The Shadows Of Yesterday

The Shadows Of Yesterday {26}

Mom's words ran through my head as I showered and got dressed for dinner. In the end, I turned my phone off and plugged it into the charger, tossing it on my bed where Seth would spot it quickly whenever he came back to the room.

I towel dried my hair and stared at my reflection in the mirror, trying to push my messy hair down. I stole Seth's comb, but quickly abandoned the attempt as it caught in my many tangles.

I pulled my jacket on and left the room, trying to calm myself down as I headed for the market. It was just dinner. Not like I'd never eaten dinner before.

Still, my heart beat harder as I pushed open the door to the market and spotted Arlo at one of the tables. He looked up, his face breaking out into that smile that made my breath catch in my throat. He waved me over.

He got up as I approached. I felt bad as I realized he'd probably been waiting a while.

"Sorry. My mom called when I was walking back. We got talking," I said, my voice casual despite the way my throat constricted at the memory of our conversation.

"Nah, don't gotta apologize," he said. We walked over to the sub corner, getting into line behind two girls. He reached up and brushed a stray strand of hair away from my eye. "Couldn't tame the beast?"

"Never can," I said. "I almost broke Seth's comb trying. Points for effort?"

"Fair enough," he said.

The line moved quickly and soon we had our subs. Arlo snatched mine from my hand, bringing them up to the counter and paying before I could even protest.

"Arlo-" I said.

"You can get the drinks. Deal?" he said.

"I- Fine. But let me pay next time." So long as next time wasn't any place super expensive. Being a broke college student sucked.

We sat back down at the table and unwrapped our subs. I fished around my brain for a topic, then abandoned the attempt, knowing Arlo would find something soon enough.

Sure enough, he broke the silence after his first bite. "We gotta make a list of movies, 'kay? Then we don't do that whole 'oh god what do we watch' thing when we decide on another movie date. Requests?"

"You said The Fox and the Hound is your favorite," I said. "Did you want to watch that?"

His smile turned sad. "I'm glad you remember. But, ah, I haven't watched it in years."

"Oh. Sorry," I said. Shit, had I already messed up dinner?

"Nah, don't be sorry," Arlo said, shaking his head. "It's just...well, I guess we're going on dates, and it's not like it's a secret, so I should probably just bring it up now. My mom died when I was pretty young. We used to watch that movie together, and she'd sing the songs with me. It just...still hurts to watch it." He laughed, but it was surprisingly nervous. "Sorry, didn't mean to make things awkward. Just figured I'd get that out there."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Arlo," I said sincerely. "I love my mom. I'd be devastated if I ever lost her."

"Yea, well, she had high blood pressure and suffered a heart attack. I was six. She was former military and pretty strict with routines, so dad just kept that up after she died to give me some stability. I guess I turned out alright." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, making it weird again."

"It's not weird. If you want to talk about her, then talk about her," I said.

"I miss her still. Like I said, she was strict, but she was a good mom." He gave a small, private smile. "I played soccer before she died and she used to practice with me outside. She'd pretend to be a sports announcer and just narrate everything I did, mistakes and triumphs. Went to every game. She used to take me to baseball and basketball games and would always buy me a snack. Fries at the baseball games, lollipops at the basketball games. I didn't like the buzzer so she'd cover my ears anytime it went off. She and dad would take me running with them and always cheer for me whenever they lapped me on the track. Sometimes if I really couldn't keep up on neighborhood runs, mom would just piggyback me and then rub it in dad's face that she was still faster than him with a kid on her back. And I hated broccoli, but she'd force me to eat it, so I'd slip it under the table to dad and he'd eat it for me. She caught us once and banned both of us from dessert, then made us watch while she ate a bowl of ice cream. Oh, man, she was something."