Take My Breath Away

  * * *

  I slept in later than normal the next morning, but Mom was still in the kitchen when I came downstairs.

  "Good thing you got those screens put away, the wind's really picked up," she said, standing at the sink, staring out the window. "Jason," she said, turning to face me. "Did you move the car?"

  "Guilty," I confessed. "I couldn't sleep—West Coast time still—you remember? Anyway, I went to see Izzy. I took your car cause the Jeep has that exhaust leak and I didn't want to wake you."

  She smiled, before taking another sip of coffee, but it wasn't her usual warm, happy smile. Not obvious, but definitely not the same. "I'm surprised her mother let her see you."

  "Yeah, well she owes me." A stretch, but not really a lie.

  "Oh, that reminds me." She set her coffee cup on the table and went to the bulletin board. "Izzy's mother left a note in our mailbox." She handed me a cream colored envelope.

  I flipped up the edge of the already opened envelope.

  "I didn't mean to pry, it just has the name Elizabeth Faulkner on the front—she has the most elegant penmanship—it's a thank you note and I didn't open the envelope inside that was specifically addressed to you."

  "Hey, that's okay, no big deal." I knew Elizabeth wouldn't write anything incriminating. "Thanks," I said stuffing the letter in my back pocket.

  "Aren't you curious?"

  "I'll get to it. I'm sure she just wanted to thank me for going to get Izzy."

  "Well, I just thought—"

  "It's no big deal, Mom."

  She retrieved her cup of coffee and retreated back to the window. The house shuttered from a strong gust of wind that made the drapes flutter.

  "I'd forgotten how cold it gets here," Mom said.

  "Yeah, I know what you mean. It was freezing last night."

  "Oh, before I forget, the packet from school is on the dining room table. Don't put it off, get it done as soon as possible."

  "Okay, okay," I moaned.

  "Don't give me that tone," Mom said. "You've had your little jaunt across the country. It's time to buckle down and get back on track. You don't want to have to explain a lot of incompletes to a college recruiter."

  "Okay, I get it." I walked into the dining room and found the huge folder on top of a pile of old mailers. As I opened it, I thought about Elizabeth's letter and glanced back into the kitchen. Mom was busy putting the dishes away so I pulled it out of my pocket and opened the smaller envelope inside.

  Dear Jason,

  I'm so grateful for your heroic efforts to find our daughter. I spoke briefly with our West Coast extended family and learned you and Izzy are both in good health. I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I am to know you are both safe. Please inform Izzy that if she wishes to see us, we are staying at The Faulkner Plantation. Izzy will know how to locate us. Thank you again, Benjamin and I are in your debt.

  Elizabeth Faulkner

  "Jason," Mom yelled from the backdoor. "I'm going to run up to the market. Do you need anything?"

  "Some soda would be cool."

  "Alright, I won't be long." The door banged closed behind her.

  I made a beeline for the phone and dialed my cell.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey, it's me."

  "Jason, I told you—"

  "I know where they are?"

  "You know where who is?"

  "Your family."

  "How—"

  "Elizabeth left a note—they're—I'm not exactly sure, you need to see the note." I knew if I told her she'd run off without me."

  "Jason—"

  "You want me to come there or do you want to come here?" I gave her a choice, here or there, not take me with you, yes or no.

  "Alright, I'll be there in a few minutes."

  I glanced down at my watch. When Izzy said a few minutes, she meant it. I raced upstairs, brushed my teeth again and did another round of deodorant just to be sure. Then I threw a few things in my backpack for the trip. We'd probably have to get the exhaust fixed when we got there, but I'd worry about that later. I grabbed what cash I had left off my dresser and headed downstairs as the deep rumble of a V-8 came up the driveway. Perfect, Izzy thought of everything, we're going to take her car.

  "Let me leave Mom a note and then I'm good to go." I yelled out the backdoor. By the time I got to the kitchen table, Izzy was standing behind me.

  "You're not going anywhere, mister. Your mom would kill me if I drug you away again."

  "Cute, but no way I'm not going."

  "Jason, I can't—"

  "The way I see it, you both have that stubborn streak going and if what you told me about getting her to let you go to school was true, well then, you're probably going to need a little human touch to keep from breaking things." I dropped down on one knee to beg.

  A car door slammed out back.

