“That would be great. Brett should be here too,” I tell her, knowing Brett has been investing so much of his time into The Barrel House.
“Absolutely. I’ll just invite them all over.”
A piece of lettuce falls from my lips as I’m surprised by her kind gesture to invite the entire Pearson clan. “I don’t think it needs to be more than Brett and his parents.”
“Nonsense,” Mom argues. “You can’t invite a family over without one person.” It would be two since Brody has a daughter. “Speaking of Brody.” Her voice becomes quizzical, almost lyrical, in fact.
“No,” I tell her.
“Journey, don’t snap at me. And keep eating.”
“I heard Brody has his eye on you. Maybe he’s jealous of what his brother and Melody have and realizes what kind of catch you would be.”
“No,” I tell her again, this time with more enthusiasm.
“He’s turned his life around, Journey. You don’t have to be so closed off to the idea.”
“Our siblings are pretty much in a serious relationship. It’s weird, and he’s Brody Pearson, and no.”
Mom holds her hands up in defense before grabbing her glass of lemon water. “Fine. He makes a good income helping his father, you know.”
“I make a good income, working alone,” I remind her. “You fairy-god-mothered your way into the love connection between Melody and Brett. It’s time to hang up the wand.”
“I did no such thing,” she argues. I know she’s right. God, do I know. I am the one who had to deal with the earlier years and Melody’s incessant crush on him. I might have had a hand in forcing them to rekindle their short-lived past after they reconnected, but it was just once, and I stepped away after. Mom kept twirling her wand, waiting for sparks to ignite. “I simply assisted with what was already there.”
“Okay, well, there is nothing between Brody and me, nor will there ever be,” I tell her.
“Well, there was that one time.”
Mom doesn’t know about the one time. No one knows about the one time.
“No, there wasn’t a one time,” I hold firm to my story.
Mom rolls her eyes. “Okay, I guess we’re not at a point in our lives where we can laugh about the past yet.”
I don’t think she knows the truth based on her statement. If she did, she’d know there was nothing about my past worth any amount of laughter.
The silence gives me a good reason to finish shoving the sandwich into my mouth, chewing slowly, taking sips of water even slower until enough time has passed where I can once again change the subject. “I’ll buy all the food and bring it over tomorrow, assuming the Pearsons are free.”
“I’ll call them in a bit and will let you know as soon as I have an answer.”
We’re in a stare-off, and I hate it. Mom never meddled as much before Dad passed away. She’s taken the world onto her shoulders and will run herself ragged before taking a breath for herself.
I didn’t intend to drop the planning of this dinner party on Mom, but rather hold the dinner at her house since I don’t have enough space in my apartment. However, the attorney told me I had to come back to her office to pick up the paperwork, and though it could wait another day or so, I want the papers in hand tonight when I propose to offload my share for The Barrel House. Mom told me to go, and she’d take care of the cooking and preparations, which I appreciate.
I’m glad everyone can attend tonight, but this includes Brody, which is the last thing I need to focus on when trying to break the news of my decision.
I’m almost back to Mom’s house when my phone buzzes in the cupholder. Since I took the long way back to her house, avoiding the exit of doom, I hit a bit of traffic in the middle of town, giving me a moment to see who’s messaging me.
Brody:Who would have thought I’d be lucky enough to see you again this week?
The stress-filled constriction within my chest increases. I’m just going to ignore him, pretend he’s not there. If I can put some distance between us, everything will be fine.
I make it to Mom’s house with little time to spare before the Pearsons are due to arrive. Melody is home too, helping Mom in the kitchen. The look I get from her is one of anger. I haven’t talked to her about the struggle of weighing my options. She probably thinks I put the thought of the business on the back burner for the last few months and pretended it wasn’t a pressing matter. I needed to make this decision on my own without her influence. I know how she feels about keeping The Barrel House in our family’s name.
The Pearson family arrives promptly and almost all at once. The house fills with their party of six, adding to our party of three.
I’m helping in the kitchen, avoiding Brody, but it doesn’t take long before he finds me. “Fireball,” he sings. “It’s been so long.”
