Page 25 of The Hometown Dilemma
She didn’t deserve me messing it up for her.
ChapterEleven
Jaime
Seriously,my mother needed to shut the hell up.
After announcing that she and Jerry were going to be staying longer than they’d originally anticipated, the whole morning all she’d done was harangue me with questions.
Why did you leave a perfectly well-paid job in New York?
How do you think you’re going to get clients for your own business?
How are you going to pay your way in the world without a proper job?
Is your move back to Abbott Ridge permanent?
Have you spoken to Cami about your plans?
On and on it went, with me giving a perfectly reasonable response to everything she asked. But each time, she found a counter question or a counter argument.
It was exhausting.
“Are you still in touch with your boss?” was her latest inquiry.
We sat in the living room, each of us with a mug of coffee. I’d wanted to spend the morning catching up with Austen to see if there was any movement on the Moira Channing situation. But with Cami off at work, it seemed I’d been stuck with keeping Sylvie entertained until she decided to meet up with whichever of her friends was flavor of the month. A small part of me wished it was Moira Channing, then she could at least put in a good word for me.
Whenever I had the opportunity, I checked back on theInterior Nirvanawebsite to see if there had been any changes. But the landing page stayed resolute with the message that they weren’t doing any more seasons and there didn’t seem to be any way to get in touch with the production company. I had thought to get in contact with the previous winners to see if they knew anything or whether they could offer any words of encouragement. But I didn’t want to seem like a stalker and backed away from that idea.
Every time I thought of the show, a lump formed in my throat. I couldn’t believe I’d become so obsessed with something that had never even happened.
It had been my dream and I had wanted it so badly.
But try explaining that to Sylvie.
“Yes, Vanessa and I are still in touch.” It wasn’t as if we’d parted on bad terms, and she sent me the occasional message or meme when the mood took her.
“Then you should ask her if your old job is available.”
I bit my lip, trying to quell the anger bubbling away in my stomach. “But Mom, I left for a reason. I want to start my own design business.” I neglected to tell her aboutInterior Nirvana.There seemed little point now that it had come to a dead end.
She waved a hand dismissively. “And you think you can do that here? Abbott Ridge isn’t New York, darling.”
“I know that. And I wasn’t expecting to be a huge success overnight. I realize I’d have to work to build the business and I’m not afraid of that.” I placed my mug on the low table in front of the sofa, wanting to escape.
“What have you done so far? Who are your prospects?” She fired the questions at me as if they were coming from a machine gun.
What do you care?I wanted to ask. Mom wasn’t around much these days, her life wasn’t in Abbott Ridge. Why was she so interested in me now? Did she think her eldest daughter was a failure because she didn’t have a fancy job in New York?
Thankfully, I was saved from any further interrogation by the appearance of Jerry.
“Are you ready, Sylvie? We’re meeting Bob and Gwen for lunch at The Fall Line in twenty minutes.” He grinned at me. “Hey, Jaime.”
“Twenty minutes?” My mother screeched. “That’s not enough time for me to change!”
He patted her on the shoulder. “Go. They’ll wait for us, I’m sure.”
Sylvie jumped up from the sofa and dashed upstairs without another word.
