It was beautiful, an exquisite sapphire surrounded by a cluster of diamonds.
“I know!” she exclaimed. “I still get a little shock whenever I look at my finger and see it staring back at me, like—oh my god I’m engaged.”
I laughed. “I can imagine.”
“You know Colin’s mother gave it to him when he told her he was going to propose? We’ve never met in person, only on Skype, and yet…she gave him her engagement ring, for me.”
“And it matches your eyes,” I added. “That’s like…fate.”
“Right?” She laughed and gestured at the TV. “Wanna catch another episode?”
“Why not?” I wasn’t feeling sleepy.
She sank down on the couch, and I joined her.
“Have you ever met Jason’s mother?” I asked.
She gave me a look. “Nope. Never have, and don’t want to. Why? What happened?”
“She came to see him. At his place.”
Her eyes widened, and she forgot about the show. “What the—”
I nodded and told her everything that’d happened, word for word. “He was so mad at her.”
“As he should be.” Amy frowned. “I can’t believe my dad’s been in contact with her. Jason won’t like that.”
That was another thing I’d kept from him. “I haven’t told him.”
Amy grimaced. “I didn’t know she was crazy. I guess there’s a lot that makes sense now. Maybe Jason should get a restraining order. She sounds dangerous.”
“It didn’t seem like she was,” I said softly, though I was still troubled by the encounter. “I don’t know. Maybe he should talk to her. He’s still hurting, and a conversation might help.”
“Except she has nothing to say but ramblings about murder and how you should leave him.” Amy snorted. “He went to see her when he was younger, and she sent him away. She was very cruel to him, and it took him a long time to get over it.”
I breathed. “He told me, but that’s the thing…he isn’t over it.”
Amy sighed. “I don’t know, Daphne. Growing up, I always hoped our family was enough for Jason. I knew he had another mother somewhere, and I was always scared she would come and take him away. I had this idea of her like a witch in my head.”
“Even your imagination is dramatic,” I said, with a small laugh.
She chuckled. “Well, I was a child.” She paused. “It’s hard to get past thinking of her that way, but if you think she needs help, or that Jason needs some closure with her, then it doesn’t hurt to try to help them find it.”
The problem was how.
After we watched our show, I went to bed, and I lay under the covers, wondering just how I could somehow help Jason bridge the gap with his mother.
Leave it alone.
I ignored the warning voice in my head. Somewhere inside, Jason was a boy who needed to forgive his mother, and somewhere inside the woman who’d left him, there was still a mother who cared for her child—I was sure of it. I just had to find a way to bring them together.
My phone trilled. It was Jason, no doubt calling to say good night.
“Hey, you,” I whispered.
“Hey.” His voice was soft. “I wanted to say good night and to let you know I’m thinking about you, just in case you forgot.”
“I could never.” I laughed. “I’m thinking about you too.”