Instead, I called her after hugging Gabe goodbye. Even after everything we'd done, the night ended too soon, and I didn't want to let him go. The ride share driver honked her horn until I opened Gabe's door for him. Then, I gave him a quick kiss and shut him inside. She shared her displeasure by peeling out of the parking lot.
I dialed Mom's number as the red lights disappeared around a corner. I left her a voicemail because she never answered the phone.
"Hey, Mom. We need to talk about my old room, and maybe setting up a shuttle to the courthouse five times a week. Give me a call back and let me know what you think. Love you, bye."
The return call came a few moments later.
"What? Seriously?" She bypassed "Hi," to bombard me with disbelief. "You guys are really moving in? Really? Oh, you've made me so happy!"
"I know, Mom," I sighed in mock frustration. "That's why I didn't want to do this."
"Oh, stop it. You know, I'm just ... I love my kids, and I miss you. You need to come home. It's about time, especially now that you've met your fated mate."
I didn't know what to say. I waited until she filled the silence again.
"Well, that's great. I'll have to plan more vegetarian dishes for our evening meals."
"You don't need to feed us. I can take care of that."
"What? Don't be ridiculous. When you live in my house, you can relax and let me take care of the bills. You can save money for your 401k or your kids' college funds. Speaking of kids, have you marked him yet?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, that's what led to this decision."
"Is he already pregnant?"
"Mom, stop."
Another uncomfortable silence loomed between us, but she caved first. "Okay, fine. But you know I'll be able to sniff it out by Sunday. When are you moving?"
"I'll figure it out with Gabe. On the day, we'll need to borrow a truck and a storage unit for all his books."
"Done and done." I could hear the smile in her voice. "Just let me know the day, and I'll bake cookies like it's Christmas."
She was still muttering a list of ingredients when I hung up.
Gabe had a week off coming up, thanks to two judges taking vacation at the same time and leaving the courtroom empty. I took a half-day on the Friday before his time off to help him pack, and then we moved his books into a newly vacated storage unit.
Thankfully, ours was closer to the main door than my mom's. Gabe had packed thirty copier paper boxes full of books. The longer the walk, the heavier they became. By the time I reached the unit with the last box, my arms felt like they were made from the same lead filling the boxes.
The next morning, we moved the rest of our stuff into my old bedroom, including two more boxes of books. "I'll probably have to switch them out before we move into our house," Gabe told me when I raised an eyebrow at him.
"You are the only person I know who would say two boxes of books wasn't enough to last you eight months."
He shrugged. "I read a lot." He pointed to the second box, marked "art books." "I used to flip through those for inspiration. It's been a long time since I've had any of that, though."
"What about your meerkat drawings?" I asked, remembering the drawings that had slipped from his sketchbook when I'd moved it all those Saturdays ago.
A pretty blush ran along the edges of his high cheekbones. "You weren't supposed to see those, but yes, I was moved by a certain little creature's introduction into my life. What can I say? You're my muse."
"You'll see more of him here," I said. "We do a pack run every Saturday night."
"Like … tonight?" Gabe had looked completely drained on the ride from the storage facility to the house, but now he perked up.
"Tonight, if you're up for it. Dad and some other non-shifters hang out on the patio and stargaze while we rummage for bugs and dig new tunnels."
He sighed. "Will my dad be there?"
"Possibly." Jerry lived on the warehouse's third floor now. We'd briefly hung out with him after dinner last Sunday, but where my mom and I could sit in comfortable silence most of the time, between Gabe and his dad it stretched like a wire about to snap. "If you want me to stay with you, I will."
