"Sam, do you have your shirt ready?" Elizabeth asked her son. "The last thing you want is for that recruiter to think that you can't dress yourself."
"Got it, Mama."
"And your tie? The one I bought, with the footballs. Do you have it?"
Sam raced back to the living room and grabbed his tie. Back in his room, he changed into his clothes and stood in front of the mirror. "Are you sure I should be wearing this? It feels really formal."
Elizabeth came into his room and dusted off the blue gingham button-up. "Of course you should wear it. It's formal, but it shows him that you're a respectful, well-conducted young man with a sharp sense of style." She smirked and said ambitiously, "It also shows him what you'll look like at all those meetings. What are they called? When you win the game and you go into the room with the sportscasters and newspaper people?"
He shot her a glance as he was struggling to tie his tie. "Press conferences?"
"Yes! Press conferences! It'll help him envision you at every single one of those. He'll eat it up." She chuckled at him still fumbling with his tie. "Here, let me help."
As she took his tie, Sam wanted to express his concerns. "Ma, I really appreciate you going all out and buying an outfit for this, I really do."
"Stop right there. This 'outfit' isn't just for this meeting. This is your new special occasion ensemble." She shot him a playfully scolding glance." I spent over $50 on the shirt alone; you're wearing this entire thing as much as you can. Picture day, sports banquets, bar mitzvahs. Do you know any Jewish—"
"But don't you think it's a little much? We should be saving up so that we have good money when we get Stevie and Stacy back."
"And we will," she assured him. "But this is a big day for you, Sam. You're getting ready to be set for life. Hell, we all are. When you're making big NFL bucks and living in some fancy mansion, the money I spent on this outfit will seem like nothing at all. Promise." When she finished his tie, she pressed it and dusted his shoulders once more before licking her thumb and wiping a piece of his hair back.
"Okay," he said, swatting at her when she brought her hands to his head. "Mama!"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She pouted sweetly at him. "I keep forgetting that my little man is all grown up now. Things are going to change for you today, baby. Oh, I'm just so proud of you!" She squealed, clapping excitedly.
"Thank you." He returned to the mirror briefly to see his hair already sticking back up.
"Did you activate the gel? That helps it stick back, you know?"
"Mom," he groaned.
"Okay! Sorry! Just don't get too dirty at school today and I'll meet you at your coach's office. 5 o'clock sharp."
At 4:59, Sam, his coach, and the recruiter sat in his coach's office with no word from his mom.
"I'm sorry, Coach. I'm just going to try her again." Sam apologized, stepping out of the room.
When his call went straight to voicemail, he left another message for his mom. "Mama, I don't know where you are, but I would really like it if you'd swoop in at the last minute like in some epic superhero movie? Like Wonder Woman in Dawn of Justice? Or Thor in Infinity War. With the Stormbreaker? OH!" He jumped with excitement at his next example, officially going into fanboy mode. "Or Christian Bale in Batman Begins. You know? Where the criminal's like, 'WHERE ARE YOU?' and Batman hangs behind him and says all deep-like, 'here' and then the guy screams out loud. Only less scary and more, you know, cheery and fun-filled..." He got his train of thought back on the right track. "Coach is asking about you and I'm the recruiter's last meeting of the day. We can't make him wait too long so could you please just get here as fast as you can? And call me? Please?"
Sam walked in and waited on pins and needles for his mom to arrive, but she never came.
At 5:30, the recruiter said, "Sam, I can't talk to you without some sort of guardian present. I'm sorry."
Heartbroken, Sam nodded.
Still, the recruiter wanted the chance to speak with him. "We'll schedule another visit in September. I'll come back, watch you play some, and carve out some time just for you?"
"Thank you, sir."
Sam's coach was also eager to help in any way he could. "How about this? I'll keep you updated on our schedule and set things up, just so we can be sure you're seeing the very best he's got. And you didn't hear this from me," he said to both the men, "But with our captain officially graduating, I've had my eye on this one to lead us to victory next year for some time now. You think this kid's a good player? Just wait until you see him lead a team. Right, Sam?"
Sam hummed 'yes' half-heartedly, not even able to light up at the potential captain nod.
When she got home that night, Elizabeth sauntered into her son's room, propping herself up on the doorframe with a smile. "Hey, kiddo. No video games in the living room tonight?"
He looked up at her with a frown. "Where were you?"
Her face fell. "What?" She asked as if she didn't know what was wrong. As if she didn't know what she'd caused him to miss out on.
