I bound towards the opening at the end of the hallway, and when I step through it, my eyes land on Mom assembling plates as she always does. But yep. There it is. Her tight-lip, high-brow, hostess smile.
Peering through the dining room, past where the usually empty spot next to mine is set with a napkin and silverware, I glance into the living space. There she is, sitting on the loveseat across from Dad and Blake.
"Aunt Ivy!" I call, darting toward her, dodging Amy and Selah on the floor playing blocks.
Ivy pushes her red glasses up her nose before opening her arms to receive me. "You're glowing," she whispers in my ear.
"You say that every time I see you," I softly say back.
She holds me in our embrace a little longer than usual. "But this time it was the moose, wasn't it?"
My cheeks immediately warm as I clear my throat and pull away from her. I offer her an awkward smile, full of warning that, no doubt, tells her everything she needs to know. "I didn't know you'd be here," I say, my voice slightly higher than normal. I catch a glimpse of Mom's side-eye as she fills bowls with salad, and I can't tell if it's because she assumes I'm being rude or if she's suspicious of my behavior.
"Oh, well, the last time I breezed through, your mama convinced me to hit a doctor for once. Handsome fella, but a little old for me." She winks in my direction before leaning back into the cushions. "They said they wanted to run a few more tests—I think he just wanted to see me again. But either way..." She raises her voice a notch or two higher, calling over the dining room to Mom. "I knew your mother wouldn't let it go if I didn't come back for them." Lowering her voice to a whisper once more, she leans into the space between the couches. "I think she just wanted to see me again, too."
Blake and Dad both huff out a laugh as Selah whacks the tower of colorful blocks that Amy just meticulously stacked one on top of the other. "Boom!" she yells, throwing her hands in the air. The group of us start laughing, and when she finally scans the room, she locks eyes with me.
"Book!" she calls, her little face lighting up. "I build."
"It looks like you break," I reply cheerfully, my eyes just as wide as hers. She giggles and returns to watching Amy intently as she reconstructs the pile again, a hint of mischief in her expression.
"So, is everything okay?" I ask, turning back to Ivy. "With the tests?"
She waves me off, sliding one leg under herself. "Oh, enough about that. Tell me how the job's going."
"I second that," Blake chimes in. "My autograph collection's still a little light."
I roll my eyes, noticing Dad's impassive expression as he sits indifferent to my next response. "It's going really well, actually," I answer confidently, making sure to hold eye contact with both Mom and Dad as I do. "Monte actually told me the owner himself commented about how good the content has been lately. He says I'm doing a great job at getting the fans involved."
"Aww," Amy says, her face full of concentration as she finally places the last block. Selah instantly throws her tiny fist into the finished product, and Amy sighs, an easy grin on her lips.
"Dude, that video you posted of Anderson was cool. That guy's curling at least double what I do." Amy peers over, quickly attempting to cover up her curiosity about Drew's obvious muscle. "Didn't know he was a Tom Ford guy, though. Maybe I'll have to switch it up."
"From what? The same cologne Mom got you for Christmas senior year?"
Blake looks at me blankly, his chest puffed out, but after half a second, his shoulders fall. "Yes," he admits.
Ivy snickers next to me, and I shake my head. "Yeah, that was, uh, an interesting day."
"So, what's next? I know you said this is only temporary, but you seem to enjoy it?"
"I do, yeah. I told them last week that I'm thinking about finding something in this field permanently. Really start to build a career doing something I actually enjoy."
Ivy places her hand on my knee and gives it a light squeeze. "That's great, Brookie."
"Maybe the Flames would let you stay on after this sort of trial period," Blake says, leaning forward and placing his forearms on his thighs.
"Oh, no, I don't think so. Levi already has someone permanent starting soon, and I don't think they're looking to fill anymore positions—especially with someone just starting out."
My mind snaps back to Drew. We all know that, technically, Icouldwork for the Flames and still be with him. Hell, Alex helps Sadie run Spark the Flame, and she's banging—and, okay, is spending her life with—the head coach. But I don't want to finally start a new job that I hope will turn into my life's career and always wonder if I got it as a favor. More importantly, I don't want my parents to be able to hold that above my head every time they get nostalgic and are tempted to throw my job in my face for old time's sake. I want the roots I finally grow to bemine. And that's the real reason I don't want this thing with Drew coming out until after these next few weeks.
"Have you applied anywhere else?"
I nibble on my lower lip, pretending not to notice Mom's piqued interest from across the room. "Not exactly. It's all still new, and I haven't seen anything come up just yet."
I glance up at Mom, who makes a poor attempt at hiding an eye roll as she heads toward the table with two plates in hand. "But I'll be look—"
"Dinner's ready," she calls. "Let's eat before the food gets cold."
