“I won’t. We can hang out in the living room and watch TV. I have the DVDs ofFriends.”
“I’ve never seen that show,” she admitted.
What was with Shay’s family and not seeing great entertainment?
“Well, today’s your lucky day. Come on.”
We sat in the living room all day watching episode after episode ofFriends. Every now and then Maria would laugh at the show, but most of the time she shook her head and grumbled “¡Dios mío!” with annoyance at the characters.
She didn’t even make us eat at the dining room table for dinner. We ate the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and one too many cookies with ice cream on the coffee table as we watched.
“You’re a lot like that Joey character,” Maria remarked, nodding toward the screen. “A dorky, handsome guy.”
I snickered and raised an eyebrow, giving her a slight nod. “How you doin’?” I quoted.
Of course, Maria didn’t pick up on Joey’s infamous line, and she shrugged her shoulders. “I’m doing fine, but this show is awful.”
That made me laugh even more.
I’d never had a grandmother figure, but I figured this was what it would feel like if I did. It would be a collection ofrandom moments that added up to big things, big memories. That was what Maria had been to me over the past several years. She’d been these small moments that built up into something important to me. There weren’t many important things in my life, but she was one of them.
Top five at least.
Her granddaughter was climbing her way up that ladder, too.
After the night ended, Maria collected her things and headed to the front door. “Thank you for tonight, Landon. I know you may not know this, but I needed today. I needed a day off.”
“I’m glad I could help.” I brushed my hand through my hair before stuffing my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Hey, Maria?”
“Yes?”
“How’s your heart today?”
She gave me a small smile and her eyes watered over, and to my surprise, a small tear danced down her cheek. “Still beating.”
I hugged her without asking permission, because Maria wasn’t the type of person who needed a warning that a hug was coming her way. She simply always hugged back.
Later that night, I got a text message from my mom that dug a knife through my still-beating heart.
Mom:Hey, Landon. I’m so sorry, but I just had to sign on for a stylist gig that is taking place the week of your birthday. I won’t be home to celebrate with you, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.
She wouldn’t be home for my birthday.
The hardest day of my life.
I didn’t reply back.
* * *
On Monday, it was apparent that Monica and Reggie were a new pairing, which was odd because I was pretty sure Tracey and he had just ended their fling like, forty-eight hours ago. A lot could change over a weekend with teenagers. The hormones moved so fast, and it was hard to keep up with who was loving who each week. Monica made sure to have herself wrapped all around Reggie, and every chance she got, she’d flash me a wicked smirk that read,Jealous?
Not really, Mon.
Every time I saw her, she looked worse. I wanted to check in on her, wanted to make sure she was eating and at least trying to sleep, but as time moved on, I realized I wasn’t the person she wanted me to be. Therefore, it was probably best to keep my distance.
Still, it rubbed me the wrong way, seeing her with Reggie. It turned out that asshole wasn’t worthy of any girl’s time. Including Monica’s.
When I walked up to meet Greyson by his locker, I was shocked to see he had a slight black eye.