Authors: Teresa Roman
Back To Us (26 page)
“Justin.” I nudged him.
“Hmmm.”
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“No, I’m not asleep, but I’m afraid to open my eyes because I’m worried that when I do this will have all been a dream, and you’ll be gone again.”
“I won’t be gone.”
“You promise?”
“Of course I do.”
Justin’s eyelids flicked open. “Then it’s settled. You’ll move in.”
“Wait.” I sat up slowly as the words Justin just said settled into my mind. “What did you just say?”
“You promised you’d never be gone again.”
“You want me to move in with you?” I asked, not believing that’s what’s he’d really said.
“Is it too soon to ask?” Justin looked worried about how I’d answer. I stared at him, taking in his warm brown eyes, soft full lips, the sprinkling of freckles across his cheeks, and I couldn’t imagine going another day without seeing him, but I was too stunned to answer him. “Well? Are you going to make me beg, because I will if that’s what it’s going to take?”
I thought about how hard it had been to leave his apartment the day before, and how long it had felt until we got to see each other again before dinner. It was less than a day, but it had felt like forever. “You don’t need to beg.” I shook my head, refusing to give myself the chance to overthink things too much. It was crazy, we’d only just gotten back together and there was so much for us still to talk about, but I didn’t care. We would have plenty of time for that later. “It’s not too soon.”
My last year of school seemed to fly by, and graduation day was turning out to be everything I hoped for and more. As I sat and listened to the valedictorian’s speech I thought back on the last graduation I’d attended—high school. I’d taken the bus to the ceremony alone. I was probably the only person in my class who didn’t have a single friend or family member come to watch them graduate. There was no one to celebrate that day with, but this time around Mike came with Mel, and Justin came with his mother who’d actually taken the day off of work to attend.
Justin wanted to throw me a party at our apartment, but he said his mother insisted on hosting it instead and I agreed. Mrs. Lambert—Allison—she insisted I start to call her, had come around after Justin and I got back together. Justin hadn’t been on speaking terms with her, not since our break-up, but I convinced him to forgive her, and she was grateful to me for it. Grateful enough that she apologized for believing the worst about me. She’d told me that she owed me for bringing her son back to her.
After Mike and I gave up our apartment, he moved in with Mel. Their wedding was only a few weeks away. They’d decided on a destination wedding in the Dominican Republic. It would the first real trip away from New York for me and Justin, and I wasn’t sure what I was more excited about, being in the Caribbean, or watching my brother get married. Between that, my life with Justin, and the handful of interviews that I’d lined up, it felt like there was so much to look forward to.
Living with Justin had turned out to be even better than I imagined it would be. Justin still surprised me with gifts and fancy dinners, and when my instinct to tell him no came, I reminded myself that it was okay to let him do things for me. At night before we fell asleep the two of us lay beside each other and talked. We talked about his nightmares and the long months it took for him to recover in the hospital after he lost his legs. He’d even brought out his photo albums and I was finally able to see what he’d looked like in his Navy uniform. We also talked about my life, and what it was like to be raised by my crazy father. I told him what living in a group home for four years had been like. I took Justin to his doctors’ appointments, and he let me help him when he needed it, and even sometimes when he didn’t. Our hearts became irrevocably intertwined as we bared our souls to each other.
It was a perfect June day, so Justin’s mother held my celebration outside. It was my first time on a New York rooftop deck. She walked up to me with two glasses of champagne in her hands and handed one to me. “Congratulations, Jessica.”
“Thank you.”
“To you.” She raised her glass and I clinked mine against hers before taking a sip. “I was thinking the other day about how stupid I’ve been.”
“What are you talking about?”
“After I gave birth to Jeff, I wanted a daughter so badly. When the doctor told me James was going to be a boy I cried for months.” I still wasn’t used to this version of Justin’s mother and tried to relax as she spoke. “The other day I was looking through some photos, photos with you in them, and I realized that you’ve become the daughter I prayed for.” She shook her head. “Leave it to Justin to bring you to our family, he always had a way of making me see things differently than I was used to. Our lives feel more complete with you. I’m sorry it took so long for me to see the real you.”
“It’s okay,” I said, touched by her confession.
Justin’s eyes caught the two of us talking and he walked over. He was still very protective of me when his mother was around.
“Everything okay?” he asked. He circled his arm around my waist and kissed me on the temple.
“Yes.” I turned my head to look at him. “Everything’s perfect.”
Sometimes I think deciding to write a book was one of the craziest ideas I’ve ever had, but once the decision was made, there was no turning back. I love books, both reading them, and it turns out, writing them as well. There is just something indescribably magical about books. The road to publication was not an easy one, and I would like to thank everyone that helped me along the way.
Thank you to my husband, Ben, for your support and for being an amazing cheerleader. Thank you to my children who put up with months and months of hearing me say “I swear, I’m almost done with this chapter”. Writing has definitely consumed a lot of mommy time, but hearing my kids brag about their mom being an author is always super cute. A special thanks goes to my sister, Elisabeth, who is also my best friend. Don’t ever think that I’m not eternally grateful for your beta reading, edits, and words of encouragement.
I would also like to thank Damonza for creating my beautiful book cover and for putting up with my pickiness. It really is appreciated. Thank you to the Kindle Press team, and to everyone who nominated my book and helped my dream of becoming a published author come true. Thank you also to Lisa Reid, for beta reading and cheering me on, and to Brenda Pandos for your writing and publishing advice.
Teresa Roman is a lover of books. Born in Romania, she moved to the states as a young child and has lived on both coasts and the Midwest. Now, she happily calls Sacramento, CA, her home, where she lives with her husband, three kids and a dog. When she isn’t at her day job or running around with her children, you can find her in front of the computer writing, or with her head buried in another book.
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