Reflect // Van McCann

9. We Never Told You

*Ryan's POV*

One month later.

I grabbed my duffel bag and waited outside for my mom to pick me up. I was early but I preferred it that way. My mom is unpredictable. When she says she'll be there at 10 AM, you gotta give her a one-hour window on both sides but more-so on the latter half.

It was almost Halloween. It was cloudy and cool out but luckily it wasn't raining. Autumn was in full swing. This is my first time coming home after a month at university. I didn't want to go home too often—my mom is busy enough as it is with two jobs—but I missed her terribly. I decided to come home around Halloween because it's her favorite holiday and I was hoping to spend the weekend with her.

I checked my phone for the time and saw that my mom was late, as usual. It's very rare for her to be early. Right when I was about to decide to head back into somewhere warmer, I saw the headlights and saw her car pulling up into the pick-up/drop-off area. I was so excited to see my mom I forgot she was half an hour late. I opened the door but it didn't budge because my mom hadn't had the chance to unlock it yet.

"Hi honey! Sorry I took so long! I had to swing by the pharmacy to pick up my prescription which I keep forgetting," my mom greeted me with her happy voice.

"That's alright," I told her, putting my duffel bag onto the car floor and putting my seatbelt on. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good! I haven't seen you in what? Over a month? And I have the weekend with you all to myself."

I was grinning the entire car ride to the usual brunch place my mom and I used to eat at all the time. We ordered the usual and as soon as our food came, we began eating and just catching up. Even though I call my mom every other week, we still have an abundance of things to talk about.

She told me about how work was and how life without me was while I told her about school and Ella. Ella and I aren't going to the same university. She's going to a local community college first before transferring to a four year university. I don't get to see her everyday but we video chat and talk to each other on the phone every other day. Even though I'm home this weekend, I don't plan on seeing her and she understands—this weekend is all about my mom.

That's what I love about Ella. We make time for each other but she's not clingy and breathing down my neck. She doesn't have to be with me all the time and she allows me to do my own thing which requires being left alone sometimes.

Once done eating, we made our way home. Mom parked the car in the driveway and we made our way up the front steps of the porch. I unlocked the door and opened it to see the house decorated with the annual Halloween decorations. I could see my mom added a few more items to the collection. Not much has changed in the house which I was grateful for and I didn't expect it to change much. It's not exactly like my mom's eager to kick me out—in fact, she's quite the opposite!

With our bellies full, I went upstairs to drop my bag off. I had to pack some items for my short stay at home since most of my stuff was in my dorm. As soon as I saw my bed, I dropped my bag and jumped onto my bed. I miss sleeping in my bed so much. I then rolled over so I was on my back staring up at the ceiling. I was laying down too long so I got up and began unpacking my stuff, bringing my duffel bag to the table. I guess I was a little too forceful because I knocked something over. I pulled my bag aside to look at what I knocked over and saw a mug on the table. I righted the mug and continued unpacking and then paused. Wait a minute....

I looked at the mug again. It's the Seattle mug that I bought when I went to Seattle with my mom. And I gave it to Van. What is it doing here of all places? And then the realization hit me. I quickly dropped what I was doing, grabbed the mug, and wandered over to the mirror. It seemed to taunt me as I stood there looking at it. I pulled the bedsheet off and my heart stopped. It was as if it was never broken in the first place. The mirror was whole again!