  "Jason, your mother's home—get up!"

  "Not till you say yes."

  "Your mother—she won't approve and I won't disobey her."

  I took her hand and kissed it. Just then the backdoor opened.

  "Jason Whitaker! What are you doing?"

  I looked up at Izzy, down to our hands and then at Mom. "No! It's not what it looks like, I swear."

  "Hi, Mrs. Whitaker." Izzy said, breaking the anxious moment.

  Mom took a breath and let it out slowly before responding. "Nice to see you again, Izzy, we missed you the last night."

  Izzy shook off my hand and took a step away from me, toward Mom. "I'm sorry, I had to talk with Elizabeth—you know explain."

  "How is she?" Mom's tone clearly suggested she suspected something.

  I got up from the floor and slid in next to Izzy. "About that—"

  "Elizabeth's not here," Izzy cut me off.

  Mom's expression went blank for a moment. "She's still out looking for you? What did your father say?"

  Izzy glanced at me. "Benjamin's not here either."

  "What are you doing?" I whispered in Izzy's ear. "Listen, Izzy's mom, the Faulkner's—well the Faulkner's are—"

  "Gone," Izzy said flatly.

  "Gone? I don't understand—they abandoned you?"

  "It's not like it sounds, Mom. Izzy—"

  "I'm adopted."

  "Oh." Mom sort of staggered over to the counter and set the grocery bags down.

  "You sure about this?" I whispered to Izzy.

  "Do you mind if we all sit down?" Izzy suggested.

  Mom sat down at her usual place at the table and Izzy and I sat down across from her. I scooted my chair closer to Izzy's.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't know," Mom started. "You don't owe me any expla—"

  "Yes, yes I do. It's the least I can do after what I put you through. You've been like a guardian angel. I honestly don't know where—or if—I'd be if it weren't for your son and what you allowed him do."

  Mom smiled, cautiously. "That's sweet of you to say. We're both very fond of you."

  I laced my fingers between Izzy's.

  "Elizabeth and Benjamin adopted me a few years ago. I was an orphan—but more than that, I had no memory of my past. Going back to school—something at school," she corrected, "must have triggered my memory and I started having dreams." Izzy squeezed my hand. "Jason helped me focus the dreams and I was eventually able to remember the Olympic Mountains. Then, that night, when we were together, under the stars—"

  "The date?" Mom cringed, like she was expecting the worse.

  "Jason was a perfect gentleman, but that night—I don't know, maybe it was the closeness, the emotion, whatever it was made me feel inadequate."

  "What?" I interrupted. "You're not—"

  "Let me finish. That night I realized I was incomplete and it wasn't fair to feel the way I do about your son without knowing anything about myself. So, in order to be with him, I had to know—who I was—where I came from."

  Mom's teary eyes probed mine with a deep love and pride I'm not sure I'd ever seen before. "Jason did that?" She sniffled.
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  "And more—in Washington, when it looked like all was lost, he found the missing piece of the puzzle that reunited me with my birth mother."

  Mom sat back with a cautious smile. "But you left and came back."

  "Yes, my mother has her own family and well, I would have been an intrusion."

  "She said that?"

  "No—"

  "Isabella's a nice person," I interrupted.

  "Isabella," Mom said, nodding her head. "Izzy, as in Isabella, not Elizabeth."

  "Yes," I said. "Isabella New—Ouch!" I groaned as Izzy clenched my hand.

  "It's Izzy Faulkner," Izzy clarified.

  Mom looked a little confused, but seemed to accept what Izzy said. I can't believe I almost said Isabella Newton—what an idiot—good luck explaining that one to Mom.

  "So you haven't seen Elizabeth since your return."

  "No, and I'm afraid she must feel horrible about my finding out—"

  "Elizabeth knew your mother?"

  "Yes," Izzy confessed, "she made Elizabeth promise not to tell me—"

  "But you said they adopted you just a few years ago?" Mom said.

  "It's complicated—I lost my memory in an accident."

  "Oh, I see, Isabella couldn't take care of you any longer." It was obvious Mom was sifting through the details in her head—that wasn't good. "What did you say your mother's maiden name was?"

  "That's not the end of the story, Mom," I said. "When you came in, I was telling Izzy that I know where the Faulkners are."

  "How in the world could you know—"

  "Elizabeth's note."

