The Drawings Never Lie

Chapter Three

Bonnie puts the notepad filled with sunflower doodles onto the bed before fishing into the depths of the box beside her. Her hand comes up with a vintage looking polaroid camera.

"This is the camera we got you on your fifteenth birthday," she says. "It doesn't work, but you liked to collect things that were retro or vintage, so we got it for you anyway."

The camera joins the messy pile on the bed as she digs into the box one more time. This time, she unearths a simple gold chain necklace with a plain gold pendant hanging off the end of it.

"This was the necklace you and your mom got you for your birthday, and she got this--" she holds up a plain gold chain necklace "--for your dad in the beginning of the year. He was getting a bit upset that you and your mom were matching. It made him feel left out. So you turned the golden necklaces into a family thing and got him--"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Richard, who had been starting to doze off, looks grateful for the interruption. Sitting a little straighter in his chair, he nods. "Of course you can, Ramona."

Bonnie nods in agreement, even though she pouts as she puts the necklace back into the box.

"How did you meet my parents?"

Richard and Bonnie exchange glances before Richard turns to frown at me.

"I thought we already told you that we've known your parents since long before you were even born."

"Yes, but you didn't tell me how you met them," I say. "Or when."

Richard looks over at his wife, who merely shrugs.

"We didn't tell her," Bonnie says to him, "but maybe we should."

Richard nods in agreement. "Maybe talking about Charles and Brianna will jog her memory faster than showing her all of this crap."

Bonnie's frown deepens, but before she can voice her indignation, Richard finally opens up about my parents--the two most important people in my life that I can barely even remember.

"I met your mother in high school," he tells me. "She was never the type to blend in with the background. Part of the reason was her bright red hair, but she had such a bubbly personality that she was automatically recognised by all the teachers and students. It was a quality that stuck with her for the rest of her life. Her wit, her spirit that captivated everyone she met and her selfless kindness were all something she passed onto you."

He speaks about her with such fondness that I have to glance over at Bonnie to see her reaction. Instead of jealousy, she too had a small smile at the memory of my mother.

"At the beginning of our senior year, I managed to pluck up enough courage to ask her out on a date," he surprises me by admitting. "We dated for the rest of high school and even for most of college."

"Sounds like you were a pretty stable couple," I mutter, chancing another glance at Bonnie.

This time she catches me looking at flashes me a thin smile. "They were. Their families were pretty close too. That's how serious they were."

I'm almost too afraid to ask my next question because I'm pretty sure I can guess the answer, but I ask it anyway.

"Were? What happened?"

Richard rubs at the skin on the back of his neck as his face contorts into a grimace. "That's a bit more complicated to explain without Bon's side of the story."

"Charles and I had been best friends since he moved in across the street," she says with a smile that's just as fond as Richard's was when he was talking about my mom. "I was five years old then, and he was six. I don't mean to brag, but I'd always been ahead of my classes so they moved me up a grade and into his class when I was in the second grade. Before, we'd just been friendly neighbours, but moving classes solidified our friendship because of how much time we started to spend with each other. So it was naturally just a matter of time before we started dating."