“Mom.” He hastily rubbed his eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I love you no matter where you live.” Oh wow. She’d been feeling guilty about leavinghimbehind? Her grown-ass son who apparently had no life without her? “But what about your illness?” he asked as gently as he could. “Is Jerome okay with that?”
She nodded. “I’ve been going to the doctor a lot without you. At first, I was scared I might have cancer. I know how difficult that was for you with Rita, and I didn’t want to drag you down again. It took you a while to get right after her, and while I know how much you loved her, that last year you spent taking care of her about broke my heart.”
Mine too.“When you love someone, you stay with them through the good and the bad, Mom.”
“I know.” She wiped her eyes. “You’re such a good man, Evan. Your dad would be so proud.”
He smiled. “Yes, I’m awesome.”
She chuckled. “But you’ve been such a good son that I worry about you. You seem to have time for everyone but yourself. So I distanced myself, trying to keep you from my prognosis. Only it turns out I don’t have cancer. I found out a few weeks ago but had secondary tests to be sure, and the doctor confirmed this morning that it’s just some exhaustion and low hormone levels, but nothing some pills won’t cure.”
“Mom, that’s great.” He felt lighter than air at her news.
“Yes, it is. And it was the last barrier holding me back from making some important decisions. Jerome and I actually met at the hospital, you know. He was helping his son-in-law through some medical problems, and we met and talked. Then we started meeting for coffee, a lunch here and there, the movies. He invited himself to my book club and stayed, and that was it for me. A man who likes to read? What a keeper.” She grinned, her bright blue eyes full of joy. “But every time I see you, I see your father, the Evan I married.”
“Mom, I—”
“No, no, don’t you dare feel guilty about that. This is all my problem. Remembering your father made me feel bad about wanting to be with Jerome. Especially because you’re always taking care of me, the way your father used to. I don’t want to seem ungrateful, but—”
“But I was clingy.” He sighed. “I’m so sorry. I guess I never saw it that way.”
“You werenotclingy. I misspoke,” she said fiercely, defending him.
“No, I think the cancer threat made me realize I could lose you too, and I didn’t give you space to breathe. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Don’t ever be sorry for loving your mother.”
He huffed. “Right. Please just don’t tell Reid and Cash I really am a mama’s boy. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
She laughed. “No problem.” She paused and added, “None of this hit me until I thought about seriously selling the house. You grew up there, Evan. I wanted to see what you thought about all of it, but I didn’t have the courage to ask. What with the cancer scare, you working so hard and taking care of me, and dealing with my feelings about Jerome, I kept avoiding this big talk. But when I saw those photos the other day, something in me gave. I knew I couldn’t keep this in.
“If I move in with Jerome, I won’t be a simple fifteen-minute drive away. And if we live together, we’ll likely marry. Both he and I aren’t into shacking up like your generation.”
“Mom.”
“But it’s important to me what you think of him. I want you two to meet, especially now that you know how I feel. He’s a good man, Son. I know your dad would like him.” She blew her nose and wiped her eyes. “It’s the thought of no longer having that house, that anchor to your dad and you, that makes it all so overwhelming.”
He thought about it, studying her. “It is overwhelming, isn’t it? Falling in love.” He exhaled. “I didn’t want to tell you this yet, but I might as well. I met a woman I really like. A lot.”
“Not just soccer putting a bloom in your cheeks, is it?” Her smile was knowing. “I didn’t think so.”
He flushed. “I’m pretty much gone for her. I was from the moment I first saw her. It’s weird, Mom. But I just know.”
“Sometimes you do. It was like that for your father. He said the minute he first saw me, he fell in love. Took me a little longer to warm up to him, but he won over my mom and dad, and that was no easy feat. Your granddad was a cantankerous old man, but he sure did like your dad. They were always doing projects together.” She gave a tremulous smile. “Part of me feels guilty for loving Jerome. But all of me feels the love I still have for your dad. It’s there every time I look at you and see what a miracle we made.”
“Come on, Mom.” Evan tried to laugh away the well of emotion causing his eyes to burn. “This conversation is way too deep for Señor Moose.”
She laughed. “It is. I just feel so much better getting all that off my chest.”
“You should have told me this before.” He paused. “Did Jerome really have to miss today, or did you tell him not to come?”
“Oh no. That accident really happened. He’s been on me to introduce the two of you for months.”
“How long have you been dating, exactly?”
His mother blushed. “We met back in April, but he didn’t really put the moves on me until last month.”
“Huh. And you love him.”
