Page 144 of Summertime Friends

Call me in 20?

Have an emergency or something?

Chloe: No

Chloe: She drove three hours to see you. Talk to her.

Ugh, fine.

Chloe: You’ve got this.

I stop at the counter to order before I go to her table. Ordered the huevos rancheros tostadas and then an iced strawberry matcha. Then to comfort the conversation I need to have with her, I ordered a slice of carrot cake Mom’s favorite.

”Mom,” my voice comes out small, weak.

I touch the back side of her shoulder as I step around to the other side of the table.

Placing the cake between us, I pull out the chair and sitacross from her.

“Oh, honey. It’s so good to see you.” Her arm reaches out across the table and squeezes my forearm. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Mom.” I do miss her, but it hurts too. It feels like I’m letting myself down by missing her.

I’ve missed both of them, Mom and Dad, since that night when I was thirteen. Dad might have physically left, but Mom emotionally left.

And I’ve I’ve added Liam to that list.

The list of people I miss, but don’t miss. We all have one, right?

“When was the last time I was in the city? Oh, I know! Christmas after you and Natalie moved here. It was bitterly cold and snowed all day that we missed our tickets to see Hamilton.”

“Yeah, I think so.”

She cuts into the piece of salmon on top of her kale Caesar salad. “How’s work?” Mom asks me.

“Good. Yeah, good.” I nod my head. “Busy with a few new companies coming on board, but good.”

“I wish you’d quit.”

”Mom!”

“What? You are wasting your true creative talent working there. You should go full-time with photography. Do you know how much money is in the wedding business?”

I roll my eyes at her.

“You could make over six figures a year.”

“I don’t care about the money.”

“So?” She rolls her eyes back at me. “It’s more than what you are making now—”

“I don’t even enjoy shooting weddings.”

“What do you mean? You love photography.”

“Right, photography. Not weddings.” She gives me this look of confusion. “I want to take photos of places, people, animals, and moments—not weddings. Think travel and leisure.”

“That’s not consistent or easy. Weddings are always happening. Just look at your father. Some lucky photographer got two gigs out of him.”

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