But while the first portion of running lines felt successful, something is different now. Maybe it’s that my mind is back on my own mom after seeing the easy exchange between Zayne and Mimi. It’s a reminder that Mom can’t be that for me right now. She can’t make snacks for me and my friends on her days off, can’t work at all, even. Can barely get out of bed because she’s in so much pain. Unless she takes the pills that have made her a slave to them.
“You okay?” Zayne frowns at me.
With a start, I realize I missed my line. “Um, yeah.” I pick up my script, looking for where we left off. But all the while, a knot forms in my throat. My eyes blur. And I can’t help it. I miss my mom. I miss her so much.
I take way too long, staring at my rehearsal script, swallowing back my tears. Zayne must catch on at some pointbecause his next words come out softer than usual. “Hey, why don’t we take a break from all this? Have some fun instead?”
My eyes round as they move from the page to Zayne.
He frowns, his gaze darting around my face. “What? What’s wrong?”
“That word you just said.Fun.It sounded so strange coming out of your mouth.”
His expression clears. “Very funny.”
“I wasn’t aware you even knew the meaning.”
Zayne rolls his eyes. “Do you want to take a break from all this, or not?”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
I follow him downstairs, and on our way out, someone rounds the corner. Tall and slender, with an angular face and large brown eyes, she looks a lot like Zayne, but with longer eyelashes and a shaved head.
“Oh. Hi, Mom,” says Zayne. Over his shoulder, he points to me with his thumb. “This is Dot. We were running lines, but we’re going to take a break for a while.”
I extend my hand to her. “Hi, Mrs. Silverman.”
His mom grins at me. “Hi, Dot.” She reaches out and shakes my hand. “You can call me Gwen. Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” I smile back.
“Alright,” Zayne cuts in. “We’ll be back soon.”
“This is the coolest pumpkin patch I’ve ever seen,” I tell Zayne. “In fact, this may be the king of all pumpkin patches.”
He nods. “It really is.”
I park and shut off my GPS now that we’ve reached the destination Zayne typed into my phone. We get out of the car.
I gaze in awe at the corn-maze as tall as a building. The flashing Ferris wheel, the hot apple-cider stand. The pumpkins of various shapes and sizes. Funny, misshapen pumpkins in shades of not only orange, but green, white, and yellow. A group of children laughs as they launch small pumpkins at a target with a sling. A mom leads her toddler into a petting zoo with goats, sheep, and donkeys.
Beau would love this place.
Zayne buys us wristbands at the entrance, and I beam. “What do we do first?”
He nods toward the hot apple cider stand. “We get a hot drink, of course.” Pulling me forward by the hand, he leads me toward the stand. He orders us each a drink and I glance at the spot where his hand touched mine. He probably meant it as a friendly gesture, but I can’t help but stare at my skin like he burned it. Like by touching my hand, he marked me as his friend somehow.
He hands me the cider in a to-go mug, oblivious to my whirling thoughts. “This cider is the best money can buy.” His voice is serious, like he’s warning me about the dangers of sky-diving. “Not even Mimi can make it better.”
“Hurry up, then. Give me the cup, Silverman.” I take it gingerly. And as soon as the warm contents meet my lips, I realize he’s right. My senses cling to the undertone of spices, the creamy foam sitting on top, the sweetness balanced with the most minute tang. I lower the cup from my lips. “Ah.”
Zayne’s lips quirk into a crooked smile. “Told you.” He motions toward the petting zoo with his cup. “Shall we?”
“Actually, I want to launch a pumpkin at that scarecrow target,” I say. “Work out some aggression.”
He laughs. “What aggression?”
“Oh, you know.” I shrug as we make our way across the pumpkin patch toward the launching area and get in line. “LittleBirdie constantly lying about me. Getting roped into playing the lead for a play at a new school. Hanging out withyou.”
