When Summer Ends

A Repaired Relationship

"Hey, mom." I say with a smile. My mother sits on the couch, happily playing tug of war with Harvey.

"Aspen! It's so good to see you." She stands, pulling me into a hug.

"You too, mom."

"I think I woke the two of you up, I'm sorry about that! Did you have a late night?"

"Yeah. I also had a long week and a lot of work, so we crashed after watching a show."

And after some other activities... I add to myself.

"I know I always told you to stay busy and work hard to save money, but I don't want you to spread yourself too thin, honey."

"I know. And I'm not, don't worry. Ry won't let me work too hard." I say with a smile.

"So you two are good, then?" My mother asks. I don't hear any pain or disappointment in her voice, only love and genuine curiosity.

"We are. Really good. Despite school and work, we still have plenty of time to spend together. And Harvey is only alone for a couple of hours every other day or so. It works out perfectly."

"Oh, that is so good to hear. I am so glad Rylie was able to move here when Cassie left. She seems so good for you."

"She really is, mom."

"False. Aspen is the one who is good for me." Rylie says, walking out of our bedroom to join us.

"Ah! Rylie. Come give me a hug now that you're all the way awake." My mom says with a big smile.

When I said that things with my mom had improved a lot, I meant a lot. Over the past months, she had come out to visit at least every other week. During that time, she'd gotten to know Rylie, and had truly grown to love her.

That had truly surprised me. I knew my mom wanted a relationship with me, but I couldn't have predicted what ended up happening.

"Rylie, I know you have your internship today, but please tell me you can join us for lunch today."

"I really wish I could! But I have to be there in 30 minutes, and I don't want to give them a reason to not hire me on." Rylie says.

"Well, I sure hope they recognize and appreciate your dedication." My mother says with a  warm smile.

"I think they do, don't worry. I'm only in for a few hours today, so if you two want, we could go see a movie?"

"That would actually be really fun. Think you can stay that long, mom?"

"You bet. I'm going to use the bathroom real fast before we head out."

I turn to Rylie as my mom disappears down the hall. She's wearing a pair of grey, slim scrubs, and I don't want to take my eyes off of her.

"Even though this internship takes you away from me every other Saturday and some weekdays, there is one perk." I say, stepping towards her.

"Oh, yeah? That it's helping with my experience and education?"

"Nope. It's the fact that I get to see you in your scrubs. It's not fair that you make them look insanely hot."

"I guess I do, huh?" Rylie teases. I laugh before kissing her. She leans into me, hooking her fingers through my belt loops to pull me closer.

"God, I love you." I whisper against her lips. She grins, kissing me once before pulling away.

"Tell your mom bye for me. I'll see you at 5:00pm. Love you!"

"Bye." I smile at Rylie as she walks out the door and then sit by Harvey on the couch. "Hey buddy, were you so happy to see Grandma?" He jumps onto my lap with his tail wagging, and I laugh. "I'll take that as a yes. I'm so happy, too."