Page 19 of Vodka and Chocolate Drops

“There were reporters here today and I wanted to make sure they weren’t harassing you.” A partial truth. That was the thing with secrets?they had an insidious nature and begot lies and more secrets. They were evil little things that should be staked through the heart.

“Did they bother you?” her mother asked quickly, moving closer.

“Scott chased them off.”

“He’s a good man.”

Amber smiled, feeling warm down to her toes at the mention of her best friend. “He’s going to make some lucky woman incredibly happy.”

But he was leaving. Sadness washed over Amber and she caught her mother giving her a sidelong glance.

“What?”

“He’s leaving.” Amber let out a gusty sigh, having come to terms with the fact that it was pretty darn hypocritical of her to berate him for leaving when she had already done the same to him, and was planning on doing so again once she could get her life back in order.

“I heard. Sorry. But you’re leaving again soon, too, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but.” It felt different somehow. Scott wasn’t supposed to leave. He was supposed to be a Blueberry Springs lifer.

Her mother gave her a half hug. “Shall we?” She gestured down the street, where pools of light from the streetlamps reminded Amber of hopscotch patterns she’d drawn on the sidewalk as a child.

“Did the reporters hassle you?” she asked again, wanting to ensure her own mess wasn’t making her mom’s life difficult.

“No, but they called for an interview the other day. Don’t worry, I told them I wasn’t interested in making a spectacle of my only daughter.”

Walking arm in arm with her, Amber tipped her head to rest against her mother’s.

She would never stop loving her no matter what, but there were so many secrets it felt as though they were keeping her from understanding her life, her world. Why would Gloria hide something this big? If Amber ever found out the truth, would she regret it? Would it cause her to think less of her mother? Or would it bring them closer, forging a bond nothing could ever break?

“I’m thinking of changing jobs,” Amber said suddenly.

“Why? I thought you liked the freedom?”

“I do, but it’s the same-old, same-old. I don’t know. Maybe I just need more side projects or something to help with this antsy feeling. I like being able to do things like help Leif with his recipe forums, but I’m having trouble staying motivated with the usual stuff.”

“Maybe you just need a boyfriend,” Gloria suggested slyly.

Amber let out a burst of laughter. “Because the last one worked out so well for me?”

“Russell doesn’t count. You need a nice man who will treat you right. Maybe one from town?”

“And be stuck here forever? No, thanks.”

“What’s wrong with staying here?”

“Nothing. I just…” The town was home and always had been. But it felt as though there were fewer options to live a life that was more than the same old routine.

“There will come a time when you’ll appreciate the quiet, reliable, and predictable. A town that will have your back no matter what.”

Amber tried to look at her mother with fresh eyes, not as someone she’d known all her life. She wondered if there had been a time when her mom had needed the town to have her back, and if so, what had happened.

“Like now,” Gloria added.

Oh, she was talking abouther. Right. Amber supposed the town was looking out for her in its usual nosy sort of way. Honestly though, she’d prefer the anonymity of the city when it came to things like this.

“Have you been okay, Mom? With everything?”

“I wish Russell had been a whole lot nicer to you. Someone needs to have a good long talk with his mother.”

---