. First I have to wait for Trystan to get here because he has a surprise for me. "Mom, what time is Trystan supposed to be here?"
"Any minute now, why?"
"I want to get to the fair."
"I know you do, but you need to call your patience. We'll go soon." He huffs and goes back to his room. We didn't have county fairs in New York so this is a first for him, and he is really excited. His friends have been filling him in on all the cool things at the fair like games with prizes and cool rides. I'm really not sure how I feel about him going on a ride that is set up one day and then two days later it's taken apart and driven away, but we'll see what happens.
Now DJ has me anxious. It feels like it's taking Trystan forever to get here when I finally hear his truck door close. I feel bad because he hardly ever drives his Corvette anymore, but he says he's fine with it. Eventually, he'll keep it in the garage, but he says we still need to take our time for DJ's sake. Personally, I think he's up to no good. When I open the door I see him carrying in what looks like a small safe. "What are you doing?"
"I got you a safe." He brings it in and walks it to my room, slipping it between the bed and nightstand on my side. It's small, but it fits perfectly. I'm watching him put it in place. "This safe can be opened by key or fingerprint. I did that so if you're in bed and you hear someone, all you have to do is reach over and place your two fingers here and the safe will pop open. Now since it has a key, we have to hide the key where only the two of us can get to it, but we still have to talk to DJ." He exits the room, and I assume it's to get the nine millimeter that's in his truck. When he does, I call DJ into the room.
"Yeah, Mom."
"Have a seat. We need to talk to you for a minute."
Trystan comes walking in with the gun in one hand and the magazine in the other. "I've been teaching your mom how to use this." He shows DJ the gun. "She is very good with it, but now that we are keeping one in the house, we have to make sure you realize that this not a toy. It will be locked up and you will not have access to it, but it's important that you know it's here."
"Do you have that because of Dad?" DJ asks me.
"It's one of the reasons. Your dad and I had discussed getting one, but we never did. Trystan has a few of them, and he shoots them for sport at a range. He took me and taught me how to fire it. I've applied for a permit to carry it but, for now, I can only have one in the house."
He shrugs. "Okay."
"I'm going to set up the safe for your mom. When we're done, we'll get going."
"Okay, cool."
"Hey, DJ," Trystan calls as he starts out the door.
"Yeah."
“It's really important that you realize you do not touch this safe. It needs to be understood this is not a toy and nothing to joke about."
"I get it." He nods.
"Good." DJ goes to his room, and Trystan begins the process of setting up the safe. "Okay, now when you’re lying in bed, your instinct will be to lower your right arm because that's the arm that will be free if you're on your side, so press your fingers to the pads on top of the safe." A little light flashes. "Do it again." It flashes. "One more time." He instructs and this time when I do it the light turns green telling us it's programmed. "Now do it again and let’s see if it opens." I press my fingers to the top again, and sure enough, it opens. Trystan slips the gun in along with a magazine then closes it. "Where should we put the key?"
"Up in my closet?"
He steps into the closet and looks for a spot. "There's a box up there. It's been there since we first started dating. Can we put it in there or will you be moving it?" I know exactly what box he's talking about, but I don't know the answer to the question. I know I'll never get rid of what's in the box, but will I ever store it elsewhere I don't know. "What's wrong?" He sits beside me.
"Those are memories from Dylan. I don't know if I'll ever move that box."
"Sugar, I'm sorry. I didn't know, and please don't think you have to move them for me. I'm fine with them staying there and if you don't want me to see what's in the box, we can put the key somewhere else."
I shake my head. "It's not that I don't want you to see it, it's just that I don't know what I'll do with it once you're here permanently."
"Why don't we put it in there for now, and if we need to move the key we can. If you want, I'll take the box down and you can put it in." I smile and nod. He goes to the closet and pulls the box down, placing it on the bed. "I'll be in the living room. Let me know when you're ready for me to put it back."
"Thank you." My words are barely a whisper.
He exits the room and closes the door. I haven't opened this box since the first night we got here. I sat here on this very bed going through some of the things and cried. I felt bad for leaving him in New York, but I had these few pieces of him that I brought with us.
I let out a deep breath and open the box. Inside are some silly things like his work ID with his handsome face on it. A few of my favorite ties. I even kept his cologne. When his scent started to fade from our bed linen, I would spray his pillow so I could sleep at night. It was hard because it made me miss him, but it also reminded me of him and helped me sleep a tad better. There's also a necklace in here that I kept for DJ. He used to tell me all the time that he was going to pass it on to him when the time was right. It's a gold chain with a cross on it. The chain is still probably a bit too long for him, but I think in the next couple of years I'll give it to him.
