One evening, Willy suddenly felt like he had to know something. "Auntie?" he asked from where he was flopped on the couch.
"Yes?" Aunt Lauren asked.
"It always seemed like you cared more for me than anyone else in our f-f-f-…well, you know what I'm trying to say," Aunt Lauren nodded. Willy looked at her. "Why?"
Aunt Lauren sighed and looked down at her hands. "There's something I should have told you long ago, Willy." She looked up. "You know your mother died a few hours after you were born, right?"
"Right," Willy said.
"I was there," Aunt Lauren said. "I was with her when she died. I still…I still…" her voice faded off and she buried her head in her hands. Her grief for her sister making it impossible for her to speak for a moment. When she lifted her head, tears shone in her eyes and she whispered, "I still remember her last words to me. To anyone. She said, 'Take good care of my little boy, he'll need a mother when I'm gone.' So I promised." Then she smiled, "You were so tiny when I first held you. So beautiful. You looked like your mother. I fell in love with you then and there. Jacob and I had learned a few months ago that we would never have children of our own. You became my baby. I loved you the way I would have loved a child of my own."
"That's why I came here when I ran away from home," Willy said, sitting up and looking at his aunt. "I always felt safe here. Loved. Like I mattered. Like somebody cared." He got up and went over to where she sat in a recliner. She moved to one side to make room for him and he sat down. She put her arm around him then reached up and stroked his hair as they sat together, long into the night.
The end of the week came all too soon. Neither Willy nor his aunt wanted him to leave, but they both knew it was for the best. Aunt Lauren hugged him and whispered, "Goodbye, Willy."
"Goodbye," Willy whispered, hugging her back. "I promise I'll keep in touch this time."
Aunt Lauren smiled as they let go. She ran her hand over his hair and murmured, "I'll miss you."
Willy started to walk off, blinking furiously, and said, "I'll miss you, too." Cocoa had already been loaded in the elevator and Willy got in. Aunt Lauren stood watching as it took off and flew out of sight.