Part 1<\/p>\n
She was bringing the deepest heartbreak of my life back through my front door.<\/p>\n
Stormy had never looked so delighted because of a boy.<\/p>\n
She seemed to drift into the house, tossed her backpack onto the kitchen floor, and began talking before she had even removed her shoes.<\/p>\n
I glanced up from the strawberries I was cutting, placed the knife aside, and rested against the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right. Tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was on the subway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got on at Harvard Station because I was meeting Mia downtown. The train was packed, and this guy was standing across from me reading \u2018The Great Gatsby.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou noticed the book first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed he wasn\u2019t pretending to read it to look smart.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed at that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept smiling every time someone got on because this little kid across from him was trying to pronounce the station names. At one point the kid asked him if \u2018Massachusetts\u2019 was the longest word in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Only if you\u2019re six.’\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed again as though the moment were happening in front of her.<\/p>\n
I had not seen her so animated in a long time. Stormy was normally careful about letting anyone close, so her excitement immediately caught my attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you talked?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked what I was reading.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him I wasn\u2019t reading anything because my phone died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lifted one eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmooth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave an exaggerated groan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I\u2019d completely embarrassed myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe laughed and said that was the most honest answer he\u2019d heard all week.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed a loose strand behind her ear, still smiling at the memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked all the way to South Station.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked if I\u2019d like to get coffee sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached across the counter and squeezed her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her smile softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s only been one subway ride, but it already feels different.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered being nineteen and believing one perfect conversation could redirect an entire life.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d I asked, \u201cdoes this dream guy have a name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJordan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you at least have a picture?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression brightened instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took some before I got off.\u201d<\/p>\n
She searched her camera roll and stopped on one image.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned the screen toward me.<\/p>\n
My smile vanished before I understood why.<\/p>\n
A young man stood beside Stormy on the subway platform, one hand loosely hooked around the strap of his backpack.<\/p>\n
Hazel eyes.<\/p>\n
A slightly crooked smile.<\/p>\n
For one impossible moment, breathing became difficult.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
That could not be real.<\/p>\n
People resembled one another all the time. Boston was hardly a tiny town.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stormy\u2019s voice seemed to come from somewhere far away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I studied the picture again.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe reminds me of someone I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
She angled the phone back toward herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think so?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could respond, she moved to another photograph. In this one, Jordan had been captured walking toward the train doors.<\/p>\n
A small blue felt teddy bear hung from the zipper of his backpack.<\/p>\n
One button eye was blue.<\/p>\n
The other was green.<\/p>\n
Its left ear drooped a little lower than the right.<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
It was impossible.<\/p>\n
Plenty of people owned teddy-bear keychains.<\/p>\n
Boston was not so small that two unrelated people could not possess nearly identical ones.<\/p>\n
I made myself turn away.<\/p>\n
I would not allow an old piece of felt to pull twenty-two years of buried memories into my kitchen.<\/p>\n
I crossed to the sink, wrapped my hands around its edge, and tried to regain control.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two years before, I had sewn a bear exactly like that for the only man I had ever intended to marry.<\/p>\n
I had not been able to afford the birthday present he wanted, so I used leftover blue felt to make something myself. One button came from an old sweater, while the second had been taken from my grandmother\u2019s sewing box.<\/p>\n
He attached it to his backpack immediately and carried it everywhere, calling it his lucky charm.<\/p>\n
I had not seen that bear since the day we parted.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stormy\u2019s voice drew me out of the memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re pale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face made it clear she did not believe me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She stepped nearer.<\/p>\n
I managed a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognized him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI recognized someone he reminded me of.\u201d<\/p>\n
She crossed her arms.<\/p>\n
A soft laugh escaped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it that obvious?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve had exactly one expression for the last five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat expression?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one where you\u2019re somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was your age\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, this is going to be one of those stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part 1 I assumed my daughter\u2019s unexpected subway romance would become another sweet memory I\u2019d repeat for years. Then she showed me a photograph, and I understood she was not simply introducing me to...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n