"We had the meeting with the recruiter today. You were a no-show."
She brought her hand to her forehead and gasped. "Oh, Sam—"
"I tried calling you. A lot."
"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry."
"Where were you, Ma?"
Hearing the hurt in his voice, she went over to him. "I got held up at work, sweetie. I tried to let you know, but my phone died. Gosh, I'm so sorry. So, what happened? What did he say?" She plopped down on the bed.
"He left, Ma. The recruiter waited half an hour for you and then he left."
With a sad frown, she went to hug him, but he backed away.
"Do you know how embarrassing that was? You couldn't have used a co-worker's phone to call or anything? I'm lucky he even agreed to meet me again after that."
"Sam, I said I was sorry," she said nervously, rubbing her arms. Something she did when she wanted to get high.
Or already had, regretted it, and wanted to forget about it.
"I really didn't mean to stand you all up, I just didn't get the chance to let you know and then, I forgot."
"You forgot?" Sam scanned his mother up and down. Something wasn't right. His mom wasn't forgetful. "What's going on?"
"Nothing's going on, Sammy. I got caught up at work is all."
She sat next to him on the bed. "Why don't you take your clothes into the laundry room and I'll make sure they're extra nice and clean for the next time we meet with the recruiter?"
Sam nodded, eager to move on from the night. Still, he couldn't help but feel like there was something he was missing.
Present Day
Early Wednesday morning, Sam snuck over to Mercedes' room, opening the door and closing it once he was on the other side.
She sat in bed, lost in the book in her lap.
"Whatcha reading?"
Her eyes looked up wildly, proving that she hadn't registered his entrance. "How did you get in here?"
He looked at the door and then back at her. "I mean, it's a pretty simple open and close procedure. I can show you one day if you'd like." He joked. "Really quick." He held up two shirts. "I need to wash one of these. Which do you like better?"
She smiled a little. He was visiting his mom today and was very intentional about his presentation. He even went and got a haircut over the weekend. "Which do you like better? That's the one you should go for."
"I mean, I love a good red color. But this one," he said before dropping the polo and raising the button-up. "This shirt… it has a special meaning. My mom bought it for special occasions. It finally had its time to shine when I met the UA recruiter at my old school, but she missed the meeting and I never got to talk with him. Actually," he looked down at the shirt, now further doubting if he should wear it, "I think she had been using that night. I… I noticed her acting weird and I didn't say anything because I was so upset. I want to wear this one, but the memories from that night with it are upsetting at best. And I don't want to trigger her or make her feel bad or anything like that."
Softly, she said, "Okay, come here," before moving on the edge of her bed. When he sat beside her, she turned his face toward her and laid a gentle kiss on his lips.
They weren't together. Not technically. They decided not to be for multiple reasons. First and foremost, Mercedes knew there was no way in hell that Abeline would go for that. Second, getting together so soon after their breakups was sure to upset their exes and friend (in Quinn's case). Third, he was leaving soon. He constantly made sure to bring up that he still had to wait for his mom to be cleared to take him in again, which would take a few more months, but she just didn't think they had time to become anything official. Still, when no one was looking, they could barely keep their hands off of each other.
"First off, it doesn't matter what you wear. Your mom is going to love it because she loves you. Second of all, you can't make every decision based on how it will affect her, okay? She's sick, Sam. There are probably few things that aren't somehow triggering for her. You said the shirt was bought for a special occasion, right?"
He nodded.
"Well, I can't think of any occasion more special than this one. Not until she comes home, that is. Wear it."
With her encouragement, he instantly felt his anxiety subside. "Thanks."
She grinned at him.
"How are you doing?"
Finding out that her dad wasn't coming home seemed to both have and not have an effect on her at the same time.
She shrugged, somewhat lost. "I'm not sure yet. I'm just trying to take some time and distance myself from those emotions at the moment. Now that I have some time, I need to take a break from all that James stuff."
He decided to be frank with her. "Sounds like you're back to running. Is that really what you want to make out of this after everything that's happened? You're just going to go back to suffering in silence?"
She shrugged again.
"That's not the right answer."
"I know. But what choice do I have?"
His brows furrowed. "What choice do you have? Mercedes, your grandmother yelled at you and your brother a few days ago. I've never heard her yell in all the time I've been here. That's not going away anytime soon just because you continue to refuse to talk about it. What you need to do is tell your grandmother and then tell your brother."
