She sighed and set the broom aside. “You don’t need their blessing. You’re leaving soon.”
“I’m not leaving. It’s ending.” Sugarplum would always be a part of me.
Mom smiled. “All the more reason to focus on family. When are you making cookies with your cousins?”
“Wednesday, probably.” I fluffed out my hair and got the dust pan to give me a few seconds to collect myself. “Let’s just herd these bunnies to a better pasture.”
“Bunnies?”
“Dust bunnies. I’ll throw them away.” I flashed Mom a smile and took care of the chore. A pile of dishes cluttered the sink. Rolling up my sleeves, I wet the sponge and figured I might as well help out while I had energy. “How was everybody today?”
Mom wrung her hands. “Good. The little ones were a bit wild, but that’s to be expected at that age. You and Zack were always fighting.”
“We still do.” I giggled.
Mom didn’t find that funny. “We love him. He’s family.”
I soaped up a pan and shrugged. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we can’t annoy each other occasionally. How’s he been doing?”
“Good. He’s looking at job applications.”
Outside of hard labor for our family? And no one guilted him about it? “How’s that going?”
She frowned at the dirty water. “He says people have been slow to respond because of the holidays.”
“That makes sense.”
“But he is handy.” She raised her eyebrows. “Have you heard back from anybody?”
Did she mean the fifty or so applications I sent out after I got my Associate’s degree? “Not really.” I hadn’t received any update on most of them. Working at the winter wonderland was a great distraction from all the ghosting and rejection. Once the holiday season was over, I’d get back into the trenches.
Mom straightened the coupon drawer. “Do you need to come back to the cleaning service? Or I can ask around church for opportunities.”
“No, you don’t need to do that. I’ll find something.” Most of the people at church only saw me as a potential secretary or babysitter. Although I could do those things, I wouldn’t want to risk my mom’s relationships if it wasn’t a good fit.
She folded her arms. “Do you want to go back to school?”
“With what money?” I laughed.
“What’s your plan, Shelby? Nursing and computing have great job security, you could pay off the loans–”
“Mom, seriously? You’re stressing me out. You already made me get a business degree because supposedly I could use it for anything. I’ll find something. Let me breathe.” I stuffed a pot in the drying rack and went to my room, flinging suds from my pruned fingers. I still had a week. Why was she hassling me? I didn’t plan to work two months of the year and sit around here, babysitting. I paid for groceries, my phone, and my car. Did she want to charge me rent? I’d understand, even if it would put a dent in my savings.
After I washed up for bed, Mom knocked, then opened the door without waiting.
“What is it?” I hugged my knees. Dare I hope for an apology?
Mom crept across the floorboards as if they were sticky. “Now that you and this boy have been on a few dates, will he be meeting the family?”
“We’ve only been out twice,” I said. She kept standing there, her hand on the doorknob, so I rolled my eyes and flopped onto the mattress. “Yes, you’ll probably meet him soon. But be nice, please.”
“Of course we’ll be nice. As long as he is. I worry about you, Shelby. Your father’s not here to talk about these things and–”
“I know.” I stared at the ceiling to avoid Mom’s gaze.Please leave.
“Sweet dreams.” She closed the door behind her.
I smothered myself with my pillow just to muffle a frustrated groan. She was driving me crazy. And after all Harvey and I had done in order to relax after a long week…
