“I was going to talk to you about it soon.” Corbin cupped Justin’s cheek and used his thumb to wipe away the tears. “I put it off because I didn’t want to worry you, but like I said, that was the wrong thing to do. You and I made a deal to talk things out, right?”
Justin nodded.
“So that’s what I should have done, and I promise, I’m going to do better.”
Justin nodded. “Me, too.”
“And me,” Ivey offered, and got a slight smile from both of them.
“Your mom was in the hospital because of all the pills she’d taken. It made her really sick. She wanted to get well, and I tried to help her, but it’s not easy for an addict to stop doing what is making them sick.”
Justin’s expression was tight, wary. “That’s why she died?”
“Yes. But when I saw her, she told me how much she loved you. She said she wanted to get well, and she wanted to see you again.”
Mouth pinched, his voice very small, Justin whispered, “I didn’t want to see her.”
Ivey thought there was a big difference in Justin not wanting to see his mother as she’d been, and wanting to see her as someone who loved him. Unfortunately, the latter had never happened...and now it never would.
“It would have been your decision,” Corbin said. “But if you’d changed your mind, I wanted to help your mother to get well. Understand me, son. Only so you could visit her if you’d wanted to. I wasn’t going to let her see you without me, and I was never going to let her take you away. This is your home, and this is where we’ll be together.”
He seemed to be weighing the words, maybe trying to understand them since the concept was difficult for a child to grasp. His gaze slanted over to Ivey. “Will you be here, too?”
Overwhelmed, Ivey nodded. “I know I’m not your mother, Justin, but I love you. You’re important to me. In my heart, where it matters most, you are always going to be my son.”
He reached out to her, and she gladly embraced him. “So,” he said, sniffling again, thinking it through. He kept his face tucked close to her throat. “You’ll be like my mom now?”
She flicked a glance at Corbin, he smiled at her, and she positively melted. “Nothing in the whole world would make me happier than being your mom.”
“Okay,” he said, with a child’s simplicity.
Lang poked his head over the top of the ladder. “Hey,” he said, glancing warily at everyone.
“Come on up,” Corbin invited. “We were just working out a few things.”
Hastily, moving off of Ivey’s lap, Justin wiped his eyes and his nose.
Good old Uncle Lang produced a few tissues that he passed around to everyone, then he made a big show of dabbing at his own eyes. “Emotional night, huh?” He plopped down next to Justin, pretended to blow his nose, then let out a long sigh. “Is this where we go to cry? Because I need a place, you know.”
Justin laughed. “You don’t cry.”
“Who says?” It was Lang’s turn to snag Justin to his lap. “Anyone who is upset is allowed to cry.”
“Only if it’s something really, really bad,” Justin decreed. Then he whispered, “Or if you’re Ivey.”
Ivey choked on her laugh. “Just so you know, not all girls cry as much as I do. I just happen to be a very emotive person.”
“I guess sometimes I’m ’motive, too,” Justin decided. He narrowed his eyes. “But I’m not gonna cry much.”
Smiling, Ivey said, “I’ll probably cry enough for both of us.”
They all sat in companionable silence until Justin whispered, “I might miss Mom some.”
Corbin clasped his shoulder. “You know what we could do? Your mom gave me a box of your stuff. Pics of you when you were a little squirt, a few things you’d drawn over the years. You want to go inside and we can go through everything together?”
Boggled by the idea that his mother had anything of his, Justin asked, “For real?”
“Let’s do it,” Lang said. “Anyone else in the mood for a little popcorn?”
“You could invite Hope over,” Justin suggested. “She’d like to see my pictures, I bet.”
Corbin smiled. “I’m sure she would.” So would his mother, when she found out what had happened. He wouldn’t call her tonight, but he’d take care of it first thing tomorrow. That would give Justin another chance to talk it out even more, to show the things Darcie had saved...and to feel loved.
“Consider it done.” Lang moved Justin to his side and headed out. “I’ll go get her, then I’ll start on the popcorn. And maybe I’ll make some milkshakes, too.”
Justin followed him to the doorway, saying, “I want chocolate.”
The resilience of children, Ivey thought. “I love you, Justin.”
“Love you, too,” he replied, still looking out the door, no doubt watching Lang cross the yard. “Can we let the dogs and Maurice back out since I’m not going to bed yet?”
“Sure,” Corbin said, and Ivey heard the relief in his voice. He leaned close to her ear. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.” He nodded at Justin. “With us.”
“Me, too.”
It would be all right. The worst had happened, and they’d get through it. Together.
Epilogue
Justin looked amazingly handsome in his suit—and he knew it. He strutted around, sometimes with his hands in his pockets, sometimes with his thumbs in his belt loops, continually with a smile on his face. He especially liked his boutonniere.
Every few minutes, Vesta caught him for a hug.
The wedding ceremony had been put off by more than two months, first so that they could hold a service for Justin’s mother. Darcie had a nice headstone in the local cemetery, because that’s how Corbin wanted it. If, or maybe when, Justin wanted to visit her there, he could.
Corbin had discovered that Darcie’s mother passed away long ago, and her father had relocated, never to be heard from again. His own family had attended the service, and Ivey knew they were there for Justin.
Justin seemed to know it, too.
After that, they’d celebrated his birthday with a small party at the beach. He’d met new friends that he’d get to know even better with school starting up soon. The collection of monster paraphernalia had been enormously popular with all the children, especially Justin. He’d decided to start his own collection, so part of the basement was set up with display shelves.