Page 77 of This Moment

There was a long moment of silence before she asked, “Girlfriend? You’re dating someone there?”

“I am. She works for Aunt Opal at the bakery.”

“She does what? Lord, Kian, could you not find a woman more up to…oh, I don’t know…your standards?”

A bark of laughter slipped free. “My standards or yours?”

“What does she do there?”

“She is Opal’s manager. She’s actually been doing more and more and allowing Opal to spend quality time outside of the bakery.”

“Really?” my mother asked. “What has she been doing with this new free time?”

“Let’s see,” I said, purposely stalling to drive my mother crazy. “She’s joined a book club that Cadie is in as well. She plays bunco with some friends on Friday nights, and on Sundays, she is in a group that plays a really fun card game called Nertz.”

“Nerds?”

“No, Nertz.” I spelled it out for her. “N. E. R. T. Z. It’s a really fun game. Cadie, Sally, and I joined in last Sunday.”

She sniffed. “I see. Well, it sounds like you’re settling back into life there in Moose Village.”

“I am. It’s been great being back home and writing.”

Clearing her throat, she asked, “Do you have a date of when you will be returning back to the office after you’ve finished this little writing experiment of yours?”

My mouth fell open. “Writing experiment? Mom, I don’t know how much clearer I could have made it. I’m not coming back. I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore. I want to write this book, see how it goes, and possibly write more.”

“You think you can make a career out of this, Kian?” she asked with a laugh. “Please. This is a silly fantasy you had that you never got to fulfill. Once you see it will take you nowhere, you’ll return to your senses.”

I had to force myself not to hang up on her. “We’ll have to see which of us is right. But, I can tell you that no matter what, my days of being a lawyer are over.”

“All that time in law school, for what? A few good years? This is crazy, Kian.”

“Mom, if you’re going to come back this weekend and preach to me about what you think I should do with my life, then you might as well stay in New York. For the first time in a very long time, I am happy. The happiest I think I’ve ever been.”

She sniffed once again. “If this is what you want, then I guess there isn’t anything else I can say.”

“You still coming home for the weekend?”

“Yes, Kian. We are.”

“Great. I’ve got to run, Mom. Tell Dad I said hello, and I’ll see you in a few days.”

I hung up the phone and sighed. “Well, this should be fun.”

Hitting my sister’s number, I drew in a deep breath and exhaled.

“Hey, little bro. What’s up?”

“Did you know Mom and Dad were coming home to Moose Village this weekend?”

She sighed. “I did not.”

“She claims Dad talked to Uncle Trey, and he misses everyone. Dad, not Trey. Plus, you mentioning Mark would be home, Dad supposedly wants to make amends with all of that.”

Macy giggled. “I was going to call you today to tell you Mark is flying in tomorrow. He’s spending a day in Boston then heading to Moose Village. I told him I would get with Sally and maybe we could plan an Easter dinner. Now that Mom and Dad are coming in, I’m sure she’ll want to take over the plans.”

“My advice, call Sally and get her working on the dinner now. Mom won’t step on Sally’s toes if she knows she has already started planning.”

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