Beth Hyland - Fall Into Forever

Even though I wasn’t crazy about coming back to Lincoln Falls—College View is my home now—it’s Rose’s sixteenth birthday, and I promised to come.

My mom forgot to pick up vanilla ice cream for the cake, so she sent Jon and me to the grocery store.

As we walk past the dairy aisle, Jon grabs my arm and turns me around. Just as I open my mouth to protest whatever it is he’s doing, he squirts whipped cream into my mouth.

“What the hell?” I say, but it sounds more like whah ah ell . I look around quickly to see if anyone sees us. There’s a woman about fifteen feet away examining the eggs, but I don’t think she saw us. Covering my mouth with my hand, I swallow.

“There. It’s your first real whip hit.”

I poke my fingers at that tender spot on his hip where I know he’s the most ticklish. He tries jumping backward, but the dairy case is right behind him. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“You’re no longer a virgin, Ives. It’s painful, but isn’t it worth it?”

I make that really unflattering snort slash laugh that I do sometimes. I’m really going to get him now. I reach for him again, but he dances just out of my reach, laughing. I drop my shopping basket and lunge for him.

“Sorry, Ives, I’m just too damn fast.”

“Just you wait,” I tell him, picking up the basket. “When you least expect it, expect it.” Noticing that the woman with the eggs is pushing her shopping cart in our direction, I give Jon the evil eye. “Behave,” I say to him through clenched teeth. I’d sign, but my hands are full. “Remember, people know me here.”

I stop in front of the ice cream case. As I’m trying to decide what brand to buy, Jon walks to the front of the aisle and starts looking at the magazines. I hear someone come up behind me. I stiffen. It’s not the store manager, is it, planning to bust us for doing whip hits?

“Ivy?”

I turn to see Lana Marquette, Chase’s mother.

I swallow nervously. “Hi Mrs. Marquette.” She’s always been very nice to me. Quiet, but nice.

“You must be home from school,” she says. “Are you liking it up there?”

“Yes, very much.” I suddenly feel very sad. She looks thinner than the last time I saw her, her face gaunt. It’s clear she’s been through a lot these past few years. “I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t make it to Chase’s memorial service.”

She flashes me a grateful smile. “I appreciate that, but I didn’t expect you to come. I think you were either still in the hospital or you’d just come home.”

She’s giving me an out. We both know I’d been home for almost a month by the time the service was held.

“We heard about what Aaron’s been doing to you.”

My eyes go wide. “You have?”

She presses her lips into a thin line and nods. “When his father found out that PSU pulled their offer, he called and learned what had happened. The school shared with him a few of the choicer emails Aaron had sent to you. When he confronted Aaron about it, he admitted to giving you a hard time since the accident.”

Hard time doesn’t begin to describe it, but I don’t say anything.

She pauses, her voice getting even quieter. “Chase was angry with you, wasn’t he?”

I stare at her, not sure what to say.

“You don’t need to answer that if you don’t want to. I just know that he was very upset the last time I saw him. Angrier than I’d ever seen him before.”

“I had just broken up with him.” I was about to say that it was my fault, but I stop myself. It wasn’t my fault. It was his.

She nods. “I loved my son, but that doesn’t surprise me. He had a temper just like his father’s.” She looks around nervously, then leans in a little closer. “I’d have left Ace if I had been courageous like you, but I was stupid and got myself pregnant.”

I blink a few times, unsure of what I just heard. “Stupid? You weren’t stupid, Mrs. Marquette. Sometimes accidents… Well, they just happen.” Either that, or assholes poke holes in the condoms , but I don’t say that, either.

“Good luck with everything, Ivy. You’ve got a great future ahead of you.”

I stare after her as she pushes her shopping cart away.

There but for the grace of God…

The visit with my family went surprisingly well, due in part because my father’s company won the bid and my parents were in great spirits. Jon taught my little sister how to play her favorite Taylor Swift song on the guitar, and he talked about the construction business with my dad.

On the way back to Washington, we stop for gas at a mom-and-pop store in Olive Grove that also sells old-fashioned hard ice cream and antiques. We’re sitting on a picnic table, eating our cones and looking out over the valley. The name of the town reminds me of Jon’s family.

I turn to him. Maybe now’s the right time. “Did you know that I talked to your father at the concert after they took you away?”

“Yeah, I heard that.”

“I won’t go into everything I told him, other than the fact that I didn’t mince any words. It also confirmed the fact that I’m glad he wasn’t in your life, Jon. He really is an asshole.” Ice cream is dripping down the side of the cone and onto my hand. I lick it off, then pull out my phone and scroll through my contacts.

“I did get this, however.”

“What is it?” he asks, frowning.

“Your grandparents’ phone number. Your father admitted to me that he’d never told them about you. I’m not sure how they found out about you, but they did.”

Jon stares at the number on my phone for a long time. So long, in fact, that his cone melts and he has to throw it into the bushes.

“I think you should call them,” I say quietly.

Without saying a word, he pulls out his own phone, and stares at it for what feels like forever. Then he takes a deep breath and dials. There’s a pause and then, “Grandma? This is Jon. Your grandson. Can you talk?”

I get up to give him some privacy and head back into the little store. To pass the time, I look through a tray of antique costume jewelry, but honestly, I can barely concentrate. I pray that the call goes well. Spotting a few Hummel pieces in the glass case under the counter, I absently wonder if Stella has any of them.

A few minutes later, Jon comes up from behind and wraps his arms around me.

“How did it go?” I say, turning around. His eyes are glistening. A good sign…I hope.

“They were great, Ivy. Wonderful, in fact. They want to fly out from Chicago as soon as possible to meet us.”

“Us?”

“Yes, I told them all about you. They’re as eager to meet you as they are to meet me.”

My heart feels as though it’s about to burst from my chest. “Oh Jon, I’m so excited and happy for you.”

“Thanks for knowing when to push me, Ivy.” He strokes his finger over my lips. “God, I love you.”

I cup his face in my hands and stare up into his crystal blue eyes. “And thanks for helping me discover the truth about myself. I’m not sure I could’ve done it without you.”

“You’re a strong person, Ivy. You’d have figured it out on your own.”

“Maybe so, but thanks for not letting me fall off that roof.”

He leans down to kiss me then, his lips sweet from the ice cream. “How about we fall into forever? Together. Me and you.”

I slide my ar m s around his neck. “Forever with you sounds just about perfect.”

THE END