Love & Light by Michele Shriver

Author:Michele Shriver [Shriver, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SMC Publishing
Published: 2015-06-01T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

~Landon~

After I point out all of the different places you can see from the top of the mountain, we find a quiet place to have our picnic. I spread out the blanket that I brought, then get out the food. “I got some sandwiches from Easton’s Deli by campus,” I say. “There’s a turkey and provolone, and a ham and swiss. Your choice.”

“Hmm. I’ll go with the turkey,” Kori says, and I hand it to her.

“I’ve also got chips, which hopefully aren’t too crushed, and some grapes.” I pull the rest of it out of my pack. “And green tea. I’ve noticed you like to drink that.” It’s not my drink of choice, so I also brought Dr. Pepper.

“Thanks.” She takes the bottle of tea I pass to her. “This is nice. I can’t believe you lugged all of this up here.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Carrying it wasn’t a problem. I did worry about keeping it cold, but I think everything’s okay.” I unwrap the ham sandwich. It still looks good and feels pretty cold.

“I know I said this before, but you really did think of everything. Including my favorite drink.”

I’m glad I got that one right. It pays to be observant. “I called my stepmom last night to get some advice on what to bring. The grapes were her idea. She said her ideal picnic would include grapes. Oh, and a bottle of wine, but I had to skip that,” I say with a laugh.

“Grapes are good, though.” Kori takes one and pops it in her mouth. “I noticed when I met her that you call her ‘mom.’ Doesn’t that feel weird?”

I take a bite of my sandwich as I think about that. “Not really,” I say after a minute. “I didn’t at first. It started about six months after she married my dad, and just kind of happened. I mean, sure, she didn’t give birth to me, but she’s there for me and fills the ‘mom’ role in my life. And I know it means a lot to her.”

“That’s cool, and she seems nice and all,” Kori says. “I just think it’d be weird.”

“But you never know until you find yourself in that situation.” At least she seems a little more comfortable talking about her mom’s absence lately. Or if not comfortable, at least less emotionally distraught about it. It gets draining being sad all the time, which is one reason I wanted to bring Kori here. It’s impossible to be sad when you’re surrounded by so much natural beauty.

“That’s true,” Kori says, and leans back, using her forearms to prop herself up. “I went to the rec center the other day and tried punching the bag again.”

“You should have called me. I would’ve joined you.” I find myself disappointed she didn’t ask me along. “I hope it helped, though.”

“It did, yeah.” She turns to face me. “You’ve helped me a lot.”

“I haven’t done anything,” I demur.

“Don’t say that,” she counters. “Of course you have. You’ve taught me new ways to deal with my hurt and my anger.

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