“His
dad ran off with another woman when he was twelve, his mom worked
around the clock, trying to care for Coop and his younger sister,
but she was left with very little money and a whole lot of
resentment. According to him, she was a bitter woman for many
years. He was a good kid, always taking on odd jobs to help out.
Paper route, shoveling driveways in the winter, cutting lawns in
the summer... You name it. But no matter what he did, there was
never enough money and never enough smiles on his mother’s
face.”
“Yikes,” Tess said with a grimace.
“I know.” I took a big forkful of my pancakes
and shoveled it into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
It was hard to believe that Marjorie, the
woman whom I had grown to love, was the same woman Cooper had
described whenever he recounted his childhood. Whatever she had
morphed into during Cooper’s youth, she had morphed out of by the
time I came along. She was loving and very proud of her children,
and the feeling was mutual. Cooper truly believed that his mother
did the best she could as a single parent with zero career skills
and a broken heart.
“Anyway,” I paused to sip my coffee, “I guess
being abandoned by his dad, growing up poor, and not receiving any
appreciation or love from his mom during his formative years, left
quite the mark. Still, Cooper rose above it. He became Mr.
Successful. Self-made.” I sat up straighter, aware of the pride in
my voice, but I couldn’t help it. I was proud.
I leaned forward and stared into Tess’s doe
eyes. “I loved his vulnerable side. I saw the little boy in him,
the one who just wanted to make his mommy proud.” I paused to
swallow, tears pricking my eyes. “I felt really lucky to land the
wounded bird. He chose me .” I pressed my hands into my chest
for emphasis, simultaneously trying to suffocate the emotion
threatening to pour out. “I was never anyone’s plan A before.”
“What?” Tess curled her upper lip, exposing
her ultra white front teeth. “Are you kidding me?”
“Um, why are you looking at me like I have a
penis coming out of my forehead? Or food all over my face?” I took
my napkin off of my lap and wiped my lips, folding the napkin in
half and resting it on the table.
“Why wouldn’t you be someone’s plan A?”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“Missy, you turn more heads than anyone I know.” Tess rolled her
eyes as her cheeks turned pink.
“I may look like I have it all to you,” I
continued. We locked eyes and began to laugh. “Okay, maybe not
now,” I said, wiping my eyes, “but in all seriousness, I was never
exactly Ms. Popular with the boys. Glasses, braces, bad hair.” I
tugged on my air-dried hair and snickered. “Shocker, right?”
Tess leaned over and slapped my hand.
“No kiss until sixteen,” I continued. “No
date for prom...” I trailed off and made a sucking sound with my
tongue, feeling sorry for myself.
“I’ll never forget a party at my friend
Tracey’s when I was about fourteen. She was one of the cool girls,
and we were family friends, so she always included me in
everything. Long story short,”—I waved my hand—“we were playing
spin the bottle, and Scott Kilogris, my crush of many years, spun
the bottle, and it landed on me.”
Tess scraped syrup onto her fork and licked
it, her eyes rapt with interest.
“Oh, this is where it gets good.” I made a
sinister smile and nodded. “I was so nervous, my legs trembled when
I stood up and I could actually hear my heart beating in my ears.
Then I heard him say to one of the guys, ‘I am NOT kissing Lucy
Banks.’ I stood there grinning like a fool, trying to be the girl
with the sense of humor, but I wanted to disappear into the floor.
My fake smile shook. Everyone was chanting ‘Go, go, go...’ and one
of the cheerleaders actually dragged him to his feet.” The painful
memory made me cringe.
“No,” Tess groaned, her hand flying to her
mouth.
“Yep.” I took a deep
dad ran off with another woman when he was twelve, his mom worked
around the clock, trying to care for Coop and his younger sister,
but she was left with very little money and a whole lot of
resentment. According to him, she was a bitter woman for many
years. He was a good kid, always taking on odd jobs to help out.
Paper route, shoveling driveways in the winter, cutting lawns in
the summer... You name it. But no matter what he did, there was
never enough money and never enough smiles on his mother’s
face.”
“Yikes,” Tess said with a grimace.
“I know.” I took a big forkful of my pancakes
and shoveled it into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
It was hard to believe that Marjorie, the
woman whom I had grown to love, was the same woman Cooper had
described whenever he recounted his childhood. Whatever she had
morphed into during Cooper’s youth, she had morphed out of by the
time I came along. She was loving and very proud of her children,
and the feeling was mutual. Cooper truly believed that his mother
did the best she could as a single parent with zero career skills
and a broken heart.
“Anyway,” I paused to sip my coffee, “I guess
being abandoned by his dad, growing up poor, and not receiving any
appreciation or love from his mom during his formative years, left
quite the mark. Still, Cooper rose above it. He became Mr.
Successful. Self-made.” I sat up straighter, aware of the pride in
my voice, but I couldn’t help it. I was proud.
I leaned forward and stared into Tess’s doe
eyes. “I loved his vulnerable side. I saw the little boy in him,
the one who just wanted to make his mommy proud.” I paused to
swallow, tears pricking my eyes. “I felt really lucky to land the
wounded bird. He chose me .” I pressed my hands into my chest
for emphasis, simultaneously trying to suffocate the emotion
threatening to pour out. “I was never anyone’s plan A before.”
“What?” Tess curled her upper lip, exposing
her ultra white front teeth. “Are you kidding me?”
“Um, why are you looking at me like I have a
penis coming out of my forehead? Or food all over my face?” I took
my napkin off of my lap and wiped my lips, folding the napkin in
half and resting it on the table.
“Why wouldn’t you be someone’s plan A?”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“Missy, you turn more heads than anyone I know.” Tess rolled her
eyes as her cheeks turned pink.
“I may look like I have it all to you,” I
continued. We locked eyes and began to laugh. “Okay, maybe not
now,” I said, wiping my eyes, “but in all seriousness, I was never
exactly Ms. Popular with the boys. Glasses, braces, bad hair.” I
tugged on my air-dried hair and snickered. “Shocker, right?”
Tess leaned over and slapped my hand.
“No kiss until sixteen,” I continued. “No
date for prom...” I trailed off and made a sucking sound with my
tongue, feeling sorry for myself.
“I’ll never forget a party at my friend
Tracey’s when I was about fourteen. She was one of the cool girls,
and we were family friends, so she always included me in
everything. Long story short,”—I waved my hand—“we were playing
spin the bottle, and Scott Kilogris, my crush of many years, spun
the bottle, and it landed on me.”
Tess scraped syrup onto her fork and licked
it, her eyes rapt with interest.
“Oh, this is where it gets good.” I made a
sinister smile and nodded. “I was so nervous, my legs trembled when
I stood up and I could actually hear my heart beating in my ears.
Then I heard him say to one of the guys, ‘I am NOT kissing Lucy
Banks.’ I stood there grinning like a fool, trying to be the girl
with the sense of humor, but I wanted to disappear into the floor.
My fake smile shook. Everyone was chanting ‘Go, go, go...’ and one
of the cheerleaders actually dragged him to his feet.” The painful
memory made me cringe.
“No,” Tess groaned, her hand flying to her
mouth.
“Yep.” I took a deep
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