Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33434 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“Congratulations, sweetie,” his mom, Shelia, says, drawing me into a hug.
“You kept this one out of trouble this year. We thank you for that.” His dad, Danny, chuckles. He’s teasing, and we all know it. He takes his turn, hugging me before Stanley pulls me into his arms while our parents say hello.
“Now that we got that out of the way, we can start the next step,” Stanley says, his voice low and only for me.
I turn to glance at him over my shoulder. “What’s the next step?” I keep my voice barely above a whisper.
“We need to make you a Riggins.” He winks, and I swear that action is tied to the flutter of my heart in some way.
“Let’s figure out what we’re going to do for careers, and then we can talk about changing names and all that.” I don’t know how I keep my voice even when there’s a party of butterflies dancing inside my belly. I know we’re young, but I’ve never been more certain than I am of the love I have for Stanley.
“That’s not a no, baby.” He’s watching me, gauging my reaction.
“It’s not a no,” I agree. He grins.
With a nod from our parents, we make our way outside and head to Stanley’s house. Neither Stanley nor I wanted a graduation party. Me, because I don’t have family to invite, and him, well, honestly, I think it’s because I’m not having one, but his parents were fine with the idea and insisted they host me and my mom for lunch.
“He only has eyes for you,” Mom says. We’re following Stanley and his parents to their place.
“He’s a good guy.” I don’t know what else to say. Mom and I are close, but I’ve kept Stanley’s talk of magic and how he told me on day one that I was his to myself. I’m aware that it sounded crazy as hell, and I didn’t want her to worry about me more than she already was.
“His parents are nice as well.”
“Yeah,” I agree. Then I decide to bring up what I feel in my heart is true. “Sometimes, I think that Dad sent him to me. He knew I needed support outside of my mom for my senior year at a new school. He knew that I needed someone to heal my broken heart.” I let the words hang, staring out the window, afraid of how Mom will react. I don’t want to upset her before we get to the Riggins’s house, but I’ve also been holding this in, and I’m curious about what she thinks.
“Your father was a good man, Lena. The best I’ve ever known. He was my best friend and the love of my life, and he loved you just as fiercely. I have no doubt that if he were able, he would have sent Stanley to you.” Her voice cracks, and she clears her throat.
“Dad would have liked him.”
“He would have loved him for you.”
“Yeah? How do you know?” I love that we still talk about him, keeping his memory alive.
“Because Stanley looks at you the way your father used to look at me.”
I let her words take root in my mind. Closing my eyes, I can see my parents in the kitchen making dinner after work. Dad would sing and dance and make every excuse in the book to touch my mom in some way. I smile as tears well in my eyes. I miss him so damn much.
“I love him.” I blurt the words out. I’ve never said those words to my mom about Stanley. She’s never asked, and well, I’ve just been keeping them to myself.
“I know you do.”
“You and Dad were young too, right?”
“We were. We met the summer after high school graduation.”
“I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I don’t know what career path I want to choose, but I do know that I’d really, really like for him to be by my side for whatever it is.” Another honest truth that I’ve yet to speak out loud. I turn to watch her, seeing how she’s aged since we lost Dad.
“Love is tough. It’s a lot of hard work and compromise. Never take a single day with him for granted.” She glances over at me. “Treat your relationship like the magical gift that it is, and you two will be just fine.”
“Magical,” I repeat. My heart flips in my chest. Stanley Riggins and his magic have changed my life.
“Definitely.”
“I love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, Lena.”
We pull into the driveway, and I make a mental note to tell Stanley about our conversation later. Maybe there's something to his theory about the magic of love after all.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Stanley
Age Twenty, Community College Graduation
We did it. Lena and I both graduated with our associate’s degrees. Mine is in business management, while hers is in accounting. Over the last year, we’ve talked a lot about what’s next. Neither one of us really wanted to further our education to get our bachelor’s degrees. We’re both currently working in jobs we love and utilizing our education.