“I told you!” She instantly looked at me. “I told you that your dad was the only Met my dad liked.”
“You did tell me that,” I agreed, feeling a weird mixture of emotion and pride welling up inside of me.
“He really is a big fan of yours,” she said, and my dad kept smiling. “Even still.”
“We’ll have to take some selfies and send them to him.”
Jacey snorted, and I’d forgotten that she was there. “Dad, you sound so dumb when you say selfie.”
“Why? That’s what they’re called, right? Your mom and I take selfies all the time.”
“Stop!” Jacey pleaded as she covered her ears before yelling out loud, “I refuse to listen to this. I’ll be back.” She dismissed herself and left the kitchen.
“Can I ask how you knew my parents?” Danika’s voice was softer than usual, and the energy in the kitchen completely morphed into something I couldn’t quite name.
My mom cleared her throat. “When we lived in New York, I used to work for a magazine, and we did feature spreads on the local entrepreneurs and their businesses. I’m pretty sure we featured your dad for his up-and-coming real estate company.”
Danika nodded, like she knew exactly what my mom was referring to. “Did you write the article?”
“No, no. I took the pictures. I’m a photographer.”
“Was my mom there that day?”
“She was.”
“This is crazy, but did you take pictures of them together? Do you remember?” Danika’s face was intense.
“I think I did. I remember your mom was staring out the window, and I think I took a couple of candid shots of her. She was so beautiful, and the light was so perfect.”
“Oh my God. My dad has a framed picture of her alone and another one of them together from that day in his office at home. I never knew where they had come from, never even asked, but I think they came from you.” Danika’s voice broke and took a piece of my heart with it.
What are the odds that this girl would be connected to my family in this way? Hell, in any way? It was like a Christmas gift, and it was nowhere near December.
“This is incredible. Who would have ever thought?” My mom shook her head as she moved back toward the dish she had been working on and made my dad stop picking at it.
“Do you guys still have your place there? In New York?” Danika asked.
My dad answered, “We do. It’s in Sutton Place. We could never give it up. Too many memories.”
He looked back at my mom, and she practically melted on the kitchen floor.
“And plus, I love that apartment,” my mom added, clearly lost in memories.
“I forgot to warn you that my parents are super gross and in love,” I groaned.
“Figured that one out all on my own, Hotshot, but thanks.”
“Do you miss New York?” Jacey’s voice asked.
I hadn’t even heard her come back into the kitchen. Or knowing her supersonic hearing, which I’d also forgotten to warn Danika about, she’d probably overheard everything from a mile away.
“I do. But I know I’ll be back there after graduation,” she said, and my heart felt like it had been dropkicked.
Danika had her whole life planned out after she graduated. She was going to move back home. Most likely with her stupid boyfriend, Jared. A boyfriend who didn’t know where she was right now.
“I’ve only been there a few times, but I really like it there. It’s so cool.” My little sister sounded wistful.
Danika agreed, “It is cool. There’s nothing else like it. Just like there’s nothing else like Southern California. I love it here, but it’s completely different from the city.”
“I think I’d like to live there,” Jacey announced with certainty, and I choked, hitting my chest with my hand.
“Oh yeah?” I asked my little sister.
“Maybe I’ll just go to college there. What do you think, Mom?”
My mom looked at her, no concern or worry in her expression at all. “We’ll see how you feel when the time comes. You might change your mind.”
“Why do you want to leave me, Jacey Bear? New York is so far away,” my dad whined, and I coughed out an insult.
“Oh, Dad. Don’t be so dramatic.” Jacey rolled her eyes.
Danika glanced up at me, her eyes filled with emotion. It took all my willpower not to wrap her in my arms and hold on for dear life.
When Pasts Collide
Danika
Chance’s parents had known my mom. My eyes welled up at this revelation, this unbelievable twist of fate.
How in the world could something like this even happen? How random.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t random at all. Maybe every piece of my life had fallen together in this way because that was exactly what it was supposed to do. I was meant to come to Fullton State so that I could meet Chance and his parents. Because they had known my mom when she was alive. It was overwhelming. I was overwhelmed.
“Danika? Can I borrow you for a second?” Cassie asked.
I stood up from the chair I’d been sitting in and nodded. She reached for my hand. It was a simple gesture, motherly really, and I relished in it as I let her guide me down a long hallway. I noticed various jars filled with what looked like quarters all over the house before we walked into an office that I assumed was Cassie’s. There were even more jars with quarters on the shelves and one sitting on top of the desk. Only once we were inside the office did she let go of my hand.
Cassie Carter made me miss my mom even more, just by existing.
The room was well lit, but there were additional art lights hanging above framed black-and-white photographs, spotlighting each one along the walls. They were spectacular.
“Did you take all these?” I asked as she sat down at the desk and started frantically working at the mouse and keyboard.
“I did.”
“They’re really stunning,” I said because they were.
The majority were landscapes of places I didn’t recognize, but the ones that included people were heartbreaking, showcasing genuine emotion after what looked like some sort of loss. It was written all over their faces, and Cassie had captured it beautifully. Her pictures made you ache when you looked at them.
“Thank you. I have something to show you,” she said as she waved me over.
I walked around, peered over her shoulder to the oversize monitor, and gasped. There, alive and in color, were pictures of my mother and my father together.
“Oh my God,” I said before reaching out and touching the screen, my fingers resting on my mom’s face. “I’m sorry,” I said as I quickly pulled my hand back.
“It’s okay,” Cassie said, the warmth in her voice comforting. “I always keep copies of the pictures I shoot. Even the ones I did for the magazine. I wasn’t sure if I could still find these so easily or not, but they were right where I thought they’d be on that external hard drive,” she said, pointing to a bright red box that sounded like it was going to crap out at any moment.
“There are so many,” I exhaled, still mesmerized as I stared at the screen, willing the pictures to come to life.
My parents looked so happy and so in love.