Page 161 of From Now On

She touches one of my curls after we let go. “Your hair looks nice.”

“Thanks. I’ve been wearing it down more.”

My mom nods. “Less breakage.”

“Yep.” I nod too. “That’s why.”

She tilts her head, studying me a little more closely. “You look happy, Eve.”

“I am,” I tell her.

My mom smiles as we sit down.

“The flight was okay?” I ask.

“There was an hour delay, but otherwise it was fine. I had plenty of time to check in at the hotel before meeting you here.”

I nod. “Good.”

A waitress appears to take our drink orders and list off the specials.

Once she leaves, I spread my napkin in my lap. “How’s the salon?”

“Good. Busy. Everyone wants a spring makeover. My May candle arrived. Lilac.”

I got my mom a candle subscription last Christmas. Each month is a different scent, and she always tells me what it is.

“How’s Jenny?”

“She has kindergarten graduation in a few weeks, which is hard to believe. I told her your ceremony would be alittlemore elaborate.” My mom smiles. “If flight prices weren’t so crazy, I’d have brought her. John would have loved to be here too.” She pulls out her phone and shows me a photo of my half sister clutching her dad’s leg. “I took this of them after Jenny’s dance recital last night.”

I smile at it. “Wow. She’s getting so big.”

“She sure is.” My mom sips her water. “Do you have any photos of your apartment?”

I still, taken aback by the question. I texted her after I signed a lease for an apartment in Greenwich Village last week. But we haven’t really discussed it, maybe because there’s no longer anything to say. I made my decision.

“Just a few that were part of the listing,” I answer.

I unlock my phone and pull up the real estate site, chewing on my lower lip as I slide it across the table for her to look at.

I lucked out, I think. The location is perfect, right by the High Line. And Marissa, my new roommate, seems super sweet. We talked on the phone for an hour before I committed to theapartment. Her current roommate is leaving the city to go to law school in Boston, so she has an open room. Most of the apartment is furnished, so I won’t have to buy much once I move. Marissa let me know a nearby coffee shop she loves was hiring, so I called and got a barista job lined up. Hopefully it will only be temporary, until I can find something art-related, but it will be enough to pay the bills and leave me with time to paint in the evenings. The manager of the coffee shop even said she’d be open to letting me display some of my paintings for sale.

“It looks really nice, Eve,” my mom tells me.

“Thanks, Mom.”

She passes my phone back to me. “John has a cousin who lives in Stamford he’s talked about visiting before. Maybe we can make a trip this fall.”

“I would love that.”

I knew my mom wouldn’tkeepme from moving to New York. That it was a decision I would get to make on my own.

But I underestimated how it would feel to have her support. It’s like a weight is lifting off my shoulders. Like I could fail, and I wouldn’t have to hide it from her for fear of anI told you so.

“What do you recommend here?” My mom opens her menu. “Everything sounds so good.”

“I got the tortellini last time. The pizzas are pretty popular too.”

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