All This Time by Mikki Daughtry & Rachael Lippincott

Author:Mikki Daughtry & Rachael Lippincott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2020-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

19

“Try this one on,” Mom says, holding up an oversize pin-striped blazer. I squint at it, unsure of how to break it to her that she’s successfully found the ugliest item in this place.

Sometimes my mom is right on the money when it comes to picking out clothes. And other times she holds up a blue pin-striped blazer for me to try on.

Luckily, she registers my expression and holds up a casual dark-gray sports coat instead. “You want to look casual but professional.”

I take it from her, shrugging on the jacket, the fabric clinging comfortably to my shoulders and arms. I check myself out in the department store mirror.

I wonder what Marley would think. Would she think I look good?

I try to smooth down my hair, and my eyes find the thin scar on my forehead, the ever-present reminder of all that’s happened in the last few months.

The longer I look at the sports coat, at my reflection, the more nervous I get for this interview tomorrow.

Mom adjusts the collar and gives me a once-over.

“I know that face,” she says, patting my cheek lightly. “That’s your worried-on-a-big-game-day face.”

I look down at her. “Is it that obvious?”

“What? The expression of existential dread?” She shakes her head, smiling back at me. “Not at all.”

I look to the mirror, turning right and left to get a better view of the jacket. I let out a long huff of air. “What if I don’t get the internship?” I ask her. “What if he thinks my writing sucks?”

Her face gets serious, and she reaches up, turning my face away from the mirror and back to her. “Kyle, you had to hit the reset button not once, but twice in this last year. Your shoulder injury was rough,” she says, taking a deep breath. “But what you went through with that doesn’t even hold a candle to when you lost Kimberly.”

I swallow, my shoulder and scar suddenly aching at the thought of it all.

“If you can get through that, you sure as hell can get through this,” she says, meaning it. “You’ll always find a way to reset if you have to.”

I clear my throat, looking away, while she sniffs loudly, wiping quickly at her brown eyes, an exact copy of my own. “All right,” she says, smiling and nudging me. “Let’s get you a shirt.”

I sling an arm over her shoulder as we cut through to the shirt section.

“Always forward,” she says, patting my chest.

“Never back,” I say, smiling down at her.

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