She immediately shook her head. "I can't. I won't."
"Mercedes—"
"Telling either of them will change everything," she said surely. "And neither of them will look at me the same."
It was his turn to shake his head. "That's not true."
"Yes, it is. Why can't you just trust that I know what I'm talking about?"
"Because you trusted that you were fine keeping it to yourself all this time which was the total opposite of the truth." He took her hand. "Cedes, I don't want to leave here being the only person who knows this. Someone else needs to be able to look out for you when I'm gone."
She played with his fingers and sighed as she redirected the conversation. "I can't believe your mom's just over 2 months from leaving rehab already. I mean, I'm glad she's getting out, but you'll be leaving soon. It feels like you just got here." She cupped his cheek. "What am I going to do without you?"
He played along with the redirection for the time being. "You won't be 'without' me. I just won't be here. But I'll still keep in touch. And I'll still think about you and love you. Always." He kissed her before smiling. "Man, I'm never going to get tired of that." Unable to resist himself, he went in for two more quick pecks.
She smiled lazily at him, entranced. "You should make sure your shirt gets washed. Don't want to be late for seeing your mom because you didn't do your laundry."
"Yeah. Got it." He got up to leave before stopping at the door. "Can you promise me something?"
"Probably not," she said, snuggling back under her covers and picking up her book.
"Can you think about talking to Ms. Abby about your dad?"
"Sam."
"You don't have to make any decision or anything—"
"I already made my decision. 'I can't. I won't.' Did you miss that part of the conversation or?"
He walked over to her bed and got down to eye level with her. "Just think about it, Cedes. That's it. Promise?"
She was dead set on "hell no", but her resolve was withering the more he looked at her. Those damn eyes. "I'm not in the business of making promises I don't intend to keep."
He closed the distance between them, slowly locking their lips. "Please?"
Those damn lips. "Well, when you put it that way."
He cheesed. "Great. I'll see you again before I leave today, right? I could use another pep talk or four," he said.
"I'm meeting with Kurt and Tina, but I should be back before you head out."
He got up with a nod. He strolled back over to her door, stopping just short of reaching the handle. "Hey," he called out to her.
She looked at him.
"I love you."
"I love you back."
Oh yeah, there was that too.
"Now get the hell out and let me get back to my reading please."
"Hey there, Mr. Evans." Abeline appeared in the laundry room with a smile. "Doing laundry? This early?"
"Oh, no ma'am. Not laundry. Just this shirt." He held it up. "I'm wearing it to see my mom today and wanted to make sure it was clean."
"Well, no need in wasting water washing it by itself. I'll throw it in with some of Moonshine's clothes if you don't mind your very nice shirt being washed in the same cycle as Minnie Mouse pajamas."
He chuckled. "That's perfectly fine. I just need it by noon, when Shelly'll be here."
She nodded affirmatively. "I'll have it ready for you."
"Thanks." He was about to leave the room when he backtracked. "Hey, I know this is going to sound weird, and I know you probably already do this and have for the past, like, 8-17 years, but can I ask you something?"
"Even if you couldn't, I wouldn't let you leave me hanging after you said all that." She smirked at him. "What is it?"
"Could you just… keep an eye on Mercedes? Like a really close eye. Closer than usual?"
She finished loading the washing machine before responding, wanting to give her full attention to the question at hand. She crossed her arms and studied him. "Now, why would you be asking me something like that?"
"Um, well, I'm sure you've figured out by now that there's something going on with her dad—" He stopped himself, knowing Mercedes didn't like that. "James. There's something going on between her and James."
"I have. And I've been wracking my own brain trying to figure it out. You wouldn't happen to know, would you?"
His mouth went dry. "I'm sorry, Ms. Abby. I can't tell you. Not only is it not my place, but this is something that Mercedes needs to bring to you on her own. But I really wish I could. I really do. Because I think it's starting to really get to her. And she's been missing her mom lately, which is sort of tied into it I think?" His voice said that it was more of a guess. "And plus, Noah broke up with her a couple of weeks ago and—"
"Jackson? You mean to tell me the boy broke up with her before he started asking for more hours in the bakery?"
