The Wrong Choice: Difficult Choices by Ava Gray

Author:Ava Gray [Gray, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-02T18:30:00+00:00

16

MADII

I sat at the busy café with my camera bag, waiting for Alice to show up. She had insisted we get together because it had been weeks since I’d stopped in to see Drew, eight weeks to be exact. I’d spent most of my free time with Lexi and Crystal or Gavin. Each time I thought of Drew now a guilty pang struck my chest, but I was getting better at pushing it away.

I sipped the bubble tea I had ordered and watched the door expectantly, and when Alice walked in, I stood and waved her over. She offered a huge hug and a smile.

“Oh, Madison, you’re looking just radiant.” She held me by the shoulders at arm’s length. She’d gotten her hair cut, and if I wasn’t mistaken, she’d added some color too. It was nice to see her beginning to care about herself again. For too long she’d just thrown a hat on to cover the gray’s she had previously been anal about recoloring.

“Thank you, Alice. You look great too. How is Henry?” I gestured as I spoke, and we sat down.

Alice situated her purse on the chair next to her, and I slid the tea I bought for her across the table. In the packed room, there were only so many open tables, but I had been fortunate enough to get one right by a window, so we watched the passersby as they talked and waited on the traffic light to change.

“Oh, you know. Henry is doing okay. He’s just working and keeping himself busy. Days pass now without us seeing Drew, but there isn’t much to see. The doctors keep us informed if things change.” She fiddled with her tea, twisting it in a circle on the table. A puddle formed around the base of the cup on the table, condensation from the icy drink inside.

“I’m glad he is still staying active and not getting depressed and lonely.” I sipped my drink, trying to know what to say. I had a sense that Alice needed me as much as I had needed her all those months, and without me she felt a little lost.

“Yes, well he has his down days, but we manage.” Alice took the lid off of her teacup and swirled the straw in it, forcing the bubbles to mix around with the ice. She looked back up at me with a sad smile. “How are you doing? I haven’t seen much of you lately, but it seems you’re doing fine.”

I shrugged, straw still in my mouth. As I set the cup down, a strange melancholy feeling washed over me. I had loved being like a daughter to Alice for so long, but this conversation almost felt like she was the mother bird kicking me out of the nest. Like saying goodbye to one part of my life and moving on to something different. Only, when I had gone through this with my own parents, moving out to be with Drew, it hadn’t felt so difficult.

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