Love On the Brain (Corey Crawford)

36| Back Home Girl

Jessica

Before we go to Switerland for vacation I decide that I should probably stop by the house down in Springfield, Illinois and say hi to my mom before going to a distant land where she won't be able to get ahold of me. She wasn't over protective but she wasn't exactly comfortable with me running away to a far away land with my boyfriend. Plus if she asks about meeting Corey one more time I might just tell her we broke up so she would leave me the hell alone.

But before we take any drastic measures I wanted to see her and say hi before I was gone. By the time we get it back it'll be around my birthday and I'm sure I'll see her again but I really missed her and it's a lot easier to see her now than when were in Switzerland.

So I drag Corey down to the state capital where I was born and raised. We pull up to my parents house and he smiles as he looks around. We had lived out in the country while we were growing up because my mom hated cities. My dad loved them, Chicago being his favorite, and he wanted to live there someday. But he was gone a lot so it made sense we ended up out here where my mom wanted to be since she was the one who was actually home all the time. Plus when dad was home he could take care of the yard and keep himself preoccupied making sure the house looked nice. And I have to hand it to my mom, she's kept it up well since he had been gone. Even the garden looked great.

"This place is so cute. I would have loved to grow up here" Corey admits as we walk up to the porch. I take his hand in mine as we stand in front of the door.

"I loved it. I have the greatest memories of this place" I insist.

"I hope we can make a life like this someday" he claims and I turn to him.

"Are you secretly a country boy" I ask.

"I like my privacy" he admits.

"And what makes you think we're going to end up like a place like this with a family" I wonder.

"Because I just won't have it any other way" he smiles. He pulls me into a soft kiss but we break apart when the door opens. I see my mom appear in the door and just pray she doesn't do anything too embarrassing.

"Ohhhh I finally get to meet you" she cheers and I shake my head. So much for that.

"It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Davidson" Corey says as he pulls her into a hug. 

"Well the pleasure is all mine. And please call me Darla" she says.

"You have a beautiful home" Corey insists and she smiles. I know that meant more to her than he even knew which made it that much better.

"Thank you. Why don't you guys come on in. I have snacks and drinks and I spent all week cleaning to prepare for when you got here" she insists as she moves to the side and we walk in. I inhale deeply and smile when I smell something familiar.

"You made the cookies, didn't you" I ask and she laughs.

"I did" she assures me.

"How in the world did you smell the cookies" Corey wonders.

"These aren't just any cookies, these are the best cookies ever. My grandma used to make them for me and Carter when she would baby sit us, then she passed the recipie down to my mom and she passed it down to me. They're to die for, you have to try one" I insist as I hand Cory a cookie. He happily takes it and pops it in his mouth before he starts chewing slow.

"Oh my god" he moans and I smile big.

"It's good, isn't it" I ask.

"This is the best cookie ever. How come you never made these before" he asks.

"Because it's a family tradition that it only be prepared in a home for people who you can trust within the family" I explain.

"Well these are the best cookies ever and I think we should visit more often" he claims.

"My husband always loved them. I would have a bunch ready for him when he would return from work" my mom explains.

"The first thing he did when he got home was give us all a kiss. And the second was eat a dozen cookies while I sat in his lap and he told me his war stories" I remember.

"I love that" he admits.

"And I love you" I smile.

I show him around the place and he got to see some pretty cool things about my dad. He was very highly decorated and always loved telling stories with pictures. He never told the bad ones, his stories always had a happy ending no matter if they really did in real life or not. I wish he would have stuck around to find his.

"I see where you get your looks from" Corey admits as he picks up my parents wedding photo. I loved that picture, it really said a thousand words. They were young but they didn't care, they loved each other so much that that silly little number didn't matter.

"My parents were a good looking couple, I can easily agree with that. I wish more than anything they can be happy together now. My mom won't even look at another man and my dad was so in love he gave up fighting to make things right with my mom. And while he couln't find the light he knew in his mind that love is true and hard and always worth whatever it is you're going through" I explain.

"That's pretty deep" he admits.

"I get it from somewhere" I tease.

I meet my mom downstairs who had scrapbooks out and she was waiting for us. She had prepared for this day since I first mentioned Corey and she could finally so all she can to embarrass me.

"Oh mom, must you get those out" I ask.

"Of course I do" she insists.

Corey sits down next to her and I sit next to him. She puts the book in his lap and shows off all my pictures from the time growing up. After my dad passed there wasn't too much because I didn't do much. I quit gymnastics and I became entranced by the mind. But my mom still took plenty of pictures as I grew up.

"Wait a second... you graduated from Yale" he asks me as he looks at my graduation picture.

"Top of her class" my mom cheers.

"Yeah, but it's not that big of a deal" I insist.

"It kinda is. I always knew you were really smart but to get a degree form Yale, that's amazing" he insists.

"I just loved to learn, and there wasn't abetter place than there" I insist.

"Well I'm impressed" he claims.