His eyes widened. "Okay, I thought you knew that, but you didn't, so, you didn't hear it from me, but yes. Actually, I guess she broke up with him. Or maybe it was a mutual thing? I still can't quite remember how she described it to me. Bottom line is, she's not doing good. And she's keeping a lot to herself, which I know is a thing that teenagers are notorious for, but she's kind of disengaging and I'm rambling, I know that, but she's," he shook his head as he searched for the word, "she's not here. And I know you may think—"
"Ok, son," Abeline stopped him, "you don't have to keep telling me what you know I know or think I know or whatnot. Just continue thinking and knowing that I know it. What's got you so worked up about my granddaughter?"
"Okay, yeah. Sorry again. I just think that with where she's at now, something could really go wrong if she doesn't talk to someone soon."
This especially caught Abeline's attention. "Is she depressed? Is-is she hurting herself?"
Sam shook his head rapidly. "No, no!"
Urgency seeped into her voice, "Because if so, I need you to let me know. I understand you two want to have your little secrets, but if Sunshine is in danger or something is wrong—"
"No, she's not. At least, not as far as I know. I promise. I just know she's got a lot bundled up and I don't want to leave here being the only person who knows, you know? She needs someone who can better understand her situation. Someone who was there watching her and raising her. She needs you."
She took a breath. "Okay. I'll talk to her soon."
Sam went to leave again but was called back.
"Sam?" Abeline walked over to him and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you for telling me."
"Of course. It's what you do for family."
That afternoon, Mercedes was rushing back home. Brunch with her friends ran late and it was close to time for Sam to leave to see his mom. She arrived to learn that he'd already left. She plopped onto her couch and sighed. She tried texting Sam, but either none of them were going through or he just wasn't replying. She planted her hand on her face. She really wanted to be there for him.
"What you laying there for, Sunshine?" Abeline's voice startled her.
She jumped up. "Grandmother? I would've thought you'd be downstairs."
"Any other time? Yes. But I'm housing three kids instead of two and one of them is a teenage boy. I have to have some time to myself and keep the house looking nice. This is my break time," she said with a satisfied smile. She brought a hamper with her to sit down beside Mercedes. "Mind helping me?"
Mercedes started helping her fold clothes.
"Harry and I were talking about you the other day. He told me about your double date."
Her breathing hitched. "He- he did? What did he say?"
"Just that you and Noah didn't seem too interested in one another. I wonder if that's why you two broke up."
"Oh. How did you know that?"
"Little birdy. So, did you—"
"Is that Sam's shirt?" Mercedes pointed to the shirt Abeline was folding.
She nodded. "How are you doing after—"
"I thought he was wearing that to see his mom. Hasn't he left already?"
Interested about why her granddaughter interrupted her for the second time, the older woman answered her question. "Shelly ended up having to pick him up early. He didn't have time for it to finish drying."
No wonder Sam wasn't texting her back. Between her not being there to send him off and him not having his shirt, she'd be in a pretty bad mood, too. "I have to go." She took the shirt from her, thanking God that it was free of wrinkles.
"Go where exactly?"
"Sam needs this shirt, Grandmother. It's really important to him."
Abeline laughed to herself. "Go on. Do you know where the center is?"
"Yup. See you later," she said, hurrying out of the door.
In the car on the way to the rehab center, Sam sat silently. It wasn't until Shelly finally asked him what was wrong that he even mumbled anything.
"I'm just nervous, I guess."
"There's no reason to be nervous. She's still your mom. She's the same woman she was before, only this time she'll be more honest about where she stands and how she's doing."
"Yeah."
"Is that all that's wrong?"
"It's the stupid shirt," he said to himself.
"What was that?" She asked, pulling into the parking lot.
"I got so excited about a stupid shirt and I didn't even get to wear it." He clenched his fists. "What the hell is wrong with me?"
Seeing his anger escalate, Shelly quickly went to diffuse the situation. "It's not stupid to want to wear a specific shirt, Sam. Okay? You cared about your appearance. That's a good thing. It means that you want to show your mom that you're doing good. And I'm sure that that would help her feel better, too. I'm sorry that we had to leave so early, but you can always wear the shirt next week."
"It won't matter. I was supposed to wear it today. Today. Not next week, not tomorrow, today. Next week, it won't be a special occasion." He let out a strangled groan before getting out of the car and charging into the building.
Luckily, some time in the bathroom helped him to calm down, but Sam was still on edge while they waited in the lobby. He looked at his phone and noticed text after text from Mercedes, but he couldn't answer her. How could he tell her that he was upset over a button-up? There's no way she'd see him the same way.
His mind didn't let him wander from the question. He started to feel shame add to his anger when he heard someone call his name. He was sure he was hallucinating because it sounded just like her.
