Hello, Goodbye

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Dear Makayla," she said out loud, pen in her hand. Then she made a face and crumpled up the paper, throwing it into the waste basket next to her. "Dear Mom," she wrote again, and it felt weird to say out loud. She'd been calling her mom by her first name for so long, but maybe this was the first step to forgiveness. Recognizing her as what she was. Her mom. She stopped writing for a moment, not quite sure what to say. She stared at the blank sheet of paper for a little while, trying to think of a way to put what she was feeling onto it. But time was running out. She only had a few minutes until Zeke got to her house, and she didn't want to put herself in a bad mood. So she set the paper aside and promised herself she'd finish it when she got back.

She hadn't seen Zeke since that night in her studio, but when she'd asked him to come with her to the Fourth of July Festival in town, he'd quickly agreed. She was wearing a red, white, and blue summer dress to honor the day, and her hair was pulled back in a long braid to help keep it out of her face. It was supposed to be really hot, so she'd packed several bottles of water and a few cooling clothes just in case.

As usual, Zeke knocked on her door right on time. Her heart jumped in her throat as she answered the door and saw him wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a t-shirt patterned with red, white, and blue stars. He smiled when he saw her, but it was different than normal. Almost as if he was nervous. "Look at that. We match."

She grinned and closed the door behind her. "What a coincidence. It's almost like wearing red, white, and blue is a requirement for this day in our country."

He laughed, and she felt like her blood was buzzing. Then he moved closer to her and gently kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes, hoping it would last longer than it actually did. He never kissed her for long enough. "You ready to go?"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," she replied, and he took her hand in his. They walked together hand in hand, and it was like that day in Port Townsend. But so much better, because now he wasn't pulling away. They talked for a while, ignoring the big topic until they couldn't anymore. Until it was the only thing left for them to talk about. "So how have you been doing?" she asked, hoping he'd realize she was talking about the DNA test results.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Better, I guess. I visited Sal yesterday. Spent some time in the bakery. He still wants to hang out, you know. Even if we aren't... family." She could hear how much it still hurt him, knowing Sal wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"You know, I've been thinking about that," she said. "There's no reason we can't keep looking. I've been doing some more research on names we haven't looked up yet, and there are a few more possibilities."

He was silent for a few seconds. And then he sighed and shook his head. "Actually, I think... I think I'm tired of spending all my time in a graveyard."

This was not what she was expecting to hear. "What do you mean? Don't you still want to find your family?"

"Of course," he replied, nodding his head. "That's why I came here. But after what happened before... well, I don't think I'm ready to look again. I don't know if I'm ever going to be ready. And besides, it's like you said, right? I have you and Kiel. And you guys are the best family I could've ever asked for."

She wrinkled her nose. "So what does that make us? Cousins now?"

"Only the kissing kind," he replied, and she groaned and made a face. He laughed. "I really appreciate all the work you put in this summer to help me. I just want to enjoy the rest of it. Spend time with you. I mean, there's still a lot more of Port Townsend to see. And I've barely touched the surface of Coupeville and Oak Harbor."