Remember; You Have the Universe

[ 98 ]

On December
26th, the day
I turn
eighteen,
Cadence sends
a picture of
her and Trey,
clearly taken by
an event
photographer
at one of those
Christmas light
extravaganzas
you have to pay
a gazillion dollars
to get into.
They are
pulled close
and they
look like
they are
missing puzzle pieces
who have
found where they
belong.
The photo is
followed
rapid-fire texts
in all caps
and so
many typos
she has to
retype them all
to resemble English.
She announces that
they are now
a thing
and have had
their first kiss—
Cadence's first
ever—
and though he's
not willing yet
to spend
any more time
with her
family,
he's also
not willing
to give her up
just because
of them.
She doesn't know
how her family
will react
to her
having a boyfriend
before graduation,
but doesn't
really care.
She tacks on a,
"And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!"
with about
a thousand
emojis of
cake and balloons and
random desserts
and confetti,
and teases me
for being old.

I call her,
and we squeal
and jump around
like we're five again
and share our
excitement moments
together
over the phone
for about
fifty minutes.
We share plans
for attending
college together
next year,
pick our
color scheme
for our dorm,
and lament that
it's close enough
our parents
will expect us
to visit
at least
once a week.

At one point,
Cadence asks me if
now that I'm
eighteen,
will I
go to the doctor
by myself
since my mom
no longer
has legal rights
to any information
and therefore
won't be able to
jump down
my throat
at every little
update on
my lungs.
I think about it
and say no;
my mom has
earned every right to
anything
those doctors
have to say.
She has
gotten me through
everything.
Plus,
we are in this
together.
I've learned that
doing it alone
is never worth it,
and though it's
a tempting option
and I'll probably
try to be
independent
and force
everyone out
again,
it's something
I'll work on.

"You're still
going to
love me
more now that
you have
a boyfriend,
right?"
I'm teasing,
but I'm not
kidding.

"Of course,"
She says.
"And slap me
if I start to
ditch you
for Trey
because
how could I
turn down
the entire
universe?
Especially
when it has
you
in it."