I run my fingers over the cross, remembering the day he got it. We were in the jewelers. He had been mentioning wanting a new one. His mom had gotten him one as a kid, and it was stolen. I took him to the store just before Christmas and told him it was his Christmas present from me. I was pregnant with DJ at the time, but we hadn't found out what I was having. "Someday this will be my son's," he said, putting it around his neck.
I laughed, "How do you know it's a boy?"
"Because you promised me a junior, and you never break a promise."
I shake my head. "I wish it were that easy. This is one promise I have no control over. However, if our child is a girl, I'm all for trying again." I wiggle my brows at him and run my fingers down his muscular chest.
He smiles and presses his lips to mine. "I'm glad to hea
r that because I really love making babies with you."
"Come on, lover boy. Let's get home before it starts snowing again."
The knock on my door pulls me from my thoughts. "Mom, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, buddy. I'll be out in a minute." I close the box the necklace is sitting in. I grab his badge and hook the keys to the same ring. "Keep us safe, lover boy." I kiss the badge and place it back into the box, closing it up. "Trystan, you can put the box back."
He comes back into the room, places the box back where he found it, and asks, "Are you okay?"
"Surprisingly, I am. Let's go have some fun."
He presses his lips to mine and slips his fingers into my hair. "I love you, sugar."
"I love you too."
DJ comes to the door as his lips are connecting with mine. "All right, you two, enough of the mushy stuff." We both laugh and walk out the door hand in hand.
We pull into the parking lot for the county fair, and it dawns on me that we didn't tell DJ not to say anything about the gun in the house. "Hey, buddy, before we get out of the car I just want to be sure that you realize not to say anything about the gun. That isn’t something you tell your friends or anyone else about, okay?"
"I won't say anything."
"Good boy." The three of us climb down from the truck and head into the fair. DJ's eyes are wide with excitement.
"Has he really never been to a carnival?"
"We took him to Coney Island once when he was small, but he probably doesn't remember it much. He was only about four. We went to the kiddie section. We went on some rides, played some games, and had lunch."
"This is so cool." He hurries ahead of us.
"DJ, slow down," I call ahead.
"Look, there's Briggs." Trystan points to where he told them we would meet.
"Who cares about Briggs?” I say with laughter. “Look at Daisy and Billy." I nod toward them. They're standing right next to each other. "I believe that man found a reason to fight." I look up at Trystan with a smile.
A bunch of us walk into the carnival together. The boys are pointing things out to DJ as they walk along. Trystan informs me that we have to go to the ticket booth or he won't be allowed on any rides. The guys all head over to buy a strip of tickets for them. I catch the boys trying to take a team selfie so I offer to take the picture. I grab DJ's phone, and the boys all huddle together. It's Ethan, DJ, Mason, Landon, Noah, and Sam. Colton and his family couldn't make it today, but the typical group is here. There are a few other boys on the team that come to practice and games, but they never stick around after games no matter how much we try to invite them. Ethan asks me to take a picture with his phone so I do, and the boys agree to share the pictures after that.
Trystan comes back over handing DJ a strip of tickets as do the other parents. He links his fingers with mine, and we head off to follow the kids through the carnival. They all take off to a line for this ride with swings. The ride goes up into the air and then swings them into a circle while their seat hangs from two chains. "Please tell me that's safe." My voice is laced with fear.
"Sugar, I've been coming to this fair since I was a kid."
"So that ride is how old?"
He throws his head back in laughter. "I love you, and I love DJ. If I thought the ride wasn't safe I wouldn't allow him on it, okay?"
I nod. "Thank you. I'm sorry, it's just..." My words trail off.
"I get it. No need to say anything more." He presses his lips to mine.
"Oh isn't that cute. More PDA from the cheesiest couple in West Virginia."
We both close our eyes before looking in Sophia's direction. I'm about to say something, but I don't have to because Misty steps up to her. "Listen, you low life piece of shit. I don't know what your problem is other than you’re lonely and you have no friends, but you did that to yourself so instead of trying to make people around here miserable, why don't you just move on."
"As a matter of fact, I do have friends." Laney comes over.
"Wow, Laney. You have no time to volunteer for your son's ball team, but you have time to hang with trash at the county fair."
"I came to say bye to my son. I'm leaving in the morning, and I wanted him to know that I plan on flying him out to my new home this summer for a visit."
Misty's jaw drops and then she laughs. "Sophia, what are you going to do? Your only friend is leaving. Maybe it's time you apologize and start acting human."
"No need. I'm leaving with her. Laney has offered me a job as her right hand."
