CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Going back home was like putting on a pair of her favorite slippers. Tracy took her regular seat at the oval dining table and savored a meal her mom and dad had made because they knew she loved it.
After they all worked on cleaning up the kitchen, she settled onto the sofa with her mom while her dad cued up a movie that had just become available. Then he took the recliner.
She’d teased him about getting one. He was as fit as he’d been at twenty and looked younger than fifty-nine. Once a redhead, he’d gone gray early and sometimes her mom laughingly called him Doug after George Clooney’s character inER.
Her mom’s silver hair, which she usually pulled back with a clip, was a dramatic contrast to her youthful face and lithe body. When her parents donned their green uniforms, either to work in their clinic in town or to take the mobile unit out to rural areas every other weekend, they looked like they belonged in a movie.
At home they wore the oldest, sloppiest clothes in their closet. It was a thing, and she kept a ratty sweatshirt and faded jeans in her room so she could change and blend into their grunge look.
The comfort of their routine soothed her. The cheerful color scheme lifted her spirits. But she couldn’t figure out how to talk to her mother alone without making a big deal out of it.
Traditionally the end of the movie would signal it was bedtime. Sure enough, her dad got up, stretched, and announced he was heading in that direction.
But instead of following his lead, her mom stayed seated. “I’ll be there in a little while, hon.”
“Okey-doke.” Her dad smiled and left the room. He hadn’t been the least surprised by her statement. Clearly they’d discussed this ahead of time.
She gazed at her mother. “You guys operate like a well-oiled machine.”
Her mom laughed. “Sometimes. Other times we grind the gears.”
“Not often, though, at least that’s how it seems to me.”
“We do pretty well, especially considering we’re together all the damn time. Fortunately we like each other.”
“Is that why you married him? You liked him?”
“That was a plus, but… that wasn’t the main reason.”
“Then what?”
Her blue eyes sparkled. “I was hot for his body. Still am.”
“You never told me that!”
“It’s not the kind of thing a mother volunteers to a young child, and when you were older, you never asked. Which is typical. Kids usually don’t care to think about their parents doing the deed.”
“I suppose that’s true. I just thought it wasn’t a big deal with you two.”
“Well, it is. But I doubt that’s what you came here to discuss tonight.”
“No, but… I’m glad you told me. I thought the idea was to find the nicest guy and the rest would come naturally.”
Her mom’s eyebrows rose. “What made you think that?”
“Observation. The other way around looks dangerous, at least to me. You get caught up in great sex and ignore red flags.”
“Did that ever happen to you?”
“No, because I always chose nice guys. No red flags, but we never quite clicked, either.”
“Honey, you can’t make yourself want somebody.”
“Guess not.”
“Do you want Adam?”
