inside something finally stopped spinning.
I kick off my shoes by the mudroom door and head upstairs to shower. Just as I grab a towel, my phone buzzes with a familiar name.
Mom.
Of all times.
I swallow hard and answer. “Hey.”
“Jade!” Her voice is warm and worried in that way only moms can pull off. “Honey, are you okay? Susan told me everything.”
I sit on the bed, still wrapped in a towel, hair dripping onto my shoulders.
“I’m… trying to be,” I say honestly. “Did she really tell you everything?”
“Well… not details,” Mom says. “But enough. Enough for me to know my daughter needs her family.”
I blink. “Wait.
Mom, are you… coming here?”
There’s a little pause.
A smile I can hear through the phone.
“Yes. For Thanksgiving.”
My brain stutters. “You’re—what? How?”
“We bought plane tickets months ago,” she says. “Your dad wanted to surprise you since you were going to be so close this year. We planned to spend Thanksgiving on the Cape.”
My heart thumps once, startled.
Tourists.
Beach cottages.
Thanksgiving lights.
Family.
It never occurred to me they would come all this way.
“We already rented a little cottage nearby,” Mom continues. “Nothing fancy. But it’ll take the pressure off staying at Irene’s. She’s lovely, by the way. I spoke to her yesterday. I didn’t want her feeling like she had to host all of us.”
I blink at the wall.
“Wait. You talked to Irene?”
“Yes.” Mom hesitates. “I know you. You wouldn’t take money from us, and I respect that. But… honey… we’re using some of the settlement money to make the trip work. We want to see you.”
My throat goes tight.
The old resentment between Mom and Susan.
The tight budget.
The thousand reasons why Ohio always felt too far from everything.
