She was crying. It was unavoidable. Paul couldn't know that this day would hurt her so much. Sally didn't know today would hurt this much.
Percy had been missing since December, something no one had expected, and now, nearly six months later, Sally was confronted by all the painful memories this particular day brought her.
The first time Percy tried to cook for her, he had spilled the glass of milk he had poured for her on the carpet. Sally had laughed and helped him pick it up, although even as an eight-year old he was still as stubborn as ever. Percy had politely told Sally to go back to bed and let him finish. When he finally made it to her bedroom nearly ten minutes later, he brought a tray of food and sat next to her as she ate the charred pancakes and bacon.
Sally flinched at the memory and felt a fresh tear roll down her cheek.
It was the first Mother's Day she'd ever spent without her son.
Even when she was dating Gabe, she and Percy had managed to sneak away from him for a few hours and do something together, usually just walking through the city and catching a matinee show at the movie theater.
After Percy had started at Camp Half-Blood, he had gone out of his way to set up a magical Mother's Day, taking her to see a fireworks show that exploded into messages like "Happy Mother's Day" and "You're the best," courtesy of the Hephaestus kids. Sally especially like the magical buffet he'd sneak out of camp, taking two plates and two cups from the dining hall and bring them back for the two of them.
What was she going to do now?
Percy was gone. Missing. Vanished into thin air.
Annabeth came by every few days with an update, mostly about the progress of the ship they were going to take to find him. As of Thursday, Leo had been set back by a celestial bronze shortage, and was scrambling to hunt down more, since the Ares cabin refused to let him melt down any of the weapons.
Sally started crying, tasting the salt. Vaguely, she heard the sound of the door opening and felt Paul wrap her up in his arms. She cried until her tears dried up, leaving stained tracks down her face. Slowly the world came back to her. She was sitting on the beat up couch in the living room of her apartment, safe in Paul's arms. He murmured reassurances in her ear. It wasn't the first time she had cried over Percy and Paul knew exactly what to say.
"It's okay, Sal, he'll be back."
She sniffled. "What if he doesn't?"
She whispered the words like a confession, something she had never admitted to anyone—not even herself—out loud.
"He'll be back."
He kissed the top of her head, handed her a box of blue chocolates and picture of her, Percy, and himself standing on the Brooklyn Bridge. On the back, in Percy's scribbled handwriting, were the words, "Best Day Ever with Mom and Paul."
"Happy Mother's Day, Sally."