When she called out to him again and came running over, he looked up, surprised.
"What are you doing here?"
"I heard you weren't able to get this." She held up the shirt on its hanger. "I thought I'd bring it to you."
His jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"
"What about me standing here in the lobby of your mom's rehab center with your special occasion shirt and tie tells you I'm joking around?" She revealed the tie case and glanced over at Shelly. "Hi, Shelly."
"Hi to you too, Mercedes."
"Does Sam have time to change?"
"He does, but he needs to make it quick. They keep his mom on a pretty strict schedule and we don't want to miss our time."
"Great. Thanks." She offered Sam the shirt and tie.
He stood up and took it with a giddy laugh before halting. "I don't know how to tie this."
Mercedes looked doubtfully at him. "Seriously? Okay, I'll help you. Come on!"
They ran to the family bathroom and Sam changed his shirt.
"Cedes, I can't thank you enough for this," he said as she was tying his tie.
"I felt so bad after missing you earlier. But this feels like a good enough way to make it up to you." She smiled and once finished with his tie, presented him in the mirror. "There."
Sam looked down and when he looked back up she saw the tears in his eyes.
"What's wrong? Did I not grab the right tie? I thought it was the right one because you had it in the special case and it has the footballs on it."
"No, you picked the right one." He sniffed. "Before you got here, I was so upset because I didn't have this shirt."
"But you have it now. So what's the problem?"
"I was so angry, Mercedes. All over a shirt that means what, exactly? I can't believe that I let myself get so worked up over it. Like a child."
She shook her head. "It's not childish, Sam. This shirt means something to you. It symbolizes your connection to your mom." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "I saw the way you glowed when you were talking about it this morning. The fact that she went out of her way to buy you something for those big days in your life shows how much she cares. This shirt is special. You deserve to be upset over not having it."
"But I was convinced that the day was ruined. If you hadn't shown up here, I—"
"But I did. Because I know how special this is for you. Hey." She turned him to face her. "I did show up. And I always will." She took his hand and thumbed his tears away. "Always."
He wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on top of hers. "Thank you."
She tightened her arms around his torso, only letting go once she could hear his heartbeat slowing. "I should go. You should, too. Say hi to your mom for me."
"You sure you don't want to meet her? You're already here, you might as well."
"This is a special day for you. You don't need me getting in the way of it."
"Having you there would make it that much more special." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "My mom meeting the girl that I love."
Still, she said no. "Trust me, you want to have this to yourself. I know I would if it were my mom."
He didn't completely agree, but he nodded anyway. "Thanks again."
She leaned up and kissed him lightly. "I'll see you at home."
Sam walked into the visitation room eagerly, nearly running to his mom and lifting her out of her chair with his hug. "Hey, Mama."
She yelped as she held onto him for balance. "Hi, my sweet boy." She sized him up before noticing, "Your special occasion outfit!"
"I wore it just for you. This is just as special as anything else, right? You like it?"
"Like it? I picked it out. I love it." She laughed. "Sit down. Tell me every little detail that's happened in the last 4 1/2 months."
Shelly stepped out to take a call, giving them some time alone to talk.
Sam sat across from his mom, barely able to contain his excitement. "I missed you. Like, a lot."
"I've missed you, too. And I must've missed a lot. You're so… buff!" She laughed again. "The Joneses must be feeding you pretty well, huh?" It was the best she think she'd ever seen him. He looked so… himself.
"Do I? Ms. Abby is a mean cook for sure. And I've been strength training to keep up my physique for football."
"Oh, yes." Elizabeth tapped the table. "Tell me about that. What's this I hear about you being a star quarterback?"
"I've got to start from the beginning. So, there's this girl my age who lives there, her name is Mercedes—"
"Son, I asked you about football. How did your first thought go to a girl?" She smiled at him.
"It all starts with her, Mama. So, Mercedes has these friends, Tina and Mike. Tina is one of Mercedes' best friends and Mike is her boyfriend. Mike helped me get a spot to try out for the team. I was going for running back, anything just to play again, but I didn't make it. I lost to this guy who's kind of an epic douchebag that Mercedes ended up dating because she didn't see it. Honestly, I still don't think she has. She's not really—"
"The running back, baby."
