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Chapters (67)
  1. Big Boned
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. One Month Later
  60. Acknowledgments
  61. About the Author
  62. Copyright
  63. About the Publisher
  64. Backad 1
  65. Backad 2
  66. Backad 3
  67. Backad 4

I walked back up the stairs with the biggest smile on my face and was about to go to my bedroom when I heard a small, muffled sound coming from my mom’s room. I peered through the open crack in her door and saw her lying in the middle of the bed with her back to the door. Her shoulders were shaking as if she was crying. Crumped tissues lay strewn on the bed and in the middle of it all was a big book titled Step into Your Personal Power. My smile faded instantly, and I quietly pulled her door shut.

20

Zac and I were in my car, driving to the Kirstenbosch gardens for the first time. Google Maps took us all the way around Table Mountain National Park, so no matter what direction you drove in, the mountain was a constant in your window. What I liked most about Table Mountain was not the mountain itself, but the trees that dotted it. Tall and crooked and bent over by the wind. They were all leaning as if they might fall over at any moment, as if one more gust of wind could uproot them and toss them through the air. I connected my phone to the car and pressed Play on one of our favorite songs of the moment. One of the things I loved about our relationship was how important music was to both of us. We could listen to music together for hours without saying a word, and yet feel like we’d communicated everything. The song “Nebula” by XOV came on, and we both turned and shared a small smile before the beat kicked in and we found ourselves bobbing our heads back and forth. I think Zac likes this song so much because it speaks to one of his obsessions.

“Did you know,” Zac said over the music, “that there are over three thousand nebulae in the Milky Way?”

“Wow,” I replied. “Did you know that Tutankhamun was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who lived thousands of years ago, and when he became king, he was the same age as you?” I offered up another fact about some of the other lyrics in the song. Zac loved facts; he got so excited about learning new information that no one else knew and I often found myself googling interesting facts just to tell him.

“He was eight years and five months?” he asked, being his usual literal self.

I nodded. “Somewhere around there.”

“Around where?” he asked, and I tried to stop my smile.

“Around here!” I pointed out the windshield, distracting him. “Look how cool and big this mountain is.”

Zac leaned forward and stared up and the mountain, and I made a mental note to google some facts about Table Mountain later.