I look down and give myself a lecture.
I am already kind of curvy, and I’ve eaten all kinds of weird healthy and unhealthy foods as I did my cross-country drive.
I finish one more wheat biscuit and an ultra-healthy juice from a health nut place back a state.
Pushing on, I check the fuel gauge as a call comes in. After checking the caller ID, I warm up and hit answer.
“Hey, you.”
“How’s my girl?” she asks.
“Your girl is doing great, Cass.”
“Yeah, she is! And where is my girl?”
“She’s about to enter the state of New York,” I say, finally feeling closure on the drive.
“And is she in the zone or needing a rest?”
“A rest,” I say.
“Well, haveone before you arrive, you still have time. Check into a small-town motel and crash. Maybe have a beer or two. Even a man or two?!”
“You know, you’re a bad influence on me.”
“Your point?” she says, all sassy.
I shake my head. “So, what’s up with you?”
“Well, the kids are fed and now harassing each other. Hubby Ted is using a weird stick to hit small balls along the grass for some reason, and I, I have some time to myself. For once.”
“Yeah, you do. So maybe there is a balance.”
“There is.”
“And are you now glad you didn’t sell your kids after they lost it last week?”
Cassidy laughs loudly. “Oh, God! I forgot about that, but yeah, they really did lose it.”
“Yeah, don’t sell your kids, but if you do ever want to, I still get first refusal.”
“And they say friendship is dead.”
“Not dead. Just tired,” I say. “Like me.”
“Are you okay?”
“I guess,” I say, feeling it.
“Good girl, and who do you call when you need to talk?”
“Mother Nature or God?” I ask, playing along.
“And?”
“You?” I say.
“That’s my girl,” Cass says, making me feel better.