"Oh, yeah! So, Coach ended up giving him the spot over me even though I was better. But to make up for it, he gave me a spot as team manager. Then, the day of the homecoming game, the quarterback got injured really badly, ended his season. Coach was so impressed by my dedication to the team that he let me on the field as quarterback. It's been up ever since, Mama." He beamed as he raved about his newfound success. "We haven't lost a single game, we won the state championship, and now, Coach Beiste has got recruiters from all over the place knocking. Down. His. Door. Oklahoma, Clemson, Chapel Hill, LSU, Ohio State, UA. UA! You name it, they're all calling and emailing wanting to set up meetings with me. It's finally happening, Mama. Can you believe it?"
Elizabeth wiped her tears.
"Wait, no. You weren't supposed to cry. It's a good thing!"
"These are happy tears, baby. I'm so proud of you." She took a breath, wiped her eyes once more, and dabbed them dry. "Okay, what else? Shelly told me you have a girlfriend?"
Sam smirked to himself. Well… "Quinn and I actually broke up on Saturday."
She gasped. "Oh, no."
"It's fine." He waved her off. "She's great and all, but I've kind of… got my eyes on someone else now." I guess that's how you'd put it.
"Ooooh, and who is this lovely lady?" Elizabeth cheesed as she sat up in her seat. "Do you have a crush? Are you in looove?"
Feeling his face flush, Sam shot his eyes to the table. "I won't say much now. But you'll definitely meet her when the time is right."
"I'm gonna hold you to that." She pointed at him. "Now, tell me about these wonderful Jones women you seem too eager to talk about. Abeline? Is that her name? She has two granddaughters, right?"
"Yes and yes. Ms. Abby is this force of a woman. She's in her 70s, but she has the energy of a 20-year-old. You've never seen anything like it. Proof that youth is wasted on the young. She can be a little tough from time to time, but mostly, she's just really kind and warm. She owns a bakery and everyone loves her. They love her so much that people they've known for years are treating me like family just because I'm living with her. It's definitely better than any of the foster homes I've been in." He quickly cursed himself for bringing that up. "I work downstairs in the bakery and I also get paid which is freaking awesome. She's hilarious, too. In a really loving way. And she looks out for her family so fiercely. It's kind of beautiful."
He didn't give her time to comment before he moved onto the youngest Jones.
"Then, you have Amaiya. She goes by a gagillion different names, but I just call her the smartest 8-year-old to ever walk the Earth. You've never seen anything like her, either. We got along straight away. She's almost too witty for her own good. She reminds me a lot of Stacy, actually. Or, at least, what I think Stacy would've been like at that age." Shit. He had to stop bringing up the worst topics. "She's become like a little sister to me in a way."
He took a breath before getting into the remaining member of the household.
Unintentionally, he even slowed down his speech. "And then, there's Mercedes. She's 17, about five months older than me. She's smart, just like her sister. Funny, just like her sister. An all-around amazing person."
"Let me guess," Elizabeth took advantage of the slowed tempo to interject. "I've never seen anything like her either?"
One corner of his lips tipped upward. "I don't think anyone has." He really wished Mercedes had been here to meet her, but his explanation of her would have to do. "We like a lot of the same stuff. Comic books, movies, music, horrible jokes." He laughed. "She puts her all into everything, even if she doesn't really want to do it. She's so compassionate at her core. A lot of people can be kind, but they have to force it. She's just a naturally wonderful person. She knows how to make things feel okay or how to look at a situation and point out the good in it, even when you can't find it. "And she LOVES music. When she sings," he closed his eyes and sighed, "Mama, when she sings, it's like angels surround you. She's shy and quiet, but when she gets on a stage, or sings, or even just talks about music, you can't help but tune in. Her voice is like water almost." He nodded. "It can be gentle and delicately pass over you, but it can also command enough force to bend everything to its will. Actually, she's a lot like water in general. She's really relaxed; she doesn't let a lot of stuff phase her. And just like her grandmother, family's so important to her. She's been through a lot, but you wouldn't know it because she walks into a room and lights it up without even saying anything. She's like…" he let out a quiet chuckle when he found the word, "sunshine. She is sunshine."
He wasn't sure how long he sat with a faint smile before his mom spoke up.
"Seems like you've spent a lot of time with her, you know a lot about her."
"Between us being so close in age, carpooling to and from school, her being the only person I knew there, and us just being generally compatible, we've spent a lot of time together."
Elizabeth eyed her son, noticing the twinkle in his eye. "I see."
They continued to talk, mostly about Sam. Elizabeth didn't offer much about herself, except that she was getting better and doing well. When their time was almost up, Shelly came back and sat with them, grinning.
