It was like a piece of her had been buried with her wife, tucked away under pounds of dirt. A loud laugh pierced the air and Jennie shook herself from her painful memories and smiled as Curtis raced towards her.
"Mommy, I'm thirsty." Curtis panted as he came to a stop in front of her, pressing his hands to her thighs as he bounced on the tips of her toes. "Mommy, can we go get a shake? I want a chocolate shake."
"I think we can do that." Jennie nodded as she ran a hand over his sweaty locks, Curtis releasing a whoop of happiness as he fist pumped. "Let's get our stuff together and we can get out of here, okay?"
"Okay, Mommy." Curtis grinned as he raced away.
Jennie watched as he raced away on a strong set of legs and she knew that he had gotten those from the many afternoons spent rushing around a baseball field, and she couldn't help but realize the older man had been a little bit right.
He really did look like her sometimes.
Talk and talk, never miss a beat
Yeah, he gets that from me
He gets that from me
"And then Jace totally took the ball from Tim!"
Jennie glanced in the rear view mirror to see her son staring out the window with a look of slight anger on his face, his gaze bouncing from the window to her eyes that looked at him with a shine of an amusement.
Her son was on yet another rant about the unfairness of the rules on his playground. Jennie loved the passion that filled her son's eyes, the way they shone with an untouched anger that Jennie knew one day would be tapped into.
"Mommy, what would you do?"
"Well, I probably wouldn't have taken the ball from Tim," Jennie began with a small smile as she shot a quick glance at her nodding son. "I don't think getting on your bad side would be a good idea, am I right?"
"You're super right. Nobody wants to mess with these guns." Curtis beamed as he playfully flexed his scrawny arms, the little boy giggling. "Momma used to tell me that bullies are just big boys who need to cry."
"Momma is right," Jennie nodded. "Like always."
"I miss Momma." Curtis whispered as he ducked his head, his lower lip disappearing into his mouth as he kicked his legs slightly. "I miss telling her about my day and I miss her hugs. Do you miss her hugs, Mommy?"
"Oh, I miss everything about her," Jennie assured him with a forced smile. "But I know she's up in heaven saving a bunch of special hugs just for you and me. She's probably planning to squeeze us extra hard when she sees us."
"I'm gonna squeeze her just like this!" Curtis beamed as he wrapped his arms around himself and squeezed hard enough that his face scrunched up slightly. "And I'm not gonna ever let go. Never ever, Mommy."
"You and me both, kid." Jennie chuckled.
The child was silent as he stared out the window with a thoughtful expression and Jennie could help but realize how smart her son was, how wonderful he was; he was the best part of her day, the best part of her life.
"Do you think Momma gets lonely up there?" Curtis questioned after a beat of silence, his gaze darting to meet Jennie's in the rear view mirror as he shifted in his seat. "I hope she doesn't miss us too much."
"I'm sure she misses us, but she's surrounded by so many amazing people that I think they'll keep her company until we're able to." Jennie replied with a soft smile. "And if she really, really misses us then I'm sure she visits."
he gets that from me
Start from the beginning