"In other words...you're her bitch. Good position for you. Good luck to you both." The mom squad starts to walk away, leaving them both standing there speechless. When we approach the ride, the boys are waiting in line and Ethan looks upset, but his boys have his back and he knows it. We all watch with pride as they cheer him up. Ethan says something to DJ and I'm not sure what it is, but they hug it out and it appears all that has happened between those boys is forgotten, and now it's time to have some fun. These boys are becoming lifelong friends, and that's what this is all about.
Trystan and I had a talk with Fred this week in regards to the house and our options. For starters, I want to buy the house from him so I can make it mine. Trystan came up with a very thoughtful idea the other day and because the property isn't mine, I had to get permission. I'm a lucky woman because Fred adores DJ and I. He told me he would be more than happy to sell the house to me, knowing it would be going to a good woman. All I have to do is let him know when I'm ready and we'll take care of everything. That said, he also told me I'm welcome to do with the house as I wish, which was really exciting because we have a project for DJ today.
"Where are we going?"
"To the store."
The three of us head out the door with DJ looking a bit annoyed that I'm not giving him more details, but when we pull up to the nursery in the next town over, he says, "Why are we looking at plants?"
"Because today the three of us are going to build a memorial garden for Dad in the yard."
His eyes go wide. "No way! What are we going to put in it?"
I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know, but the three of us are going to go look at some stuff. We'll get a nice statue to show it's a memorial for dad, and we'll plant some stuff to make it look nice."
"Dad did like the park."
"He did and although this was Trystan's idea, I think it's perfect," I tell him as we walk into the store.
"Thanks, Trystan." DJ fist bumps him.
"You're welcome, buddy." We walk through the store talking about the corner we're going to put it in and what we need to get it started. Once we have the start of it we go to look at what we want to plant. DJ decides we need a tree in the very corner of it. Something that won't get too big, but his dad always liked going to the park to see the trees. That is something you miss seeing so much of in the city. We find a really nice memorial stone to place in the center of it. It's a nice size that everyone will be able to see and read without having to step inside, and that's exactly what I wanted. We also found a flag to hang that reads, 'Your wings were ready, we were not.' Happy with our purchases, we load them into the back of Trystan's truck and tie down the tree we bought.
When we get back home, I tell DJ to get changed into some grungy clothes. As soon as he's gone, I get busy helping Trystan empty the truck. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"You're amazing. You were supportive but gave us space to make this ours, and I appreciate it. Not to mention it was an amazing idea. I think this is really going to help DJ move on."
"What about you?" He slips his fingers up my jawline and into my hair.
I shrug. "I'm good, but I think it will be nice to have for both of us."
He presses his lips to mine and then grabs the tree and carries it to the back. "What can I do?"
"Here, take these plants." I hand some small plants off to him.
It takes us a little bit but we manage to get the truck empty, and everything is divid
ed into stages. DJ and Trystan get to work digging up the grass in the corner that we're going to use to make the garden. I snap a few pictures and then decide that we're going to need some drinks, so I hurry inside to make a huge pitcher of pink lemonade. I fill the pitcher with ice and bring it outside with some cups. Once they have the grass dug up and all that's left is dirt, Trystan grabs a rake and smooths out the dirt. He tells DJ to pull out any big rocks he sees that could get in our way. While he does that Trystan grabs a quick drink.
"All set, Trystan."
"Great, grab a drink and then I'll show you how to use this." He holds up a tool.
"What is it?" He chugs lemonade and wipes sweat from his forehead.
"This is going to dig the hole we need for the tree. We have to make sure the hole is deep enough though. We don't want the roots popping up out of the ground.
DJ puts his cup down. "Let's do it."
"Okay, so where do you want the tree?" Trystan asks him.
"Mom. What do you think? Where should we put the tree?"
I shrug. "I like the idea of putting it in the corner, bud, but make sure it's not too close to the fence."
Trystan grabs the tree and places it in the corner. "What do you think?"
"Yeah, that looks good." Trystan marks the size hole and starts it off showing DJ how to use it.
"I can do that." He takes the tool from Trystan.
He starts working on the hole but is struggling. He doesn't have the strength Trystan does, so when he pulls it out of the hole he drops some of the dirt. We tell him not to give up and try a little more, but when Trystan sees him getting frustrated he helps him out, and they do it together. It takes them a little while but they get the tree in the ground. They're making some good progress, but it's getting late and I'm sure they're getting hungry, so I head in to make us up some sandwiches.
When I get back outside with a tray of food they both look at me with excitement. "Yes, food. I'm starved." DJ comes running over.
"Go wash your hands, young man."
He sprints into the house. Trystan places a chaste kiss on my lips and follows behind him, and I set up their plates with sandwiches, fruit salad, and chips. A minute later the two of them come back with clean hands, ready to eat. "Thanks, Mom." DJ shoves a bite of his sandwich into his mouth.
