At school, Zoey stood in the lunch line with Cory and Topanga as Brenda, the lunch lady, served them from the behind the counter.
Brenda beamed at Cory. "Hi, Cory. My little tiger likes his gravy, doesn't he?"
"Oh, Cory likes the way Brenda does it." Cory agreed happily. "Ooh, she builds a nice potato mountain and then she turns it into a horrible volcano of doom. Oh, look at the lava running down the volcano. Run, peas. Hide behind the roll." He turned to see the glares he got from the girls. "What, you don't see that?"
Zoey looked at Cory's plate and nodded. "I can see it now."
"Brenda, do you have anymore cherry pie?" Topanga asked the lunch lady.
"Or an apple?" Zoey added with a hopeful smile.
"No, sweetie. I'm sorry, we're all out. Sorry." Brenda informed before she paused. "Oops, forgot. I accidently hid two pieces under the counter. Looks about your sizes too."
Zoey smiled as she took a piece of pie and placed it on her tray.
"Awe, you never let us down, Brenda." Topanga said with a smile.
After the three got their food, they left the line to find a table. Before they could sit down, Shawn ran into the cafeteria and towards Cory and Zoey.
"Guys, I got a major problem." Shawn breathed out, clearly out of breath. "How long has it been since I've seen my mother?"
Zoey frowned as she stared at her boyfriend with worried eyes. She placed her tray on the table and grabbed Shawn's hand, rubbing her thumb against the back of his head comfortingly He squeezed her hand gratefully.
"You mean since she took her little vacation?" Cory asked.
Cory had always found himself nervous whenever the topic of Shawn's mother came up. He never knew how to act, always scared of saying the wrong thing to his best friend. That was why he usually left the talking to Zoey, she seemed to always know what to say.
"She ran away." Shawn snapped. "She ran away for a year, Cory. Deal with it. I have."
Cory smiled warmly at his best friend. "And you're doin' so much better."
"Thanks." Shawn said stiffly. "Now, how long has it been since I've seen my mother?"
"Shawnie, why are you asking?" Zoey wondered.
"A minute." Shawn announced, seeming that he didn't believe what he was saying. "I saw my mum, guys. She was right across the street at the Trailer View Motel. She was looking through her window at our trailer. Guys, my mum's back."
••••
After school the three of them quickly raced to the Pink Flamingo Trailer Park to tell Chet all about Shawn's recent discovery. Zoey was worried about how Shawn was taking the news since his grip of her hand hadn't loosened all day.
They stood inside the trailer and recounted Shawn's story to his father.
"You're telling me for the last year I've traipsed across these United States searching for my long lost Virna and you find her right across the highway?" Chet asked in disbelief.
Shawn nodded. "It's her, dad. She's been watching us."
"How long she been there? How's she look? When she's comin' home?" Chet questioned.
"I don't know. I haven't gone over there yet." Shawn replied.
Chet frowned. "Why not?"
Shawn paused, his grip on Zoey's hand tightening before he finally pulled his hand away. Zoey's gaze snapped towards him in shock as her worry only deepened.
"... I'm afraid I'm gonna chase her away again." Shawn admitted quietly.
Zoey wrapped an arm around Shawn's waist and curled into him comfortingly but she didn't say anything. She knew Shawn, she knew he wouldn't want to talk right now, especially not when Chet and Cory were here. Shawn slowly wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead.
"You didn't chase her away. You're the only reason she stayed here as long as she did." Chet said as he patted Shawn's shoulder warmly.
Shawn weakly smiled. "Thanks, Dad."
"Why's she over there spying on us? Hey, she's probably after my secret plans." Chet suggested.
Cory's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What secret plans?"
"Nice try, Corky." Chet replied.
"Guys, let's talk. You been looking for this woman for a year, and now you've found her. Now go get her before she leaves again." Cory advised the Hunter family.
Chet shook his head knowingly. "No, no. It's like some beautiful butterfly that sat down just for a moment on the branch next to you, and you know if you so much as breathe wrong, it'll fly away and you'll never see it again."
"This is a real delicate situation." Shawn agreed. "What we need is someone who won't be thought of as a threat."
