“Actually, I could use all of your help for a few days,” our mother said. “Later this month.”
Meg frowned. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Mom busied herself breaking down a carton. “I might be going away for a few days, that’s all. Dan can handle most of the work, but it would be nice if you girls could pitch in.”
“Where are you going?” Jo asked.
“To D.C.”
I stopped sorting tools. “You’re taking a vacation?”
“By yourself?” Meg asked.
Our mother’s face turned pink. “I’m going with your father. We’re visiting some gardens, and he’s taking me to a French restaurant.”
Meg and Jo exchanged glances.
“I thought you were angry at him,” Jo said.
“I’ve been angry nearly every day of my life. But I didn’t admit it for a long time. Anger doesn’t help anybody unless you use it to make a change.”
“You did,” I said. “You kicked him out.”
Our mother smiled wryly. “That was a change, all right.”
“Dad’s changed, too,” Beth said.
“He’s trying. Going to counseling,” our mother said. “We both are.”
Beth’s thin face transformed in a smile. “Maybe they’ll give us the family rate.”
Jo snorted.
“At least Dad’s upping his game,” I said.
“Only if Mom really wants to go to D.C.,” Jo said.
Our mother laughed. “Actually, I want to go to France. But a French restaurant in D.C. is a very nice start.”
“It shows he’s listening,” Meg said.
Beth nodded. “It’s the thought that counts.”
“Unless diamonds are involved,” I said.
“Colt gave Beth a diamond,” Jo said. “She turned him down.”
“Good. He’s an asshole.”
“Go, Beth.”
“He isn’t... It wasn’t...” Beth blushed. “I didn’t need some grand gesture. The flowers, the ring, the proposal... It was all about him. It wasn’t about me.”
My throat knotted. Trey was good at gestures—champagne, fireworks, first-class tickets, rides from the airport. Plus, he’d offered me a break on the rent. Maybe Mom was right. He was trying. Maybe that was enough.
“I love you differently.”
And maybe not.
