Important:
In this chapter, there is a very brief mention of being depressed though it is not said directly. The things mentioned are not at all meant to describe everyone who has experienced this. The thoughts or things mentioned are only from my point of view or thoughts which have then been edited to fit the characters and the situation. This is a fiction story and though the setting and world are fictional, the issues are very much real, please know that it is not my intention to disregard the importance or impact that these may have on a person. That being said, if you feel as if that is what is coming across or feel as though I did not describe it in the best possible way, please feel free to contact me.
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As I walk home, I curse myself for not wearing capris or shorts as the early summer sun beats down on my shoulders. It must be at least 80 degrees under the sun directly, and it's only the second week of May. From what I've heard around the city, Valmont follows the same seasons and temperatures that would be normal for this area. However, in some of the more dangerous temperatures and weather conditions, there are detectors or something super high-tech to help control the city. We are the most advanced society, so it would only make sense if we could control the weather and everything else.
I arrive home to find the house empty and a note from mom saying she will be busy at the hospital until later tonight. Andrew is still gone, so he is more than likely with Ruby either at the library or her house, and he probably won't be back until later tonight as well. I text dad and see if he is still planning on being home on time, to which he answers with an enthusiastic yes. He works at the police department, and even though crime is little to none, he can get stuck on calls pretty often. I go up to my room for a bit, and I end up falling asleep for about an hour, only waking up when my phone rings with a call from dad saying he should be home in ten minutes once he finishes a last-minute report. I hang up and head downstairs, looking in the fridge and the cabinets for something quick to make for supper. I find some spaghetti and a jar of sauce in the pantry and a small thing of hamburger in the fridge. I put the pasta on and start cooking the meat.
I'm straining the extra grease out of the hamburger when dad walks in, sticking some ice cream sandwiches in the freezer and stealing a piece of hamburger out of the pan, consequently burning his mouth.
"Hurry and go change, it's ready anyway," I laugh.
"Yes, sir," he salutes as he heads to their room.
I finish mixing it and put some on plates for both of us, placing it on the table and getting him a glass of tea and one of lemonade for myself. I sit down just as he comes back out, grabbing the bread and butter out of the kitchen and sitting down.
"Mom left a note saying that she was staying at the hospital for a couple of hours, and Andrew is with Ruby until who knows when."
"What about you? You didn't hang out with Mia today?" he asks, shoving more food in his mouth.
"Nah, I wasn't feeling well today, so I just decided to come home."
"Oh, feeling ok now?
"Yeah, I guess, I took a nap when I got home, but I could be better."
"What is it?" he asks, starting to shovel food into his mouth, then stops with the fork halfway to his mouth and looks at me with sadness, guilt, and understanding swirling in his eyes, and the sadness starts to register on his face as well.
"Oh wait, between Andrew and Ruby and Mia and Skylar, is that..." he starts, leaving the question open-ended just in case he's wrong, though he isn't.
"Yeah, I guess. Plus, there was the waitress at lunch on Sunday and the two guys Friday night," I say, picking at my food.
I look at him and can tell he is uncomfortable. When I get into these ruts, my family knows what's going on, but I normally handle them by myself, and they just let me be.
"What was it like when you met mom?" I ask, finally breaking the silence.
"We had both just turned 25. I had to go to the hospital because I hurt my hand while helping Grandfather repair the deck, and the cut was so deep that I needed stitches. We were so busy with the deck, I hadn't even looked at my Counter, so I didn't realize that I would meet her until I was sitting in the room. She walked in; I heard her from down the hall first before I saw her. The chime and the Spark came a little after," he says, eyes glazing over as he becomes lost in his memories and a small smile forms on his mouth, "We were both in shock at the situation all while my hand was bleeding, but that and everything else just became insignificant at the moment."
"What about after that?"
"Well, after we came out of our trance, she started to panic because the wound had started to bleed again. She eventually was able to help stitch it up, and I gave her my number; she would say that it was on my chart, but I could argue that. I was about to ask her out to dinner that night, but some guy had an allergic reaction and took her away before I got the chance. Eventually, I found an opportunity and the rest is history. We did the typical dating thing for about a year before I proposed, got married a year later, then we became pregnant with you soon after," he says, smiling at me, ending the story there.
"Did you ever lose hope or start to? You didn't meet until later than others and given Grandmother's history..."
"I did have moments of doubt, but because of her history, those moments didn't last very long. Yes, we did meet kind of late, but some people don't get the chance to meet until much later in life. In retrospect, those who meet earlier are extremely lucky. Those who meet later appreciate the time they have more because there might not be much of it left," he replies, looking at me. A small amount of sadness is still in his eyes but it's now hidden behind the love and happiness he felt from remembering his and mom's first meeting.
We continue to eat in silence with an inside joke every once in a while, but the mood was somber now. I clean up the table and start putting away the leftovers as mom walks in the door. She comes into the kitchen, wraps me in a hug, steals a piece of hamburger out of the pan exactly like dad, then heads to their room to change. She comes back out, scoops a helping onto a plate, heats it, and scarfs it down in a matter of minutes. I rinse the other dishes, stick them in the dishwasher, and then head upstairs to work on my essay.
I stay up there working until I hear Andrew come home. I head to his room to ask him about something but stop short when I see mom and dad dancing on their own in the living room. I sit on the stairs and watch them, partially hidden behind the staircase. Dad whispers something to her, and the smile on her face grows a little wider, as does his. I lean my head against the wall and just sit there, watching them dance. We must have stayed in the same places for like 20 minutes before mom sees the time, gives dad a deep kiss, and smiles at him before heading to bed.
I make my way back to my room, abandoning the question I was going to ask Andrew, and head to bed instead. I shut off my lights, my alarm clock now guiding me across the room, showing that it's 10:25. I lay down and stare at my wrist, the Counter still ticking, showing 456 days 10 hours 39 minutes. I keep watching it, and I swear the more I watch it, the longer it takes to change. It must have just been my imagination because I fall asleep right as the minute ticks down on my wrist and ticks up on my clock, one a few seconds after the other.
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