I blinked, wondering why she was so angry.
I looked to Jeffrey for help, but he kept his eyes on his wife, his lips whispering softly in her ear.
Mom climbed onto a chair at the island, looking ill. “I don’t understand. You’re leaving?” She set a hand on her middle, apparently processing the worst news of her life. “Why didn’t you talk to us about this? This is big. Something you know we’d want to hear as soon as possible.”
“The decision is new,” I said, my earlier guilt slipping away. “I just made the deposit last week, and I planned to tell you the next time I saw you or talked to you. But I haven’t seen or heard from any of you in six days.” Not since I’d seen them leaving the Bistro together on Monday. When they’d pointedly left me out.
I hadn’t bothered trying to reach them, either, but that was the point. If I didn’t call or text, I’d never hear from them.
Dad raised his palms in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. “Let’s take a minute to process this before we get too far ahead of ourselves.” He looked to Mom. “Mary?”
She nodded, eyes fixed on me. “Is this why you did all that extra work?” Mom asked. “For us? Not because you plan to hire new help?”
I nodded, though I absolutely planned to find a way to hire help as soon as possible. “A lot of things have changed since you’ve done the bookkeeping and ordering. I’ve streamlined and updated processes everywhere I can because I’m usually on my own. I thought the lists would help.”
I’d expected to back down if my family became upset, but now that the moment had arrived, indignation stiffened my spine. “All you have to do is show up and handle customers. I’ve taken care of everything else.”
“Ed?” Mom looked to Dad for help.
“It’s fine,” he said, forcing a patient smile. “We can handle it. Take the break you need, Emma.”
“Dad!” Annie yelled. “Are you serious?”
Jeffrey held her, while Mom and Dad tried to make everything sound better. Their agitated and disappointed voices clashed and collided around me.
Annie’s words eventually cut through the noise, and I raised my eyes to meet her angry gaze. “Anyone else would take a weekend off, or maybe a week. But a month and a half with zero notice?” Annie’s expression turned miserable and defeated. She sank back against her husband’s chest. “This is selfish, Emma,” she muttered. “Even for you.”
My jaw dropped, and I snapped it shut, locking it in place.
Inner Emily rolled her shoulders and cracked her knuckles. “I’m truly sorry for the short notice, but I’ve needed a break for a while, and no one noticed. This opportunity is too good to pass up. I need this, and I won’t apologize for it.”
I moved forward on wooden legs, kissing Mom and Dad on their cheeks. I hated confrontation, and I never stood up to my family. I was the giver, the helper, not the one who left others in a pinch. Especially not my parents and sister, who I cared for most in the world. I hated the shock and confusion on their sweet faces, but I wouldn’t recant; I’d already made it that far. “I have to finish packing. If you want to see me off tomorrow morning, or want to review those notes about the shop, I’m leaving at ten.”
The next evening, I followed my GPS’s instructions past miles of rolling farmland toward Amherst. I checked my messages when I stopped for gas and laughed at the supremely dorky post made by Historically_Bookish in IBOOM.
Beneath a photo of her newOutlanderdisplay, she’d writtenDiana Gabaldon, master of time travel, always thinking outside the clocks.
Several group members had already responded with eye roll GIFs. I selected something with Michael Scott fromThe Officeshaking his head regretfully.
Historically_Bookish responded to me almost immediately.
Historically_Bookish: I knew you’d love it
I snorted. Then responded because I couldn’t help myself.
ED_Fan: I do! I was obsessed with time travel once, but that’s all in the past now
Responses of thrown tomatoes in GIF format piled into the comments, and I put my phone away feeling satisfied.
Grace had told me, in her last email with specifics for accessing the manor, that she and her friends had tickets to see a local show, so she couldn’t meet me at the manor but looked forward to seeing me soon at the bookstore.
My family had shown up to say goodbye at nine in the morning. They’d stayed all day, reviewing my notes about the shop and when to water the plants in my apartment. Then my parents took us out to eat before finally saying goodbye.
Mom and Dad spent our mealtime trying to convince me to stay, and Annie barely spoke. She wished me well on the sidewalk outside the restaurant and hugged me tightly before I climbed into my car, but she appeared miles away the entire time. We didn’t eat at the Bistro, and I never asked why they’d left me out last week. But I’d missed three exits so far, winning a long-overdue argument against Annie in my head.
My phone buzzed as I got back behind the wheel. A new message had arrived.
Historically_Bookish: See you tonight
