Back to You(74)

“You’re welcome,” she said into his shirt.
Too soon, she felt him release her, and she sat back as he stood from the bed and walked to the other side of the room. She assumed he was going to put the game into his system, but he walked past the television and over to his closet, grabbing something off the top shelf.
When he turned back toward the bed, she could see it was a small square box wrapped in shiny green paper.
“Merry Christmas Red,” he said, tossing the box to her before he sat back down on the bed.
“You got me something? I thought you said—”
“I know what I said. Shut up and open it.”
Lauren looked up to see him motioning with his head toward the box in her hands, encouraging her.
She carefully peeled back the paper and pulled out a red, hinged box.
Inside was a necklace, made up of several tiny silver leaves connected with delicate vines, twirling and intertwining up to the clasp. The leaves were faceted so that the light shimmered off them in prisms, making them sparkle.
“Oh my gosh, this is so…pretty.” She brought her fingertip to one of the leaves, the movement causing it to glitter. “Is this ivy?” she asked, looking up at him.
Michael smiled. “We had to do a project in art. Some crap about symbolism in nature. I couldn’t come up with anything, so Miss Abramo assigned me ivy.” He shrugged. “It made me think of you.”
“What do you mean?” Lauren asked.
He shook his head. “Here,” he said, reaching for the box and pulling the necklace out. He opened the clasp and held it out, and Lauren leaned forward as he put it around her neck, closing it behind her.
Michael sat back, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “It looks good on you, Red.”
Her hand came to the necklace, holding it against her skin as she felt her cheeks get hot. “Thank you.”
They sat there in silence for a moment before Lauren looked down at her watch. “I should be getting back,” she said softly.
“Alright. Well, thanks for coming over. Give me a call tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come back with me?” Lauren asked.
“No, I’m good. I got this,” he said, holding up the video game with a smile.
“Okay,” she said, standing from the bed, not wanting to leave him even though she knew she had to. “But if you decide you want to get out of here for a bit, just come over.”
“I will. Merry Christmas,” he said, hugging her once more, and she gave him one last squeeze before she grabbed her purse and headed back downstairs.
Thankfully, Michael’s mother was nowhere to be seen when she came back through the living room; Lauren didn’t know if she’d be able to curb her tongue if they had another encounter, and the last thing she wanted to do was have it out with that woman.
She drove home in silence, one hand on the wheel and the other playin { display: block; text-indent: 0%; font-size: 0.88rem; margin-top: owleasig with the delicate silver vines at her throat.
As soon as she got back home, she bypassed the crowd of her family in the living room and ran upstairs, powering up her computer. And then she opened her search engine and typed in “ivy symbolism” before hitting enter.
Several sites came up as a result, and Lauren clicked on the first one and began reading.
Ever furrowing and intertwining, the ivy is an example of the twists and turns our lives often take, but because ivy has the propensity to interweave in its growth, it is also a testimony to the long-lasting connections we can form with others throughout our lives.
Lauren bit her lip, closing out of the website and clicking on the next one.
Ivy is a tribute to strong relationships because of its ability to grow and flourish, even in the most challenging environments. It seems to be virtually indestructible and will often return after it has suffered damage or has been severely cut back. Because the ivy is unbelievably durable and known to withstand harsh conditions, it represents incredibly loyal relationships and our ability to stand by those we care about, even in the toughest of situations.
Lauren’s breath left her in a soft rush, and she closed out of the website and clicked on one more. This one stated simply:
Ivy is symbolic of strong, lasting relationships that are guaranteed to stand the test of time.
With a smile on her lips, she dropped her head back on the chair and closed her eyes, trailing her fingertips over the necklace once more.
“I love you, Michael Delaney,” she breathed, and it felt so good to finally say it out loud, even if no one but her could hear it.

January 2012
Lauren sat at the stoplight, mentally running through the list of errands she still hoped to get done. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a day off during the week, and when she first woke up that morning, she didn’t know what to do with herself. Her new semester of classes didn’t start for another couple of days, so she literally had an entire day laid out before her like a blank canvas.