Chet gazed moved to Zoey and he nodded his head to her. Chet remembered how highly Virna always spoke to Zoey, she'd always liked her and hoped she'd end up with Shawn someday. Zoey had never looked down on Shawn because of where he came from and not many people were like that.
Cory ironically had a butterfly perched on his hand.
"Hello. Hello." Cory cooed with a small smile before nothing everyone looking at him. "What?"
••••
Cory and Zoey paused in surprise when the motel room door opened before they even got within knocking distance.
"Come on in, Zoey and Cory." Virna insisted as she moved aside. "I've been expecting you."
"Really?" Cory asked.
"I saw you through the window crossing the turnpike." Virna replied.
"Then you know how lucky we are to be alive." Zoey said before she shuddered at the memory of the turnpike.
Virna smiled widely and hugged the two. "It's nice to see you, two."
"It's nice to see you, too." Cory responded.
"Oh, you're growin' up real handsome." Virna said as she pinched Cory's cheek before turning to Zoey. "And, my, my aren't you a beauty."
Zoey smiled. "Always have been."
Virna chuckled as she ruffled the girl's hair fondly. "You've been giving my little Shawnie a run for his money ever since he met you."
"Look, we're just here to tell you on behalf of Shawn and Mr. Hunter." Cory explained before he grumbled under his breath. "Couple of chickens....."
"They missed you. They miss you very much." Zoey finished.
Virna sighed deeply and nodded. "Yeah, well, I miss them, too."
"Well, if they miss you, and you miss them, then why aren't you guys together?" Cory wondered.
"Well, I suppose I could just go over there, and we'd all have ourselves a big emotional reunion. We'd hug and kiss and five minutes would go by, and then were would we be?" Virna questioned.
"Well, you'd be a family." Cory said, not understand what was so difficult.
"No." Virna said, shaking her head with a deep frown. "We'd just be together. I left because we were three unhappy people livin' under the same tin roof. Just bein' married doesn't make you a good husband and wife. And just havin' a little boy doesn't make you a good father and mother."
Cory nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess you have to wanna be."
"I know I have no right to hope for anything because I left my family, but in that time, I learned that all I wanna be is a good wife and a good mother, but I need to know that Chet wants to be a good father, too." Virna said.
"Well, okay, then. I'll just go back and tell them that." Cory promised as he began walking towards the door.
"It doesn't help comin' from you. But from my family, I need to see it happen in its own time." Virna told them.
"Well, how long are you gonna wait here?" Zoey wondered.
Virna didn't answer them, instead, she just smiled warmly. "You're god kids for bein' their little messengers, and if you wanna take back a message, go tell Shawn I love him. And you give him a big kiss right on the lips for me."
Cory smiled awkwardly. "I'll definitely do some version of that."
••••
"Eight lanes and not one stinkin' island." Cory complained snappily as they burst into the Hunter's trailer. "I mean, you gotta be Moses to get across that highway."
Shawn rushed over to Zoey and wrapped his arms around her, checking her over to make sure Cory had gotten her back all in one piece.
"Well, Moses, is she in or is she out?" Chet asked hurriedly.
"Look, the only thing I can tell you guys that she's gonna be watching you from where she is." Cory informed.
"That's creepy." Chet drawled out before he paused. ".... And somewhat exciting."
"So what ado we do now, Dad?" Shawn wondered.
"Guess we stand next to the window and try to look appealing." Chet answered.
And with that, the two positioned themselves in front of the window, their backs straightened and bright smiles plastered across their face.
••••
The next day at school, Zoey stood in the lunch line with Cory and Topanga when they noticed that Brenda wasn't working.
"Where's Brenda?" Topanga wondered.
"Yeah." Zoey agreed. "She's never been sick a day in her life."
"She's probably playing hooky." Cory suggested.
"Where would a lunchroom lady play hooky?" Topanga questioned.
"May I have your attention, please?" Mr. Feeny called out when he entered the cafeteria. Everyone fell silent. "It is my sad duty to inform you that Brenda Hibbard, our lunchroom lady, has passed away."
"What?" Zoey asked in disbelief.
Cory made his way to their teacher. "Mr. Feeny, she was just here yesterday doing the lava on my mashed potato volcano."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Matthews." Mr. Feeny said dearly. "Uh, may we... can we have a moment of silence in her remembrance?"
