Page 113 of A Whole New Trick

“Oh my. I could never do that.” Mom shakes her head. “My family would’ve been so disappointed not to see me and your father get married. Especially my mother.”

I press my lips together. “The same mother who criticized you for not being able to fit her wedding gown when her frame was five inches shorter and much more narrow than yours?”

Mom smiles tightly. “Yes, the very one.”

These past few months haven’t just been good for my business and love life but also for my relationship with my mom.

After I finally told her how I felt about the negative comments she consistently made about herself, she took time to reflect and realized that a lot of her negativity wasn’t created by her own mind but rather put there by her own mother.

I never met Grandmom Harpswell. She passed shortly after Mason and Miles were born, but I’ve learned that while she loved her ballet-loving daughter dearly, she did not refrain from putting immense pressure on her.

When I learned the details about the mental abuse my mom suffered from someone she loved and respected, my heart broke for the girl she was and the woman she’s become.

Mom’s past doesn’t excuse the way her body image issues indirectly affected me or the way her comments could have burrowed under my skin and damaged my own self-worth, but it does offer insight into why she is the way she is.

I change the subject by asking Mom about Matthew, curious if she knows anything about the mysterious woman he’s dating.

The only reason we know he’s dating someone is because he missed Christmas with the family this year to spend time with“a friend.”.We aren’t dumb. There’s no way Matthew would miss our family get-together for anyone who was less than a girlfriend, though he insisted that wasn’t the case.

Try as we might, neither I, Miles, nor Mason have been able to get any information out of him about this so-called friend. Our eldest brother is expertly evasive. Which only makes us even more curious. It turns out Mom and Dad didn’t have any luck, either.

“Maybe she’s a celebrity,” I muse aloud, turning my body to avoid being run over by a teenager riding an electric scooter on the sidewalk.

Mom shrugs. “Anything is possible.”

We finally reach the French-inspired bistro. The smell of freshly baked bread fills my nostrils and I immediately envision ordering a caprese sandwich on a fresh loaf.

Mom grabs the door handle. I give her a curious look when she holds the door closed.

“Mom? Everything okay?”

She swallows the lump in her throat, and I’m shocked to see her eyes glistening with tears. “I just wanted to say that I love you. And that I am so incredibly proud of everything you have accomplished this year.”

“Oh. Thanks?” I tilt my head to the side and take in her watery gaze. “Are you okay?”

She sniffs and straightens. “I’m fine. Let’s get something to eat.”

She opens the door and walks inside before I can say anything else. I have no idea what’s made her so emotional. Is it because she thought of her mother?

I step inside.

“SURPRISE!”

I jump back and clutch my chest.

A gasp escapes my lips as I take in the sea of family and friends gathered in the modest-sized French bistro and the congratulations banner and streamers hanging from the ceiling.

“What is this?”

Dane detaches himself from the crowd and holds out a hand. “It’s a party.”

I place my palm in his hand. “I can see that. But what for?”

“For your business.” He guides me towards my loved ones. My feet are stuck on the floor. I nearly stumble.

“My business?”

Joshua chuckles. “Yeah, you know? The thing you opened but never took the time to celebrate? Consider this your grand opening party.”

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