Three months after what I'd thought was a fairytale romance, a new girl came into your life. Some days, she sat cross-legged on your couch, playing video games with you and building forts. She made you feel young.
Some days, she smelled like cinnamon and brought that vivacious essence to your life. She took you to her cheer practices and dragged you along to the popular table at lunch. She made you feel like a typical teenager.
Some days, she looked into your eyes as if she was peering into your soul. She wore loose longline cardigans and her hair was in a permanent messy bun. She talked to you about books as if they were the building blocks of her existence. She made you feel fifty years older.
Every day it was someone new. Perhaps that's what lured you in. As she changed, you changed too, to comply with her interests. She kept you on edge, and that excited you.
All it took was three months. And never did you once look back and notice the girl you left behind.
The girl who made you feel like yourself.
"Mom, you have to say yes," I said, a determined look in my eye.
Love didn't wait for anyone. You had to chase after it before it was too late.
I wasn't going to let my mother endure the end of three months too.
"See? Even Thea agrees with me. Go for it, Mom!" Ted said encouragingly, squeezing her hand.
I didn't know what came over Ted all of a sudden, but it was undoubtedly Holly's doing. She not only had a power over Will that I didn't have, but she also had one over Ted.
Whatever she did, though, I was happy for it. Mom deserved happiness. Mr. Mills was going to give her that.
"I don't know...." Mom said, a look of worry shadowing her delicate features. "What if it doesn't work out?"
"Then you move on!" I wanted to shout, but I knew it wasn't that easy. Especially not for someone who'd lost her husband so early on in life.
"We're here for you," I said instead, moving beside her and taking her other hand.
The three of us sat like that in silence, hand in hand, pondering over this new phase of our lives. It wouldn't be just us anymore. If all went well, we'd be welcoming a much larger family.
"Let's go," Mom said, rising to her feet. I looked straight at Ted, unable to keep the shocked expression off my face. He shrugged.
"Like, now?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes!" Mom giggled. Now it was Ted's turn to look alarmed. I shrugged at him.
"Like, now now?" Ted asked in the same tone I had.
"Yes, now now now!" Mom gushed, looking around frantically for her purse. Ted pointed at the kitchen table and she went to grab it from there.
"What's happening?" I asked him, trying to keep a straight face.
"I have no idea, but this is pretty cool," he laughed.
I slung my arm around his shoulder as we followed Mom out the door and into the car.
It was chilly outside, and we didn't have time to grab our coats. I held onto Ted for warmth, and he nestled in closer to me. Together, we watched Mom rev up the engine and check her reflection in the rearview mirror.
Suddenly, she snapped at us. "What are you waiting for? We've got a new life to chase after!"
We both laughed, still standing rooted to the spot. My legs didn't seem to be working at that moment. I guess the nervousness had finally caught up with me.
"You ready for this?" I asked uncertainly, turning towards Ted. It wasn't even our choice to make, but I knew it would give me some solace to know that he was nervous too.
This wasn't going to be easy on us- that was for sure- but it was exciting at the same time. Just seeing Mom happy was all the satisfaction we could ever ask for.
"Better now than ever. We never know how much time we have," he said wistfully.
Damn, Holly really crept under his skin!
To make easygoing, no-nonsense Ted into a sentimental emotional human being was an incredible feat.
I made a mental note to congratulate her on that later.
Ted and I smiled at each other. In our own ways, all of us could relate. I thought about Will and what might have been if those cold, brooding three months hadn't happened.
Ted was thinking about Holly and how it wouldn't be soon before everything changed.
And Mom... She was thinking about how little time she had with the love of her life.
But according to her soulmate theory, the one was only one of two. And here we were, pulling into his driveway.
"This might change our lives forever," Ted remarked.
"Hopefully for the better," I sighed.
"Are you two okay with this?" Mom asked, suddenly skeptical. This was the most spontaneous thing she'd ever done, and now her thoughts were finally catching up to her.
"Yes," Ted and I said simultaneously. We looked at each other and laughed. It was just like the old times.
"Then let's do this," Mom said, looking at each of us in turn through the mirror. Then, she opened her car door and briskly walked up to Holly's front door.
Ted and I followed suit. When Mr. Mills opened the door, the moment seemed film-worthy.
"Liz? What are you doing here?" He asked, a smile forming on his lips almost instinctively.
"Fixing a big mistake," she said, smiling back. She was so confident around him. Mom looked him right in the eye when she said that, and his smile seemed to be growing wider and wider with the passing moments.
"I was hoping you'd make the first move," he laughed, running a hand through his hair nervously.
"Um, excuse me. Sorry," I stuttered, pushing past them into the house. Ted muttered an apology under his breath as well, and we made our way into the living room to find Holly on the couch with a smug smile on her face.
"You did it," she said, starting to laugh. Slowly, Ted began to laugh too.
"This is crazy," he said between laughs.
"It's all happening so fast!" She gasped, grinning.
Maybe it was the nervousness or the awkwardness or just plain excitement, but an unexpected giggle burst out from inside of me.
"We're gonna be a big family," I giggled, hating myself for acting so childish in front of Holly. I couldn't let her have the upperhand.
"We sure are!" She squealed, jumping up from the couch and hugging me. Slowly, I started to process what was happening before me.
Holly. Will's Holly. Will's Holly was hugging me!
And you know the weirdest thing about that day?
I hugged her back. And I sure as hell loved it.
"Hey, let me join in on that!" Ted chuckled, putting his arms around the two of us.
"What's going to happen now?" I asked tentatively.
"Let's find out," Holly said slyly, raising her eyebrows and pointing to the window.
Our parents had moved the conversation to the front lawn- a perfect spot for eavesdropping. The three of us slowly tiptoed towards the open window in the front hall and crouched below it.
"You think this is going to work?" We heard Mr. Mills ask.
"It will if we make it," Mom said, a smile in her voice.
We couldn't hear any talking for a few minutes after that. Then, suddenly, Holly's eyes grew wide.
"Let's get out of here," she said, scrunching up her nose.
My mouth dropped open in realization. I had to pinch myself to keep from laughing out loud.
"Why?" My idiot brother asked. Holly and I both punched his head at the same time, then looked at each other and giggled.
Suddenly, Mom's soulmate theory came rushing back to me.
Because if he'd made the choice already, he wouldn't still look at you like your eyes were made up of glow-in-the-dark stars, Ted had said.
It made sense why Will loved both of us at different times, or possibly even at the same time; we were practically the same person.
As the three of us sat together under that window sill, trying not to overhear our parents' intense make out session, I was finally at peace with Holly, and moreover, with myself.
I was finally free.
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