Page 65 of Spindrift

“Hemisses you. You should give him a call.”

“Sure.”She couldn’t call Ben, though. Not about this. It seemed unfaithful somehow.

“Istill don’t like you being all alone up there.”

“AnnaMaria said she’d come up some time.”

“Good.”Another pause. “Anna mentioned you met someone.”

Emiliasighed. “Of course she did. She spends too much time with toddlers.”

“Areyou sure you’re ready to date again?”

“Mom.I’m not dating anyone.”

“Okay,okay. Would you tell me if you were?”

“Mom.”

“Benoffered to egg Hannah’s car for you.”

“Ben?”Gentle Ben, threatening violence on her behalf? She smiled into the phone.“Tell him he needs to work on his aim first.”

“Haveyou thought at all about going back to work? I’m not pushing, just curious.You’re so talented, Emmy. There’s so much you can still do if you don’t want togo back into practice.”

“I’vebeen trying not to think about it.”

“Bensuggested business school. You could go into veterinary management. You’d stillget to be a doctor, but you could own your own business.”

“I’llthink about it when I’ve decided to stopnotthinking about it.”

“Orhorses. You used to love horses. Couldn’t you switch to large animal? You’d belike James Herriot!”

Hermother’s idea of large animal medicine remained firmly rooted in the James Herriotbooks she’d read to Emilia as a child, despite Emilia’s best attempts topersuade her that times—and medicine—had changed.

“It’sa whole different field. I haven’t thought about equine medicine in years, mom.I can’t just switch.”

“Whynot?”

“Because. . .” Morgan’s face rose in her mind. “Because that’s not who I am.”

“Youcan be whoever you want to be.”

Emilialaughed without humor. “I can’t. Not with my loan. And thinking about goingback to work makes me . . .” she couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Youpromised to call me if you felt yourself going downhill again.” She heard thepanic in her mother’s voice.

“I’mnot. The meds are working, and it’s nice to be out of the city. I talk withShanti twice a week. I’m okay. Just overwhelmed.”

“Ofcourse you’re overwhelmed, love. Remember what your father used to say?”

“Dayby day,” they said in unison.

“Sogo and enjoy this day. Get out of that house. Eat something. You are eating,right?”

“Yes,Mom. I’m eating.”

“Ilove you.”

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