With a grateful smile, I stand up from my desk and start gathering my things. Greg opens the door, holding it open for me. “Besides, I bought reinforcements.”
My head jerks. “Who?”
“Me!” Charlie says, walking down the short hallway from the restaurant. “Hey, Dad.” She gives him a hug and kisses his cheek before jerking her head my way. “This one givin’ you trouble?”
“I’m stillhere,you know?” I grumble.
“We know,” they reply in unison, lips twitching. “That’s the problem.”
“Come on, Mom. Let’s get you out of here before Dad starts chargin’ you rent!” Charlie jokes, looping her arm through mine.
I play along, letting her guide me out of the diner after I say goodbye to the staff and a few of the regulars, including Starchild’s grandmother Ruth and her Sunday School Sallys friendship group.
Stopping by the front door, I shoot Greg a grin. “Look after my baby.”
“Hey!” Charlie gasps. “I thoughtIwas your baby.”
Reaching up, I pat her shoulder. “You and the diner, Charlie Bear.”
Greg chuckles and shakes his head. “Shoo now, both of you, before I change all the locks!”
I hold my hands up. “Nope. I can’t do it. Your Dad here is stagin’ a takeover, I swear.”
"Go!" the whole diner calls out in a chorus as if they'd known this would happen. Charlie giggles, Greg looks proud as hell for getting one over me.
All I can do is sigh. “OK, y’all. I’ll be back in two weeks.”
“Have fun!” Ruth replies loudly.
“Don’t do anythin’ we would do,” Miss Frances, another one of the Sallys, adds.
“Or maybedo. It might make the trip more fun,” Miss Agnes says.
Then Charlie literally drags me out the door and onto the sidewalk. Suddenly I feel a little choked up.
“Hey,” she says. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’. It’s nothin’.” I quickly swipe at my face. “I guess it’s just hit me that I’m actually leavin’.”
Charlie scoffs. “It’s two weeks. It’ll fly by. Or maybe it won’t. But what you’re not goin’ to do is worry about it.”
I take a deep breath and nod. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“I am. You want to know why?” she asks. “Because I’ve got the best mom on the planet and she’s a very wise woman who taught me not to sweat the small stuff.”
“Even though you still do,” I retort.
She snickers. “Even though I still do.Butit’s because I know you so well that I’ve organized somethin’ to help put your mind at ease, even for a little while.”
I stop walking and turn an arched brow her way. “What’s that?”
“Follow me.”
Five minutes later, I’m standing inside Starchild’s Happy Auras boutique on Main Street.
The air inside the boutique is a soothing mix of sandalwood and vanilla, the scents wrapping around me like a warm hug. Charlie gestures towards the rows of colorful crystals glistening in the sunlight that streams through the front windows of the shop.
"I thought we could use some good vibes before you head out on your trip," she says with a smile.
