As I walked farther down the street, the weight of the morning slowly began to lift off my shoulders. I could hear birds chirping, the distant hum of a lawnmower, and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze. Breathing in the calm, I let myself finally relax.
I wandered down different streets, letting the sun warm my face as the stress slowly unwound from my body. It felt better than I’d expected. By the time I finally looped around back to the house, I was ready to face the madness again.
But when I stepped inside, I was met with a familiar and exasperating sight: Topher, freshly showered, dressed in a sharp suit, sitting at his elaborate computer setup. The room was still buzzing with energy from the flurry of people coming and going, the equipment being moved, and conversations happening in low tones. But Topher’s focus was entirely on his screens, his eyes darting between charts, emails, and whatever else his empire demanded. He wasn’t furiously rowing this time. No, he’d upgraded to furiously working.
He glanced up as I walked in. “Enjoy your little escape?”
“Immensely. Gladys says hi, by the way. She wants to know if you’ve considered getting a rowing machine that doesn’t take up half the living room.”
“Oh, Gladys wonders about that?” His tone was completely deadpan.
“She also thinks you need to stop stressing and relax.”
Topher paused for a second before shaking his head. “I don’t need advice on life balance from Gladys, thank you very much.”
“Work, work, work,” I muttered, shaking my head. “You’d think your company would implode if you took an hour off. I mean, that’s Gladys talking.”
He smirked but didn’t look up from the screens. “Kathleen, you may not understand the concept of ‘work,’ but some of us know that taking time off can cost you opportunities.”
His words hit a sore spot, but I refused to show it. “You know, Topher, some of us know that all that ‘never stopping’ can cost you the things that matter.”
He hesitated for a moment, his fingers pausing on the keyboard. Then he nodded. “I’d rather be overworked than have regrets.”
I swallowed hard. “Trust me, I know all about regrets. And sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you can’t get back what you’ve lost.”
Topher’s expression shifted. For once, he didn’t have a sharp reply or a quick comeback. Instead, he lifted his eyes, and there was something almost gentle in the way he looked at me. It was as if, in that moment, he was seeing me differently, realizing there was more to me than he’d first assumed.
But before he could speak, the front door creaked open. In walked Josephine, much earlier than expected, escorted by a nurse.
“Mom!” Topher jumped up from his fancy ergonomic chair the moment he saw her. His voice was warm, happy, and full of relief. “I would’ve picked you up myself. I’m so glad you’re back.”
Josephine waved Topher off, her eyes narrowing as she took in the chaotic scene unfolding around her. “The nurse you hired brought me back, and I’m glad she did because... what is all this?” She gestured toward the living room and kitchen, where ingredients were scattered on the counters, random equipment was piled up, and the tech guy was still crouched near the router. “I just got out of the hospital. I need peace, not a three-ring circus.”
Topher smiled sheepishly. “We just tried to make sure everything was set up for you.”
“Set up for what? A parade? I don’t need a chef or whoever that is”—she pointed to the tech guy, who froze like a deer in headlights—“making a mess of my home. Everyone out! Now.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing as Topher scrambled to get everyone moving.
“Okay, okay, guys, you heard her. Time to go.” He waved them out. The chef started packing up his gear, the tech guy scrambled to unplug something, and even the gardener was trying to escape quietly, broom still in hand.
The house emptied, and even the nurse, who had been lingering in the corner, left, though she promised she’d come back at least once a day. Josephine finally sank into her armchair with a relieved sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. “Now, we have something to discuss.”
Topher and I exchanged puzzled looks.
“What’s up?” Topher asked.
Josephine opened one eye, giving us a mischievous grin. “Now that I’m settled, we can talk about the next holiday. Halloween is coming up.”
“Halloween?” Topher asked, raising an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a bit early to worry about that?”
Josephine shook her head adamantly. “Oh no, it’s never too early for Halloween. The entire neighborhood looks forward to my decorations. It’s a tradition. And it’s a contest.”
“A contest?” I repeated, already feeling the pressure.
“Yes, and I’ve won five years in a row. I can’t let the Hendersons take the title just because I’m under the weather this year,” she said with a determined gleam in her eye.
Topher smirked. “So, you’re saying the neighborhood won’t survive a year without your Halloween display?”
