How To Save A Life

Chapter 20

Later that night, Sean comes over. I tell him what happened at the grocery store. The only thing that keeps him from finding Scott and darkening his right eye was my disapproval of all things violent. Maybe it's my hippie roots, maybe it's just who I am, but I truly couldn't stand violence. The fact that Sean had resorted to it maybe me slightly disappointed in him.

"Sean, instead of dwelling on it, let's just do something fun. Maybe Mavis can join us." I insist.

"What were you thinking we could do?" Sean asks.

"Let's do a puzzle." I suggest.

"A puzzle? You want to do a puzzle?" Sean asks, astonished.

As if my wanting to do a puzzle is the weirdest thing about me.

"Yeah, I love puzzles. Finding the right place for each piece, it's so..fulfilling. I love it." I explain.

"Well then, let's do a puzzle. You grab a puzzle, I'll go invite Mavis to join us." Sean says, then bounds up the stairs to Mavis's door.

My family's puzzle collection is massive. We've kept every puzzle we've ever done, and we've done a lot. I find Mavis's favorite puzzle, a picture of the Swiss Alps, and settle at the puzzle table we kept in our living room.

Just as I'm dumping the pieces on the table, Mavis and Sean join me in the living room. For the first time since the latest Scott incident, I see genuine happiness on Mavis's face. I love puzzle, they're one of my favorite activities, but how I feel about them has nothing on Mavis. I think if she could do puzzles all day, she would. And watching her do puzzles is almost more fun than the puzzle itself. She gets so into the puzzle, she concentrates so hard, you'd think she was doing open heart surgery. But she isn't, she's just doing what she enjoys most, and that is beautiful.

Seeing Mavis in the zone for the first time all week puts me in a good mood, so when Mavis is too enthralled with the puzzle to acknowledge our existence, Sean and I sneak off to the kitchen to make a meal.

"Did you know I'm actually a really great cook?" Sean asks.

"I actually had no idea, I think you should prove it to me." I insist.

"Anything for my girl. What do you want? Just say the word and I'll make it."

"Macaroni and cheese."

"You want mac and cheese? How am I supposed to show off my culinary prowess when all you want is mac and cheese?" Sean complains.

"It's my favorite food, so if you can make a mac that beats all other macs then you'll truly win my heart." I challenge.

"Well then, a better mac I shall make."

I sit at the island in my kitchen and watch Sean cook. I haven't tasted his food yet, but he sure looks like he knows what he's doing. I chat with him while he cooks, mostly teasing him that his mac won't be up to my standards. He insists it will exceed my expectations.

Once the macaroni is made Sean gets out plates, forks, and grape juice. I'm not actually a fan of grape juice, Mavis loves it, but he's making an effort and I don't want him to feel bad. With our macaroni plated and juice in our glasses, we start dinner.

The macaroni is actually really good. Maybe not the best I've ever had, but close enough that I'll let him have his victory.

"Do you like it? Is it any good? I know I talked big game but I don't really know how to make the best macaroni in the world." Sean asks, failing to sound casual.

"Yeah, it's good. The best I've ever had for sure. My heart is yours." I insist.

"True love by macaroni and cheese. I really like our relationship."

"Do you? That's sweet." I respond sarcastically. "Thanks for the nice meal, but I should probably go check on Mavis. Who knows how far she's gotten on that puzzle, maybe she's finished it without us. Wouldn't that be upsetting."

I put my dishes in the sink and go to the living room. I can't see Mavis when I walk in, she's probably gone upstairs. Puzzles can be tiring. I walk over to the table to check her progress on the puzzle and am surprised to find Mavis curled up in a ball on the floor.

"Mavis, are you okay?" I ask cautiously.

"The puzzle." She mumbles.

"What about the puzzle? This is your favorite puzzle."

"The pieces wouldn't go in. None of the pieces would go in. Something wrong with the puzzle none of the pieces fit." She whimpers.

Clearly this isn't just about the puzzle but I honestly can't think of what else it would be about. I try to lift Mavis to bring her to her room, but I've never lifted a day in my life so I have to call Sean in to do it for me. Once she's in her room and tucked into bed Sean and o settle on the couch.

"I worry about her so much. I just don't know how to help her. All I want to do is help her." I tell Sean.

"Maybe she doesn't need help. Maybe she just needs support. After the shooting my parents kept trying to get me to talk about it. I didn't want to talk about, it didn't even want to think about it. Once they realized that all I wanted from them was to support me in whatever I needed to get better our relationship improved." Sean explains.

"But she doesn't know what she has to do to get better either. I just want her to be happy. When will she be happy again?"

"She might take years to be happy again. Or days. Or who knows, maybe she is happy. Maybe her happiness is just a little different from yours."

"Sean she's crying over a puzzle. She's not happy."

"Well then fine. She's not happy. But trying to force her to be happy isn't going to make her any happier."

"Yeah I guess. Look Sean, I'm really tired. You don't have to leave, but if you stay I'll probably just fall asleep and then you'll have to carry me up to bed too."

"Okay, I get it, you want to sleep. I'll let you sleep. I hope Mavis shows improvement. Are we still on for tomorrow?" Sean asks.

"Yeah. Five o'clock at your house. I'll be there. Good night."

"Goodnight Juniper, sleep well."

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Hello! Sorry it's been so long. Posts aren't gonna pick up anytime soon, but here's one to hold you off until they become more consistent. Comment and vote to let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!