“Sorry, Mom, I didn’t even look to see who was calling.” I tuck my phone between my ear and my shoulder so I can unlock my front door. Once I jimmy the lock and step in, I slip the phone back into my hand so I can hear her properly.
“Maybe if you slowed down for once in your life you’dstop and realize that your one and only mother is calling you,” she chastises. I can perfectly imagine her playfully rolling her eyes at me as she stands in the kitchen, baking up whatever sweet treat she’s testing for the bakery this week.
“Ahh, but if you slow down, you lose out on new opportunities that might be coming your way,” I retort, dropping my backpack down into the chair my home designer picked out for me.
I moved into my hundred year old home three summers ago after landing my largest architectural project to date. When I put in my proposal for the new and state of the art botanical gardens, I didn’t think I’d actually get the job. Lucky for me, I did, and it skyrocketed my career. Now I’m one of the most sought-after architects on the East Coast. Since moving in, I’ve completely refurbished my historic home and brought the original life and charm back into it. So much of its oddities and quirks remind me of home which is why I fell in love with it in the first place.
“I think you’ve had enough opportunities in your short thirty years on this earth,” she mumbles under her breath but I hear it anyway. Whenever Mom gets me on the phone she likes to remind me that I work too hard and how I should take a vacation.
“Mom, if this is going to turn into another guilt trip about how much I work, I’m hanging up.”
“This isn’t a guilt trip,” she interjects over the line. “I’m simply calling to tell you that I know what I want for Christmas.”
Moving into my kitchen, I sit down on one of the barstools and slide my laptop in front of me to check my email. I have a handful of projects I’m working on with a few needing to be completed before the end of the year so contractors and builders can get started on them. My eyes scan over a few new proposals that have come in while I was out until thesound of my mom’s voice cracks over the line, pulling me to attention.
“Nicholas, hello? Your mother is talking to you,” she laments, sounding annoyed.
“Huh?” My brows squint together and I shake my head, pulling my eyes away from my work to pay attention to what she’s saying.
“My Christmas gift? Did you hear what I wanted?”
I grimace before responding. “No.”
A tired sigh fills the space between us. “And this is why I’m asking for it in the first place. I want you to come home for an extended stay. Preferably for the last portion of the year if you can. Your grandmother is getting older and while your dad and I are doing fine on our own, it would be nice to have another pair of hands around the house for a while while we get through the busy season at the store.”
“Mom, I can’t just pick up and leave. I’m busy too,” I start to argue.
“You can draw anywhere, Nick, and I know you have people who help you now. Grandma Carol is having a hard time getting around and the town is expected to be packed full of tourists this winter. I heard just the other day that Holly House is booked full from now until New Years.”
As soon as she mentions the inn my mind slaps me with the last memory I shared with her. How she looked at me as I told her we should see other people since we were going to different colleges. Tears bubbling up in her eyes as I spoke and how she pushed me against my truck before running away. Even all these years later, my heart fractures at the memory of her grandmother telling me she didn’t want to see me when I tried to say goodbye before leaving for Boston U.
“Nick? Did you hear me?” my mom asks, but my mind is too distracted by my thoughts.
Looking around, it’s not hard to see that I never didreplace her with someone new. Even in college, I was always the perpetually single one in my group of friends. I dated here and there, but no one ever came close toher. And since graduating, it’s only ever been me and my work. Taking in the large sheets of paper and sketching materials littered around my house, I realize how depressing my life has become.
“Nick, are you there?”
“Okay,” I say, surprising both myself and my mom.
“Okay?” There’s a sense of hesitation and surprise in her voice as she repeats the word back to me.
“Yeah, I’ll come home. Let me square some things away here this week, but I’ll look at flights out at soon as this weekend.”
“Really?” She nearly shouts. “Oh my gosh, your dad is going to be so happy to hear that! I’ll work on clearing out your room for you when I’m done at the bakery tonight.”
“That’s okay,” I say, trying to formulate what I’m about to say without hurting her feelings. It’s not that I don’t love my parents but I also know I need my own space if I’m going to be home as long as she’s asking me to be. “I’ll crash at Chris’s place. They have a couple of cabins they rent out on the farm that I can stay in. That way I don’t put you and Dad out too much—I work weird hours and all.”
“Honey, as long as you’re in Evergreen I don’t care where you stay. We’re so happy to have you home!”
Opening up Facebook, I type a name into the search bar I’ve forced myself not to think about for a long time now. When I hit enter, images of her smiling face and rich brown hair fill the screen causing an uncontrollable smile to bloom across my face. I swipe through the pictures for a moment before remembering my mom is still on the phone.
“Yeah, me too, Mom. Me too.”
CHAPTER 4
Noelle
“Ican’t believe she said you have to be married before she’ll give you the inn,” Belle says, bringing up the bombshell my grandma dropped on me nearly three weeks ago for what feels like the millionth time.
