“It is none of my business. Thomas is a wonderful boy. I am so happy you
found such a good friend.”
With her acceptance, our relationship only grew stronger. Weeks passed, and Thomas became a fixture in our lives. He would come home with me after school and eat dinner with us. He was an instant family member… the brother I
would never have.
One evening, as Thomas was leaving, my mother stopped him. “I would like
you to come over for breakfast tomorrow.”
“Of course, Mrs. Chase. Seven o’clock early enough?” Thomas asked.
“Sleep in and join us at eight. It is the weekend, dear.”
Thomas raised his eyebrows in question? I shrugged and mouthed, “No
idea.”
The door closed. “Why is he coming to breakfast?” I questioned.
“I want to talk to him about the situation.” I was surprised my ostrich-of-a-
mother wanted to talk about an issue, instead of burying her head in the sand.
The next morning, Thomas arrived for breakfast and found a Hillary Chase
feast.
“Caitlyn, why don’t you take your plate to your room or the patio,” my mother suggested.
“But,” I began to argue.
Thomas grinned. “I think that is a great idea, Mrs. Chase—”
“Hillary,” my mother corrected.
Thomas made a shooing motion at me. “Hill and I have so much to learn about each other.” Then, he linked his arm with her and winked.
My mother blushed like a schoolgirl at his affectionate behavior.
I began to choke on the sip of orange juice I had taken.
“Maybe the patio would be a better choice, so we can watch you,” my
mother said with a serious tone.
They exchanged a look and burst into laughter. Through the window, I
watched the two of them eat and talk. From that day on, Thomas was the son my
mother never had, and she was the mother he always wanted. The amazing thing
about Thomas was that he kept the two relationships separate. He never broke my mother’s confidences and promised mine were just as sacred.
The downside of their bond was now I had two people worried about my social life. Both my mother and Thomas constantly prodded me with questions
about why I wasn’t dating. How could I explain to them that I was so content in
my new world that I had no interest in dating? Besides, I always made excuses
when I was asked out, so the boys eventually gave up on me.
The day before Christmas break, I had been in a hurry to get home and had
forgotten the novel I had just started. Not wanting to leave the magical world behind, I threw everything into my car but rushed towards the school.
“Wrong way, Cat,” Thomas scolded.
“I need to grab something from my locker,” I called.
Distracted, I hadn’t noticed the red ribbon hanging from the vent. It wasn’t until I flung the door open and a red envelope swung at me that I noticed.
Someone had slipped the present into my cabinet. The handwriting on the front
was unfamiliar.
“What is taking you so long?” Thomas huffed. When he saw what was in my
