my cousin's best friend

chapter thirty-three

The weekend passed extremely quick.

Both Tommy and Toby streamed multiple times, always cracking jokes whenever I was around.

And it never ceased to amaze me what the people on the minecraft world could build.

The rest of my day was spent just looking at my phone or helping my father unpack random boxes.

Eventually once that was done, my father and I went to a fancy restaurant.

I put on a flowered sun dress and actually styled my hair some other way than the normal way.

Out of my jewelry box, I pulled the delicate butterfly necklace out, clasping it around my neck.

I walked down the stairs to find my father waiting.

"You look exactly like your mother. You know that right? She would always wear flower print whenever we went out. I know that she is terribly proud of you and how far you have come," He said pulling me into a hug.

I felt my face flush with color.

"Thank you," I whispered, holding on gently to the necklace.

We walked out of the door and into the car.

The restaurant was beautifully designed and decorated.

As my father checked in, he asked me to close my eyes while the waitress walked us to our seats.

After a short distance of walking, I was allowed to open up my eyes.

Standing before me was a bridge leading to a gorgeous flower gazebo.

Water lilies crested the crystal waters, swaying every time the wind blew slightly.

Stunning climbing roses and winter jasmine were placed randomly throughout the entire thing.

"This is absolutely wonderful and all. But why are we doing this right now?" I asked walking across the bridge and over to our seats.

"Well, I thought that it would be a nice surprise. I mean, I did force you to move after you made friends. I also wanted some one on one time with you," He replied smiling.

We both sat down and the waitress took our orders.

The birds chirped around us, flying to and from their nests high up in the trees.

Without hesitating, I asked, "Do you ever miss mom?"

My father looked at me with compassion, and taking my hand he replied, "With every breath I take, I think about you and your mother. I did truly love her, so losing her was like losing my light," He replied, the tears welling up in his eyes.

I felt my emotions welling up inside.

"But we shouldn't be sad about this. Although she didn't live as long a life as we wanted, she still accomplished many things. And most importantly, she raised you. And made you the way that you are now. So strong and independent," He said, a slow tear trickling down his face.

"I guess you're right. I just wish she was here sometimes," I whispered, wiping the tear from my cheek.

"I do to. But I guess you learn to live without her here. Although she will always be in our hearts," He responded.

I smiled.

The waitress brought us our food and for once I actually finished my food, which usually would just be brought home.

After our meal, we took a walk through the woods, watching the chipmunks and squirrels run up and down the trees carrying their prized acorns around.

"So, how has Toby been? He seems like a nice kid," My father asked.

"Oh, I realized that you haven't spent to much time with him. Well, he's really happy and loved to make others laugh," I responded.

"And what about this Tommy kid? He always seems to be around whenever you and Toby are hanging out."

"Tommy is Toby's best friend. They do everything together. So its more like they're including me in what they are doing. And Tommy is extremely nice, even though he can be terribly annoying at times," I said laughing.

"Well, I know that this will be hard to believe but I was once an annoying school boy," My father said chuckling.

"I can see it. I'm assuming that you were always cracking jokes when you were st class. That's probably why mom liked you. Because you were funny," I replied, returning the smile.

"Well of course, I knew that girls love a man who can make them laugh."

The rest of the day was amazing and I went to bed exhausted.

But little did I know that the next day was going to be even more exciting than the last.

Word Count~ 752