Page 96 of Roommating

“Interesting segue.” I chuckle. “I don’t think so. Other than possibly driving through it.”

“It’s a great little city. But Adam fell in love with the energy here and fit right in.”

She’s right. When I moved to Manhattan, there was a learning curve while I figured out how tobea New Yorker. For most of us,livinghere is only half the journey. It’s big and crowded. The subway system is like a giant obstacle course with unplanned detours, local trains running on express tracks, and impossible-to-decipher announcements. The pace is lightning fast and either you move with the crowd or it buries you like an avalanche. The locals have a certainswagger.If you know, you know.Then one day, if you’re lucky, it just clicks… like it did for me. Adam might have been an awkward teenager but after our first walk to the Strand, when he was wide-eyed and in awe, he caught on to the fast pace and heightened energy of the city like a boss.

Still, Marcia’s words come as a surprise since I thought she was on board with him moving back to Philadelphia. “What about his new job? It’s a floating position so he can see what he likes best. That’s perfect for him, right?” If I’m being honest, I’m playing devil’s advocate and hoping Marcia comes back with something to prove me wrong.

“I’ll give credit where it’s due. My son’s heart was in the right place this time, and it was an impressive attempt to think outside of the box. But I don’t think Adam will be happy there in the long run. Unlike Jeffrey, I don’t see any rush for him to settle into a permanent career as long as he’s doingsomething.”

Since she brought him up, I open my mouth to ask whether she’s spoken to Jeffrey when her next words stop me in my tracks.

“I can’t think of anyone I’d rather see Adam settle down with than you.”

Say what?All thoughts of Jeffrey fly south as Marcia’s left field comment pierces my brain like a lightning bolt. She didn’t just say what I think she said.

“You heard me right.” She leans forward. “If you get married, I’ll be your real grandma.”

I stop breathing. “M-married? W-what do you mean?”

Marcia smirks. “I have eyes and ears, dear. I saw the way you looked at each other… pining like Elizabeth and Darcy. And then suddenly you were more like Maddie and Addison.”

“Who?” I have no idea who these people are.

Her eyes widen. “FromMoonlighting!”

I shrug. It’s like Patti Smith all over again.

She sighs. “It was a TV show in the eighties. David and Maddie fought all the time but also wanted to tear off each other’s clothes. It was magic. They finally did and the show jumped the shark. Shame.” She takes a bite of shrimp.

I dip my head so my hair covers my flaming face. Marcia talking about me and her grandson in the context of tearing each other’s clothes off is… well, awkward. “The fighting was only because of the battle for the bedroom.”

She rolls her eyes. “I still can’t believe you did that.”

I pick up my fork and then drop it back on the plate. My appetite is gone. “I’m so sorry.”

Marcia frowns. “What are you sorry for?”

“For all of it. For falling for your grandson when he moved here for you. For coming up with that stupid competition. I didn’t want to lose this place… lose you. And I didn’t trust that Adam knew what he wanted.”

She pats my hand across the table. “You don’t need to apologize. I might be biased but I think Adam is worth falling for. I also agree that he doesn’t have the best track record for sticking through things. But if you’d only come to me first, I could have saved you time, energy, and a toothbrush.”

I frown. Toothbrush?Oh.“Ha.”

Her lips quirk. “Anyway, my relationship with Adam is not mutually exclusive with yours. We managed to bond quite well all while the two of you got to know each other separately.”

My stomach drops. Rehashing Adam’s and my history is ruining the vibe of what was supposed to be a girls’ night dinner. I take mydishes to the sink. “Why are we even having this conversation? He’s not here anymore.”

“I kicked him out, remember?”

Facing her again, I say, “He’s a grown man who was living on his grandma’s pull-out couch rent-free for months! It was time to get his own place. But he couldn’t get out of Manhattan fast enough.”

“His deal with his father was time sensitive, as were the job and apartment on the bargaining table.”

My eyes open wide. “You knew about that too?” I sit back down.

“I heard from Jeffrey a few days after Adam moved out. The timing was too convenient. Jeffrey told me everything but said he’d been wanting to call me anyway… that it had been too long.”

Hope fills my heart. Maybe it wasn’t all for nothing then. “And?”

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