Jax crossed her arms as well. “That’s because we don’t do that anymore.” She nodded toward my closed bedroom door. “Let me guess. If we went in there right now, we would find your outfits for the week laid out on your bed.”
“Ha! Nope.” I lowered my voice before adding, “They’re hanging in my closet.”
Jax laughed heartily, but it didn’t feel like she was laughing at me, but rather, with me. I laughed along with her before slapping her back. “Should we head out?”
Even with getting stuck in traffic trying to leave New York, the drive still went by quickly. No matter how much I tried not to, I found myself constantly sneaking peeks at Jax and Speck in the passenger seat of my car. It was a much better view than I wanted to admit and had my heart constantly skipping a beat.
As soon as we pulled onto the driveway of my parents’ house, the front door flew open, and both of my moms ran out with their arms outstretched as if they were each desperate for a hug.
Jax pointed at them and chuckled. “See. This is why I love your moms so much. They’re the best ever. I hope I can be like them someday.”
Before I could answer, Jax took off her seatbelt and jumped out of the car with Speck still in her arms. She reached my mama first and the two of them hugged, squishing Speck in between them. When they pulled apart, Jax spoke animatedly, and my mama took Speck from her and laughed as he kissed her incessantly.
The scene pulled me in, and I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away until there was a knock on my window. I turned to see my mom standing outside of my car and opened the door for her.
“I better get as big of a hug as Jax gave your mama,” she joked as I took off my seatbelt.
I got out of the car and pulled my mom tight up against me. It had been over two months since I saw my moms, but two months felt like years. I rested my head against my mom’s shoulder and didn’t pull away until there was a tap on my own shoulder.
I found my mama standing there with her arms now outstretched toward me. “Where’s my hug?”
“Right here.” I grabbed my mama and held her just as tightly as I had held my mom. “I really missed you.”
“Aw, sweetie. We missed you too.” My mama gave me an extra squeeze before pulling away. She kept her hands on my arms and stayed like this for a few seconds. “I swear you’ve gotten taller since the last time I saw you. Did you get taller? Or maybe just more mature? Are you growing?”
I snorted out a laugh from my mama’s questions. “I’m twenty-eight. I don’t think I’m having any growth spurts at this point.” Ididfeel like I had grown as a person, but I wasn’t going to get into that while standing in my parents’ driveway.
My mama chuckled and dropped her hands. “Maybe it’s because you’re a mother now.”
I looked over to where my mom was now meeting Speck. She and Jax were laughing together as he twirled in circles at their feet as if he couldn’t decide who to focus his attention on. “He’s a good dog.”
My mom watched them with me. “He reminds me of Patch. Well, in looks at least. I wouldn’t have exactly ever called Patch agood dog. We loved that little asshole though. Did I ever tell you about the time he ate our wedding invitations? We had to invite everyone through a Facebook event.”
“No!” My moms had told us so many stories about their relationship, I was surprised I had never heard that one.
My mom put an arm around my shoulder. “Oh yeah. I’ll tell you about it later, but first, I want to hear everything about your new job.”
We spent the next hour talking to my moms about work, life in New York, and Speck. My mom shared her own stories of all the years she lived in New York with my Uncle Jamie, and my mama talked about the first pediatric optometry practice she owned, which was also in New York City.
When Olivia and Quinton arrived much later than expected, we finally had dinner. Watching Olivia and Jax interact during dinner reminded me why the feelings I thought I might be feeling could never go beyond a fleeting thought. It might have worked out okay (well, much better than just okay) for my moms, but dating a sibling’s best friend was a slippery slope. Not that it mattered anyway, since Jax would never in a million years see me that way. It didn’t matter how manyexcitinglist items I completed. I would never be on her level.
After dinner, we went with Olivia and Quinton back to their house. The place they were renting was a cute little townhouse in the Spring Garden area of Philadelphia. It was solate by the time we arrived, we all headed to bed pretty quickly. After arguing over it, I finally gave in and took the guest room and Jax slept on the pull out couch.
The next morning, Quinton made us breakfast. After eating, Jax and I changed into the white T-Shirts and shorts we had picked out for the run. It probably wasn’t the best outfit for early October, but it was at least an unseasonably warm day for this time of year. Luckily, the race start was just over a twenty-minute walk from Olivia and Quinton’s apartment, so we wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone who was willing to drive us home after we were covered with colors.
“Ready to go?” Jax asked when we met at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hold on,” Olivia said from behind me. “I need to get a picture of you two. You look so cute in your matching outfits.”
“Okay, Mom,” I teased. Our mom had been obsessed with taking pictures of even the smallest occasions. She actually still was, so I already figured she’d probably end up taking one of the three of us at the cookout the next day.
After Olivia took our picture, Jax and I headed out. By the time we arrived at the race area, it was already crowded with people. We signed in and were given our bib numbers and race packet. “You two are in group three,” the man said as he handed the packets to us. “Each group starts ten minutes apart, which means your race will start in about thirty-five minutes. There are five groups so if you happen to miss your start, you can sneak in with the next group, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
When it was time for the first group to go, a man stood between two large speakers on the bottom step of the Philadelphia Art Museum. He spoke loudly into a microphone and gave us directions. “I’d like to start by reminding you all that this race is just for fun, and we are all winners. If you want to time yourself, go for it, but we will not be timing you. Thisis a five-kilometer run and at every kilometer mark, you will be doused with non-toxic color powder. By the end of the run, you will be a rainbow of colors. Since there are so many of you, we have separated you into five groups. Make sure to start with your assigned group so the run doesn’t become too congested. After you cross the finish line, be sure to stick around. There are lots of fun, colorful activities waiting for you. Now, group one: get to that start line.”
I was worried about what we would do for the twenty minutes while we were waiting for our turn to go, but as usual, Jax made the time pass by in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, we were being told to start.
“Run, walk, or jog?” Jax asked before moving.