Sympathetically, Zoey placed her hand on Cory's shoulder as the cafeteria remained quiet as the students bowed their heads. Then a second later, normal conversation resumed as if nothing important had happened.
""Wait, wait, wait. Mr. Feeny, aren't you we going to do something here, like have an assembly or a ceremony?" Cory asked.
Mr. Feeny shook his head. "No. No, Mr. Matthews. There's nothing planned at the moment."
Zoey frowned. "That's sad."
"It truly is, Miss Francis." Mr. Feeny agreed before walking out of the cafeteria.
••••
Cory and Zoey walked into the Hunter trailer and saw Chet and Shawn sitting on the floor, smiling down at several photo albums.
"Hey, look, here's when me and your mother were teachin' you to ride a two-wheeler." Chet said as he held out the photo.
Shawn smiled warmly. "So our family wasn't messed up all the time, was it, dad?"
"No." Chet replied with a smile. "We had a Kodak moment or two."
"It looks like you're riding indoors." Cory pointed out as he looked at the photo.
"Oh, sure. That's Toys 'R' Us. That's Shawn ridin down aisle five." Chet said.
"We couldn't actually afford to buy a bike." Shawn explained flippantly.
Chet nodded. "Money was a little short that year. Sorry about that, Son."
"Hey, it doesn't matter to me. Fun is fun." Shawn told his father.
Zoey sat down on the ground beside Shawn. She smiled as she cuddled into his chest as he showed her more photos.
"You guys have been up all night looking at pictures?" Cory asked.
"Yeah. Boy, time really flies when you stick around and hang out with your son." Chet said before giving Shawn a meaningful look. "Hey, look. Here's you on a bear rug. That's your butt."
Zoey and Cory shared a look as they watched Chet and Shawn laugh and talk over their family photos. The two nodded before the walked out of the trailer and made their way across the busy interstate again.
••••
Cory and Zoey stood in front of the motel room door and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door opened with Virna on the other side with a wide smile when she saw the teenagers.
"Well, if it isn't Cory and Zoey, the go-between children. What message to do you carry today?" Virna wondered.
Cory shook his head. "No message, Mrs. Hunter. I'm here on my own."
"Well, you're awful dressed up. Do you intend on asking me to a picture show?" Virna asked as she stood aside to let the two into her motel room.
"Actually, I'm dressed up because I just came back from saying goodbye to someone I really cared about." Cory replied.
Virna frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"Yeah. But I guess I never really realized how much I cared about her until after she was gone." Cory explained.
"Well, unfortunately, sometimes it takes leavin' to make you realize what you had." Virna said.
"Look..." Zoey began, fumbling with her fingers hesitantly. "I know you left because you guys weren't a happy family, but you wouldn't have come back this far, to this place, unless you felt like they were still your family waiting for you across the road."
"Zoey, I did the worst thing somebody can do. I gave up and left." Virna said quietly.
Zoey sighed. "Well, you know, they feel like they did the worst thing by driving you away."
"Well, you've been back and forth between us. What do you think?" Virna asked weakly.
"Well, I-I think...." Cory stammered as he tried to find the words to explain. "I think you can make a hole in somebody's mashed potatoes, okay? And you can make that gravy come down just like lava, and you can do it three-thousands times, and they'll never appreciate it until the first day it's not there."
"What Cory's trying to say is that you can take the little things for granted and never realize how good you have it until it's gone. Not everyone gets a second chance after that, but you, Virna.... are lucky because you do." Zoey explained.
"You really think so? You think they want me back?" Virna asked.
"Well, I think you'll never find out until you cross that highway and knock on the door." Cory told her.
Virna had tears glistening her eyes. "You know, it's dangerous crossing that highway."
"Believe me, we know." Zoey huffed in disdain at the mention of the highway.
"But you know, maybe once you get there, you'll be happy, so you'll just wanna stay." Cory added.
Virna was quiet as she looked out of the window. Zoey grabbed Cory's arm and the two of them headed for the door.
"Hey, Zoey, Cory." Virna called. "Shawn's got good friends."
Zoey gave her a small smile. "Yeah, well, he's got a good mum, too. Lucky guy."
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PUBLISHED: May 18, 2018
WORDS: 2247