First Love (David & Liza)

Chapter 50: Outro

June 17th, 2016 / Friday

"Aaah! It's here! Oh, my God, Liza! It's here!" My mom's excessively loud yelling rudely snatches me out of my blissful afternoon nap, making my eyes shoot wide open. I quickly stand up and head towards the stairs, my consciousness and body still pretty much asleep. "Sweetie, come... Oh, you're already here! Look, it came!" My mom ignores the fact that she almost knocked me to the ground and instead excitedly continues to shout standing above me, not even bothered to help me get up. "It's here! It's here!" She waves a piece of paper in front of my face, probably expecting my sleepy brain to magically guess what it contains. But she can get only an annoyed and a slightly surprised glance from me right now.

"Mom, why are you shouting like someone is murdering you? I told you I'm going to take a nap and..." I'm interrupted by a death glare that can mean only one thing - "Don't mess with me or else". Well, it's probably better to back away this time.

"Liza, don't you think the future is more important than taking a nap?" She emphasizes on one of my favorite words in the dictionary, looking at me with raised eyebrows. I know her question is rhetorical, but I also really love those naps and that makes things a little debatable. Not that I'm going to tell her or anything, I'm just saying. "That's what I thought! Let's go to the living room and open it. I'm so excited!" She claps her hands like a three-year old in front of a Christmas present before turning her back to me.

"And I thought that I'm the only child in this family." I quietly mutter under my nose dragging my feet behind her.

"I heard that!" She shouts, already sitting on the dining table and when I finally enter the living room I'm greeted with another death glare. "Look, sweetie, I wasn't here when you went on your first date with your first boyfriend, I wasn't here for the winter's holidays and I wasn't here when you bought the dress for your prom, so please don't take this away from me.  All I want is to be a part of it and I would never forgive myself that I sacrificed the time for my only daughter for the chance of having my own business and pursuing a career. And I'm sure your father feels the same way. We've missed so much of your life, but this time we are here right beside you, supporting you in every way possible." She sighs, looking down at her hands and although I know she's feeling guilty about everything she said, I can't force myself to blame her or be mad at the choices she's made.

"Mom, the only thing that's important is that you are here right now." I grab her hands from across the table, giving her a small reassuring smile when she looks at me. "Don't blame yourself for something that has already happened, it's not healthy. You know you can't change the past even if you try your best, because the main point is that it's all in the past. Believe me, I know it for sure." When her eyebrows furrow in confusion I realize I've said too much. I have to do something before she can ask me any questions that might completely ruin the moment we're sharing. "So what's the big deal with this mystery letter?" I say, reaching for the envelope, which is now lying in the middle of the table. "Ouch! Why did you do that?" I guess that my fake frown and pouting lips can't do any damage on my mother's defense shield, because I earn myself a slap on the hand and a disapproving head shake. But thankfully, my sad attempt to change the topic of our conversation did actually work.

"I told you that I want to do this together as a family. We're waiting for your father and... " The sound of the front door opening then closing and the following footsteps catches her attention. Instead of finishing the sentence, she prefers to look in that direction, the smile on her face disappearing. "Finally! Here you are! What took you two so long?" She accusingly says when my dad and, to my big surprise, David appear in the room.

"Oh, honey, we were just caught up talking about guy stuff, you know?!" My dad kisses her cheek before he sits beside her.

The effect of his small, but loving and gentle gesture towards my mother is incredible. The sharp features on her face instantly soften under his touch and she glances at him with love and adoration, a smile appearing on her face. I've always admired the way they complete and love each other after all those years of marriage. I'll be lucky if one day I'm blessed with a relationship as pure, strong and beautiful as theirs.