"So, did you tell him?"
Sam looked between the women. "Tell me what?"
"I was just about to get around to it, actually." Elizabeth took her son's hand. "There have been a few updates in my case, baby."
Sam felt his stomach drop. "Updates?"
"The judge took another look and decided that he wasn't satisfied with his initial verdict."
Oh no.
Shelly could practically feel Sam slipping into madness. "Elizabeth, don't scare the boy like that." She turned to face Sam. "The judge has been hearing so many great things about your mom's progress in here from her counselors. He's decided to take the 6th month off of her stay and said that if she keeps this up, she won't have to wait another three months until she can get you back."
Sam's smile instantly reached his ears. "Really?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Just one month left, baby."
"And that's not all," Shelly said. "He said he'd be willing to put in a good word at a few places, maybe even set up some interviews before she gets out so she doesn't have to worry about a job. Isn't that just great?"
Sam frowned in amazement. "But how? Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Your mom's been taking this very seriously."
"I messed things up for you, Sam. I don't want to do that again. I'm doing my best to get better and get out of here so that you can have everything you've ever wanted and deserved. And so we can be a family." She took his hands and squeezed them. "All four of us. Once and for all."
"So, Sam, how does going back home in a month sound?"
Reflexively, Sam went to say yes. But in the split second between him having the reflex and acting on it, another one kicked in.
Mercedes.
Not just Mercedes, but everyone that he'd come to develop a relationship with over the past few months. Could he really just up and leave so soon?
"Actually, do you mind if I finish the school year out there? It's just a few more months. I promise I'll come back home every weekend and every break and I'll spend all of spring break with you. It's just… I have a family there. Not just the Joneses, but so many people in the community who know me and are proud of me. I just want to be able to have a little more time with them."
Elizabeth's smile faded slightly. This was not how she expected her son would react.
Sam could tell. "You know what? No. Nevermind. I mean, the only thing I've wanted in the past four months is to be back with you and to work on getting Stevie and Stacy back. This is what gets me closer to that. Not sticking around in a town I plopped down in not even half-a-year ago."
"Sam—"
"No, it's okay. Plus, I've played football and I made my mark. There's nothing else I really had to do there. It's fine." He lied through his teeth, but he knew Mercedes would understand. She had to.
"Sam," Elizabeth stopped him. "It's alright. I understand. It seems like living there has made you really happy. That's all I want for you. Of course, you can finish it out. And don't worry about spending time with me. We'll have your senior year. Would that be okay, Shelly?"
Shelly's face said that she really wasn't sure. "I don't know. I mean, of course, I'd have to talk to Abeline and see what she thinks. We may have to run it up the chain of command as well. But truthfully, I see no reason why it would be a problem." She shrugged. "Plus, a judge knowing that you're allowing Sam to stay where he is per his request could show that you care about his well-being and happiness. You could even use it to showcase that you're taking more time to get back on your feet. Both of those things could potentially be big helps to Stevie and Stacy's case as well. I'll make some calls and see what the consensus is."
Not long after, it was time for them to leave. Sam thanked his mom and hugged her tightly. He almost didn't know if he could wait another week to see her. Shelly sent him out to the car, saying she'd meet him there.
With the two of them alone, Elizabeth asked Shelly, "That went well, right?"
"It went great. How are you feeling about Sam's question? Are you really okay with him staying a little longer?"
She nodded. "It definitely caught me off-guard for a second," she put on a smile, "but in a way, I'm glad I think. It lets me know that he's happy. Truly happy, not bogged down by anything that was going on." The smile disappeared just a tad. "I don't know that I've ever seen him like that."
Shelly squeezed her shoulder. "The only thing that would make him happier is being with you. You're his mom and he belongs with you. We can both tell that he knows that."
She patted her hand in thanks.
"I'll give you a call in a few days to set up another meeting, okay? And I'll let you know what I hear about the arrangement."
As they said goodbye, Elizabeth waved at her. When Shelly's back was turned, Elizabeth's smile fully vanished and a look of worry set in. Her hand came down from her wave to her arm, running it up and down slightly.
Hi, everyone! So, I meant to say this last update, but school has started back up for me, so updates me be slowing down for a bit until I can really get a handle on everything. But I thank y'all for your reviews on the last chapter and hope you enjoyed this one! Quite a bit happened, so I'm really interested in what's sticking out to y'all, lol. Let me know and until next time!