My back had ached from staying nights at family friends’ houses.  Our house was cloaked in emptiness, with blank walls and.  We had gotten settled in a few days ago, and the mattresses on the floor of my sister’s and my room seemed like the most comfortable things in the world.  We finally had a place of our own, and I was so excited to see what would happen next.  

I’d stayed up half the night before dissecting the last two weeks.  We had gotten out of our moldy, overpriced, old apartment.  The apartment who’s cabinets had given me a concussion and boasted one of the only murder cases in the district.  We were moving up.  

My sister and I had a shared room, and the cold weather tore at my skin.  My stomach wished for food more than anything.  My mom called us down and gave us the news: she had ordered a miniature feast from red lobster for everyone.  The voice of my mom calling us eclipsed my other thoughts, I couldn’t imagine being happier, and I knew that this was exactly what we needed.  

When my mom brought the food in, I couldn't believe the sight before me.  I sat on the counter next to her and across from my sister taking in the scene. The stove was completely filled with brown paper bags.  The smell of every vacation, birthday, and celebration flooded my nose in the form of seafood and cheesy biscuits.  The sound of some song my mom had played a million times before drifted through my ears, as each note of the song echoes from the little red brick speaker she’d had since before we were born.  Seeing the mountains of shrimp and crab eased my hunger before I even started to eat.  This was better than any meal we’d ever had.  

As we were eating I thought about how perfect this was, the people I loved most in the same room celebrating our new start.  My mom leaned over to me and told me that this would be a moment I would remember for the rest of my life.  I took one final glance and knew without a doubt that she was right.