The Way We Say Goodbye

Chapter 23

Violet, Bowie, and I met up in the parking lot after school, and Violet drove us to Bowie's house. Marissa had taken the car to work that morning and was picking up ingredients for us to make cookies on her way home.

Walking into Bowie's house, Violet looked all around before mumbling, "Nice house."

"Thanks," he mumbled back.

"How long before Marissa gets home?" I asked.

"Shouldn't be much longer," Bowie responded.

He was right. It wasn't much longer before Marissa came in with bags on each of her arms. Bowie was quick to help his mom while Violet and I stood nearby. Once Bowie had taken the bags from Marissa, she turned to me with a smile. She came over with open arms, pulling me into a hug.

"Delta, how've you been, Sweetheart?"

I hugged her back and mumbled, "I'm okay. How've you been?"

"Oh, just working all the time." She chuckled as she pulled away.

I motioned to Violet and said, "This is my friend, Violet. Vi, this is Bowie's mom, Marissa."

"It's nice to meet you, Violet," Marissa said as she pulled Violet into a hug.

Violet giggled and said, "It's nice to meet you too."

"As much as I'd love to stay and hang out with you kids, I have plans tonight."

I gave Marissa another hug and said, "Have fun."

"Don't let Bowie catch my kitchen on fire."

Violet and I laughed while Bowie rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, Marissa," Violet began. "We'll keep a close eye on him."

After she left, Violet turned to Bowie and said, "I like your mom."

"Yeah, she's alright," he replied.

The three of us made a mess of the kitchen, but ultimately, we had fun throwing ingredients all over each other while we made the cookie dough. We cleaned up the mess—except for what was in our hair and all over our clothes—while we waited for the cookies to bake. The three of us stepped outside to try to get some of the flour off. Violet broke out in a fit of giggles while she tried to help me dust off. Bowie just grumbled about how he would never do this again.

"Awwe, Bowie, don't say that," I pouted. "You know you'll want to do this with us again."

He looked at me with a stern expression. "Why on earth would I want to get covered in flour again?"

Violet smiled at him and said, "Because it makes us," she motioned to me and herself, "happy."

He rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Whatever."

After dusting off the best we could, the three of us went back inside. Once the cookies were done, we piled them on a plate and sat on the floor in the living room and turned the TV on. That was how we spent our evening. After a while, Violet announced that she needed to head home. She had offered me a ride home, but I didn't want to go home just yet. Bowie assured Violet that he would make sure that I got home safely whenever I was ready to go. After saying our goodbyes to Violet, Bowie and I stood in silence in the kitchen.

"Bowie, I want to ask you something, but I'll understand if you don't want to answer."

"What's your question?"

"How's Ozzie doing?"

Bowie sighed and turned to me. "Why are you asking me that, Delta?"

Tears rimmed my eyes, and I tried to push down the emotions threatening to spill out. "I just want to know...I..." I took a deep breath before speaking again, "I want him to be doing okay. A part of me wishes that he's falling apart too, but a bigger part of me wishes that he's doing okay."

Bowie sighed again and looked at me. "He's...he's doing the best he can. I can tell he's not sleeping much again. It's obvious that he misses you, but I think he's trying to go back to the way his life was before he met you."

I looked down and nodded as a few tears slipped down my cheeks. Bowie pulled me into a hug and held me tightly. "I wish things turned out differently," I whispered to him.

"I do too," he mumbled back.