Page 14 of Make Me Want it Too

Macy pads down the steps from the loft so quietly I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been checking that direction every five seconds for her to appear. She immediately disappears again into the bathroom.

They eat while I contemplate if I have enough oranges and time to make some freshly squeezed juice.

Livvy comes back for a third muffin, which is flattering, but does little to ease the somersaults my stomach is doing.

“Morning,” I say when Macy comes out.

She’s wearing dark blue scrubs, and her hair is up, cheeks barely pink under her cute freckles, eyelids still puffy.

I hope she likes the muffins. I should have squeezed the juice.

“Morning,” she says softly. No smile.

“I can get that for you,” I say as she grabs the coffee pot.

“I’m fine.” She fills her travel thermos then tops it off with a little bit of vanilla creamer.

Silently, she puts the creamer back in the fridge and gets out a yogurt. I made sure to get extra of the strawberry kind she likes.

My heart skips a beat as she looks over at my muffins. Then she takes a banana and heads for the door.

“I thought you didn’t have to be in to work for another hour?” I say as she puts the banana in her purse.

She looks at me, tilting her head as her brow furrows. I should probably dial it down a notch.

“I need to go in early and figure out who I can trade shifts with to get the whole week off for Bex’s wedding activities.”

Oh. Right. “Ah, cool. Have a good day, girl.”

She nods. “Thanks.”

And then she’s gone.

I’m glad I didn’t squeeze the juice.

“How is Noah? And it’s Olivia, right?”

“Livvy, yeah.”

“Tell me everything.”

“Mom, you’re about to board a plane, I don’t have time to tell you everything. But they’re doing great. She moved in. I’ve never seen him happier. He smiles and shit.”

I refrain from telling her how I’ve caught them going at it all over the apartment or how I’ve recently invested in some very expensive noise-cancelling headphones.

“Oh, I’m just so happy for him. He deserves this.” Her voice gets all shaky and sentimental, and I can picture exactly the proud smile on her face and her eyes getting all watery. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Ma, I’m trying. I’ll find someone.”

Macy’s face flashes in my brain and my chest caves in.

“I want grandbabies! I’m getting old.”

“You just turned fifty. That’s not old.”

Dad took her on a month-long trip to the Amalfi coast in Italy for her fiftieth birthday. It’s her favorite place and where they went on their honeymoon. They’re on their way home, finally. They’ll probably be super tan and on a bruschetta and limoncello kick for the next six weeks.

“You’re my only child. I want to see you happy and in love.”

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