Page 51 of The Friendly Fall

“Well, I know, but your dad and I have decided that we’d rather come to you this year. It’s been a while since your father’s been back to his hometown, and we think it would be good to visit. Granny’s getting older too.”

I nod, a spur of excitement hitting me in the chest. Ilikethe idea of staying right here in West Falls for the holidays. “So, we can have a huge Thanksgiving dinner here?”

“Yeah, and we were thinking of just making a road trip out of it.”

“Are you sure? It’s about an eight-hour drive—”

“I know, but it sounds like fun for us,” she adds with a laugh.

“If that’s what you consider fun,” I mutter, cringing at the thought. “I don’t think road trips are my thing. The seven-hour drive to get here from Chicago was good enough for me.”

“Yeah, but Granny says that you’re really thriving there. And I’ve been following your photography account. It looks like you’ve gotten even more clients since the last time we talked.”

It’s true. Ihavebeen thriving here, and I’m honestly falling in love with West Falls. This place is charming and the people aresowarm and welcoming.

I don’t even miss Chicago.

“I have, and my schedule is filling up with last minute holiday pictures. I think I’ve started developing a good reputation around the town.”

“And you’re making friends,” Mom says, her tone shifting ever so slightly. “I saw the shoot you did with Vanessa—that’s her name,right?”

“Yeah, she’s crazy photogenic.” I beam, thinking of the shoot we did right off Main Street. “I think the fall backdrop made for some nice pictures. I swear she could be a model.”

“You know,youcould be a model, too. You’ve always been photogenic.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, Mom. I think you’re just required to say that.”

“No, I’m not.” She laughs. “So, how did you get those pictures of yourself and your boyfriend?”

“I used a tripod and a timer—”

Wait … boyfriend?

“They aresocute. Granny says Nick is a good kid. I had no idea that the two of you were together, though. But with those pictures.” She lets out a sharp breath. “It makes sense.”

My mouth grows dry. “Uh—”

“I’m really happy for you, you know. Dad says that his family is a good one. We’ve been praying for you to find someone just like him.”

I blink, my eyes staring at the white wall of my bedroom. I don’t even know what to say and it doesn’t matter, because she’s not giving me much timetosay anything.

“Your dad was good friends with Nick’s dad when they were young. He said it was a shame that he passed away. He’sreallylooking forward to meeting Nick when we come in for Thanksgiving. We’ve beensoworried about you—your dad, especially. He thought Devon ruined your outlook on love, and I told him not to worry.I knew you’d move on in time. And it looks like you found a good man.”

“Um—”

“Anyway,” Mom says with a sigh. “I just want you to know that we’re really happy for you, and I can’t wait to meet Nick.”

“Yeah,” I manage to choke out, trying to conjure up the best way to tell her that Nick and I are just friends…

“He’ll be at Thanksgiving, won’t he? Or are you going to his family’s? I bet we can work it out so that you can do both.”

“I don’t know right now,” I spit out, my eyes flickering to the doorway where Granny is now standing, giving me a funny look.

“Well, we’ll work out the details. You talk to Nick and figure out what works best for him, and then we’ll go from there. I need to get back to cleaning, but I just wanted to tell you the pictures of you two were gorgeous. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

“Love you, Liz.”

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