“I wanted it to be a surprise.” If I expected her to hurtle herself into my arms and declare some undying feelings nonsense, she doesn’t. She’s more reserved but still shocked. Her eyes are as warm and sparkly as the hot sun overhead, though, which is more than enough.
I duck down and grab the white paper bag from the passenger seat. It has a big, black bakery logo scrawled across the front. I hold it out. “This is for you.”
“What is it?”
“Well, not a viper or anything. I don’t think they could have packed a snake that size into a bag this small.”
Becki rolls her eyes. “I know it’s not a snake. Why would it be a snake?”
“It’s fudge,” I say as I gently shake the bag. “And chocolate chip cookies. Do you know how hard it is to find vegan fudge and cookies?”
“Yeah, I do know.”
“This bakery in Topeka is completely vegan. You should stop in on your next trip.”
“That would be dangerous.”
“Mhmm, dangerous and delicious.”
I pass over the bag when Becki finally steps forward. She walks like she doesn’t actually believe I’m here right now. Like I’ve sent a doppelganger, or maybe this is one of those got you on camera moments that is technically a trick. She unravels the bag and looks inside.
“Oh yum.” She sticks her face in and inhales. “Oh my god, yum!” Her eyes are shining when she looks back up, and damn it, I’d freaking start up my own bakery with special items just for her—no matter what it costs—if it would make her this happy.
Becki drops the bag back to her side. “Are you…how are…how are things?”
I called Becki a few times when I was in New York, just to give her updates. Like when I got there, when my mom woke up, and when she was discharged from the hospital because she was doing so well, just three days after she was admitted. I promised her another update, but then I wanted to surprise her, so I haven’t given it to her yet.
“Mom’s going to be okay. She had a change of heart, literally, and it seems like she might be glad to stick around home and have my dad there. I never understood why my dad couldn’t give up on her, but now I kind of get it. You can’t help who you love, and my dad is incredibly loyal. He always held out hope that one day she’d change her mind and want to let him in.”
“Wow, that took a seriously long time.”
“Decades. But to see them now, you’d think they spent all that time loving each other. We had a talk too—Mom and me. I think everything’s going to be okay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
Becki smiles at me shyly. “After you left, I wrote a letter to my grandparents, and I mailed it. I didn’t think I’d hear back, but then I got a call a few days later. They were both on the line, and they kept passing the phone back and forth. They cried, I cried, and you were right. All these years, they’ve wanted to reach out, but they didn’t know how to. I extended the line of communication, and once they knew I was willing to move forward, they called immediately. My grandparents haven’t talked to my parents yet, but I told them I’d go and have dinner with my parents and soften them up, let them know I’m talking to my grandparents and had heard what they wanted to say. I’ll leave it up to them after that.”
“Are you…you really did? Wow, I can’t believe that. That’s…that’s amazing!”
Becki looks around me before her eyes land on the car. “That’s not a rental. It’s not new at all.”
“No. I bought something, figured it just made sense. Six months is too long to be throwing money away on a rental.”
“But you don’t have a driver’s license here. How did you plate it?”
I break into a grin. “That’s the thing. I submitted the paperwork when I was in New York and paid their expedited fee. I had the lawyer’s office fax the paperwork proving I’m going to be living here for the next six months. I picked up my new Kansas driver’s license yesterday before I got the car.”
“So you just flew in, picked up your license, and went out and bought a car?”
“I actually bought it ahead of time. I searched for it online and contacted the guy. He had the bill of sale ready when I got there. He seemed like a good guy, but I did test drive the car first. I didn’t let him take me or anything.”
The gravel dust must have settled down because now Becki’s lips do part. “I…so you’re really here. For six months.”
“Or longer. Whatever we decide when the time comes.”
“You haven’t changed your mind then?” Becki’s voice wavers a little.