Page 29 of What Comes After

A whole range of emotions moved through Mary’s face. “Where are you going?”

“I haven’t exactly secured housing just yet, but I’m looking to get my own apartment. My realtor is working on finding a few places to show me, but I won’t be moving into anything until the house sells.”

It wasn’t hard to miss how much this was impacting Mary. I felt awful for doing this to her, but she was going to need to know sooner or later.

“Forgive me for asking, but is there a reason you don’t want to stay there? Is it about money?” she asked.

I offered a half-hearted smile. I didn’t want her knowing how upset I was about all of this. “It’s not easy to own your own home.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not. Scott and I would be more than happy to help you if you’re struggling with any of the bills.”

Just like a mother.

She didn’t hesitate, and while I hadn’t expected her to offer, it didn’t surprise me that Mary had responded the way she did.

“I really appreciate that, and I know you and Scott would do anything for me, Mary,” I assured her. “But it’s not just about the money for me. The truth is, it’s a lot of house for one person.”

Mary tipped her head to the side, her eyes searching my face. “It won’t always be that way, Devyn. Surely, one day, you’re going to fall in love and get married.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her I’d already fallen in love with her son and had been too much of a chicken to reveal the truth to him. Theo hadn’t ever made any advances toward me, and I believed he only saw me as a friend. There wasn’t a chance I’d ever risk our friendship by telling him how I felt.

“I’m sure that will happen one day, but until then, I just don’t think I can stay there. Aside from the size and the costs, there’re a lot of memories there. It’s hard, sometimes. Everywhere I look, I see my parents, and I miss them terribly.”

Mary’s eyes had filled with unshed tears. “My heart breaks just thinking about you not being there any longer.”

Not wanting her to worry, I noted, “Well, I’m not moving just yet. But once I do, I promise I’ll come and visit you regularly. It’ll be like I never left.”

“Will you still come for the holidays?” she asked.

Smiling at her, feeling the tears form in my own eyes, I rasped, “I wouldn’t miss them for anything.”

She studied me for a long time before she stood and opened her arms. I knew what she wanted and stood, so I could give it to her. Stepping forward, I folded myself into her embrace, my arms coming around her, too.

“We love you so much, Devyn. Whatever we can do to help you in this situation, whether it’s packing or moving or anything else, we’ll do it. And you know that even after you leave, we’ll always be here for you.”

“I know you are,” I assured her, squeezing my arms tighter around her. It wasn’t the same as getting a hug from my mom or dad, but it was close.

Ten minutes later, Scott returned home, and I filled him in on my plans. His reaction was similar to Mary’s and just as I had suspected.

The only thing I had left to do was tell Theo when he got back from his secret project. Scott and Mary promised they’d wait and let me share the news with him.

And if I thought telling his parents was difficult, revealing my plans to Theo was going to be the toughest of all.

* * *

It was exactly one week later when it happened.

I had gotten home from work, taken a shower, and skipped dinner, so that I could dive right in and start packing.

The pictures had been taken and my realtor had the listing all ready to go. I told her it was fine to list the house, but I wanted to wait until after this weekend to have the sign put on my front yard. I didn’t want Theo seeing it without me talking to him first.

I was in the middle of going through everything in the kitchen when a knock came at the front door.

Theo.

I hadn’t seen him in days and missed him terribly, so I hurried over to the door and whipped it open.

He was standing there with a huge smile on his face. I wanted to believe it was merely for me, but I had a feeling this had something to do with his project.

---