Chapter 38

Mona happily accepted the gift and turned to Mick with teary eyes. "Mick, did you arrange all of this? You're so thoughtful." Mick didn't know how to respond. He couldn't remember Nydia's birthday and had never celebrated it for her. How could he possibly remember anyone else's? Thankfully, Nydia had never seemed to care, so he'd never put much effort into it. Just as he was about to deny it, Gia suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" She'd just knocked over a photo album that now lay open on the floor. She quickly picked it up and flipped through it. "I'm sorry, Ms. Poole. I just wanted to give you a surprise. "I know how much you treasure these pictures, so I replaced the old album with a new one and had them all framed nicely. I…" She lay the album open in front of Mick and displayed photos of school days, including pictures he'd taken with Mona. There were pictures taken on the campus paths, images of them performing together onstage, and playful scruffl