  Mom's eyes brightened momentarily, remembering the note she'd given me earlier, but narrowed quickly to guarded slits.

  "And?" Mom said warily.

  "I'm going to take Izzy to her—"

  "Absolutely not, young man." Mom pushed back from the table.

  "It's not up to you," I argued.

  Izzy squeezed my hand sending a nerve twinge up my arm.

  "School is going to start up again in just a few weeks—you haven't even done the work you were assigned the last time you went traipsing off across the country. If your father was here—well he'd put his foot down."

  Izzy shook my hand to keep me from firing back without thinking. "If it's all the same Mrs. Whitaker, I don't think he should come either."

  "There, you see, Izzy shows some sense."

  I gave Izzy a hard glare, but she ignored me.

  "Mom, I'm not going to disobey you. I know I forced your hand last time. I'm sorry, but I just felt like—well I had to."

  "So what, now I'm a pushover?"

  "No. I just want you to hear me out. Izzy and I are a couple—heck, we're more than that, we're soul mates. Right, Izzy?"

  Izzy just nodded. I was hoping for a little more, but I think she was trying not to take sides.

  "So what do you say, Mom?"

  "That's your reason—you're soul mates?"

  "Does there need to be more? Sure, there are the details, my make up work, school starting again, gas, expenses, stuff like that, but they're just the details. This is a very big deal for Izzy and I need to be there with her. Besides, Elizabeth has a stubborn streak like Izzy."

  Izzy punched me lightly in the shoulder. "I'm not stubborn."

  "I don't see how your getting between a mother and her daughter is going to help either of them." She looked to Izzy for conformation.

  "He was the one who brought me home," Izzy offered.

  Mom looked annoyed.

  "We're not ganging up on you, Mom."

  "Aren't you?"

  "I should go," Izzy said. She pushed back from the table and I stood with her.

  "No," I retorted, "I'm not letting you go back to that empty house."

  "You're alone?" Mom was clearly shocked. "I thought you had older siblings?"

  "Mom, that's what she's been trying to tell you, her family left."

  That flustered her. That was the leverage I needed. To Mom, Izzy was now a frightened teenage girl who had possibly been abandoned—no way could she, or would she, just turn her back on her.

  I grabbed my wallet. "Listen, why don't you run out and grab a burger while Mom and I work this out?"

  "A burger?" Izzy gawked.

  "A burger, tofu or whatever grabs you." I handed Izzy a twenty and then turned to Mom. "I'm going to walk her out to her car. I'll be right back."

  "I'm sorry Mrs. Whitaker. I hate putting you in this position, but I promise you, Jason will abide by whatever you decide. Isn't that right, Jason?"

  "Yeah, yeah, be right back."

  Wow, I'd forgotten how cold it was. When we got to the car, Izzy crossed her arms and leaned back against the front fender.

  "You going to tell me about that?" I asked, noticing just how bad her once beautiful car looked.

  "It was in an accident."

  "Will it even make it to where we're going?"

  "Who said I was driving?"

  "If I'm going we are."

  "'If' you're going."

  "Okay, okay, enough about the car. What were you doing back there? You really had me confused, I thought you were going to tell her."

  "You know I can't do that, but I won't lie to her either. You don't need to come, I can deal with this—I don't even know why you want to come."

  I tried to kiss her, but she pushed me away. "Seriously, Jason, there's no reason for you to come. I don't need your mother hating me anymore than she already does."

  "Well, let me ask you this, what are you going to say to Elizabeth?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "It's simple really, are Elizabeth and Benjamin your family?"

  "I don't know if they'll have me after the way I deceived them."

  "You really don't know much about family do you?" I stepped into her and wrapped my arms around the small of her back. "Elizabeth was really worried about you. I know how hard it must have been to have me in her house, but she dealt with it so she could find out what I knew. I think she blamed herself."

  "But I hurt them."

  "I think more than you realize, but I have no doubt that if you two can get past your stubborn pride you'll be a real family."

  "You really think so?" She leaned forward to rest her head on my shoulder.

  "Does that mean that's what you want?"

  "Of course."

  I brushed her hair back and kissed her cheek. "Then let's go, work this out."

  "Your mom's at the window," she said, pushing me away.

  "I don't care."

  "Yes you do."