“I bet she appreciated that,” I said, and Korbin nodded, pouring ingredients into a bowl to mix them.
“She’s a good woman and a good mother. I would be nothing without her.”
I took a sip from the bottle of beer I had, watching Korbin cook. In the living room I could hear that the TV was on, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Honestly, today could not have gone better. My mother was better, and that’s all I’d been hoping for since I’d heard the news of her diagnosis.
“Dinner is ready!” Korbin announced a short while later as I set the table and helped him put out the food. My mother came back to the kitchen, her glass of wine still in her hand as she sat down to taste the meal. I took a seat next to her, and Korbin sat down too and the three of us looked around at each other.
“Dig in,” Korbin said, and so we did.
Korbin’s dinner was nothing short of absolutely fantastic, so much so that I ended up having three servings, which is more food than I felt I’d eaten in weeks. Even my mother finished her first plate, an amazing feat considering she’d been almost unable to keep food down at all during chemo.
“Wow!” she said when her plate was clean, and Korbin stood to get dessert from the fridge. “I might just hire you as my live-in cook,” she teased him, winking at me.
“Gee, thanks, Mom.” I swallowed the last little bit of my beer and got up to throw it away, squeezing my mother’s shoulder as I passed. “Good to know that I’m not as good of a cook as Korbin is.”
“Don’t be upset,” he said, grabbing three bowls from the cupboard. “There are very few things I’m any good at, Peyton, but food happens to be one of them.”
As we ate our dessert, barely able to stuff more food down, my mother spoke. “Do you guys have plans after this?” she asked. “As much as I appreciate you both doing this for me, I can imagine it’s not as fun to hang out with an old lady in front of the TV.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Korbin spoke first, cutting me off. “I hoped Peyton would be interested in seeing my place,” he said, getting up from the table to rinse his dish in the sink. He didn’t stop there, however, and continued to rinse each dish, loading them nicely into the dishwasher so my mom wouldn’t have to clean up.
“Oh, your place?” my mom repeated. She looked over at me, a small twinkle in her eyes that I wasn’t sure I liked. “I bet Peyton would love that.”
“Mom.”
“I think she would too,” said Korbin, walking up behind me to rest two hands on my shoulders. His mere touch made me shiver with desire, and when his head came down to kiss my neck, I almost moaned with pleasure. Instead, I shrugged him off, annoyed at the two of them for always seeming to collaborate behind my back.
“I said I’d check it out,” I said, getting to my feet to clean up my bowl and my mother’s. “Don’t get too excited, guys.”
“I’ve heard your condo is very nice,” my mom continued, ignoring me. “When I’m feeling better, I wouldn’t mind seeing it myself. It must be nice to be able to be at home again, Korbin.”
He laughed good-naturedly. “It definitely makes me feel like an adult again,” he said. “And I don’t think Nina minds, either. She has been seeing a nice man she met at poker night. I guess it was time to give her back her privacy.”
“What about you, Mom?” I asked, turning away from Korbin to meet my mother’s gaze. “Is it difficult having me here? Do I give you enough privacy?” I felt guilty suddenly, like maybe I’d overstayed my welcome. But when my mother smiled and reached her hand across the table to rest it on my hand, I knew that it wasn’t a concern.
“If I could keep you in Eagle River forever I would, baby,” she said. “Especially here. But I imagine you might be getting restless, no?”
I shook my head, realizing as the word ‘no’ formed on my lips that it was true. After hearing from Rem a while ago, going home didn’t seem like such an exciting endeavor, not anymore.
However, I still wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I’ve loved being here,” I told her honestly. “I came for you.”
Still smiling, Mom squeezed my hand and then got up from the table, rinsing her empty wineglass in the sink.
“Are you headed to bed?” I asked, glancing at the clock on the wall, and my mother shook her head.
“I actually have some catching up to do on my favorite shows,” she said. “Today is the first day I feel well enough to catch up.”
My heart soared when she said this, and Korbin and I exchanged a glance, pleased with her big revelation.
“Enjoy your show, Mom,” I said, going in for a hug. When my mom embraced me, I could feel the warmth of her skin suddenly, a night and day change from a mere week ago. She squeezed me tight, almost making me wince, and I couldn’t have loved it more.
“Don’t wait up,” I murmured to her. “I love you.”
With another tight squeeze my mom left the kitchen and a moment later I heard the TV in the living room come on. I glanced back at Korbin, who was just finishing up loading the dishwasher.
“Dinner was delicious,” I said, helping him tidy the kitchen. “Thank you. Again.”
