Page 55 of Dr. Intern

“That’s great, Mom. I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

“Yes, but what about Weston?” Mrs. Callaway presses, not missing the fact that Cassidy didn’t mention his presence at the wedding. “He’s invited too, right? I know the Southerlands will ask at dinner, and I want to assure them that he’s welcome.”

Cassidy cracks her neck and looks away. “Potentially.”

“What do you mean potentially? Clearly, you two are fine if you’re willing to get lunch together.”

“That was a one-time thing, and it’s a little complicated,” Cass replies, hesitating before she adds, “with Parker.”

Her mom scoffs, brushing off Cassidy’s comment. “Why would Parker care, darling? You’re marrying him after all. Not Weston. I’m sure you wouldn’t care if an old ex of Parker’s came to the wedding, now would you?”

I giggle, unable to help myself. “Parker doesn’t have any ex-girlfriends. He was married to medicine.”

Cassidy’s mom raises an eyebrow, a curious look on her face. “Really? No ex-girlfriends at all?”

I shake my head. “Cass brought him out of his shell, and thank god because he was unbearable before.”

Her dad chimes in. “Opposites attract, isn’t that right, honey?”

Mrs. Callaway gives her husband a warm smile. “Exactly. Well, Cass, I’m not sure why Parker would have an issue with Weston coming to the wedding if he knows you two are still friends. I have lots of men that I’m friends with. It doesn’t mean that I want to form a harem.”

Her father rolls his eyes, adjusting the ball cap atop his head. “I think you mean reverse harem. Plus, you work too much to handle more than one man. You can barely handle me.”

I snicker at her dad’s comment, but Cassidy seems unamused and deflated. “I’ll talk to Parker and let you know.”

I’m itching in my seat and can’t wait to ask her about this later. Obviously, I know she would never cheat on my brother. She’s obsessed with him for some reason completely beyond me. But, I also know that Parker will flip his lid if he finds out that Cass had lunch with Weston and didn’t tell him. There’s no way on earth he’s going to be on board with inviting Weston to the wedding either.

My brother isn’t exactly the forgive-and-forget type of guy. He’s more into holding grudges and cutting people out of his life completely.

“Good. So, Claire,” Cassidy’s mom says, shifting her focus to me as she takes another sip of wine, “do you like Atlanta?”

“For the most part,” I reply, taking a moment to spoon some grits onto my plate now that the drama is over. “I’m sure you know about everything that happened with my mom in September.”

“Yes, dear,” Mrs. Callaway says, sorrow washing over her face. “I’m so sorry about your mother. We spoke several times about the wedding before she passed, and it was a pleasure to know her.”

Cassidy looks over at me hesitantly, like she’s making sure I’m okay, and I give her a soft smile. I thought I would be triggered by this, given the holiday, but I’m surprisingly fine.

Instead of feeling sad, I just picture my mom and her conversation with Mrs. Callaway. I imagine the way that she would have welcomed Cassidy’s parents into our family with open arms. How she probably sent a gift basket of Harry and David pears once she found out about the engagement. And how I’m sure she probably added them to the Christmas card list that grew longer with each year.

Apart from my siblings, nobody has mentioned my mom to me since the funeral, likely for fear that they’d upset me. And at first, that was wise because I wasn’t coping well. I didn’t want to talk about her. I couldn’t talk about her.

But now, as I sit and think about my mom, I find peace. Peace in knowing that I’m finally ready to move forward in my life. Peace in knowing that she was proud of the person I am. And peace in knowing that she will continue to be proud of who I am, no matter what I do in life.

All I ever wanted was to make her proud, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than this. So the words that come out of my mouth next are something I’ve considered, but not fully committed to, until this moment.

“Thank you, Mrs. Callaway,” I respond. “I’ve actually decided to go back to school and become a nurse.”

That day at the hospital changed me. I never thought nursing would be something I was be interested in, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that little boy and how good it felt to help him. Or how interesting it was to hear Morgan talk about her day. Or how alive I felt in the chaos of it all.

I’ve always been unsure of my purpose in life. I went into advertising because it was fun and what my friends were doing. I avoided healthcare because it was what my family loved, and I desperately wanted to stand out. But now, I can’t think of a better purpose in life than to honor my mom’s memory and become a nurse.

I glance over at Cass and the expression on her face is one of pure shock. “Really?” she asks, her lips quivering slightly.

“Really.” I nod.

“That’s wonderful, dear,” her dad chimes in. “I know Cass had to get a second bachelor’s degree after she left Athens. Is that something you could do too?”

“Yes, sir,” I reply, feeling ten thousand pounds lighter despite all of the food in front of us. “There’s a program downtown that only takes twelve months, and from what it sounds like, I can start in the spring.”

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