The mover approaches with an iPad for me to sign. “I’m Shep. Let’s walk the house so you can tell me where you want us to set everything.”
“It was nice meeting you,” I say to Jonathan.
“You too,” he says. Then he looks Mom in the eyes. “And you.”
“We’ll see about that,” Mom says.
“Nana,” Mia says. “Where’s your manners?”
I shoot my mom a warning glance. “Don’t answer that. Please. Let’s go tour the house. Okay?”
Shep walks toward the house.
Mia and I follow him.
Mom takes one more glance at Mr. Michaels and catches up with us.
The floorboards creak just the slightest when I step through the front door. I smile. There’s something about a home that’s been around a while. This one was built in 1900. The woodwork details are ones you never see in modern builds. My chest fills with warmth for the first time in a while. This is just what we needed—a fresh start in a new town, and our own cozy place to call home.
I point around the room, telling Shep where furniture should go. He follows me into the first bedroom off to the left.
“I don’t know what this room will be,” I say. “You can put one of the queen beds in here and any extra boxes that aren’t labeled.”
“This is where I’ll stay when I visit,” Mom says, popping her head in the doorway.
Mia’s right behind her.
Mom looks down at my daughter and says, “Nana’s room.”
Mia glances around and nods her approval. “You can have this one.”
“It’s a guest room,” I say to Mom. “And that means it’s your room when you’re visiting.”
The past year has been filled with surprises. The biggest one came in the form of my parents’ divorce. It’s nearly final. Mom’s planning on keeping our childhood home in Maryville. Dad already moved out. He doesn’t say anything about where he’s living when we see him, but I suspect it’s already with his secretary-turned-girlfriend. But he still insisted on covering the cost of the movers. I tried to turn him down even though the expense would have set us back, but Dad insisted, so I gave in.
“Can I pick my room?” Mia asks.
“I’ve got the perfect one picked out for you,” I smile down at her. “Why don’t I show you and then you can tell the movers exactly where you want your bed and dresser?”
She agrees and we make our way down the narrow hall leading off the living room. “Those stairs lead up to the attic space and the finished loft,” I tell Mom and Mia, tapping my finger on the door to the staircase. “We’ll make it into an all-purpose playroom and lounge.” I turn to Shep. “I want the smaller loveseat and chairs up there.”
Mom opens each door as we move through the rest of thedownstairs, inspecting the full bath off the hall and the other three bedrooms—mine, Mia’s, and the one right off the kitchen where my younger sister, Avery, will stay whenever she’s here to care for Mia during my shifts. I fill Shep in as to which boxes to put where as we enter each room.
“A window seat!” Mia practically squeals when we open her door.
Avery’s voice rings through the house just as we’re stepping into the kitchen, which fills the entire back of the house. My eyes settle on the large island in the middle of the room and then over to the breakfast nook with a bay window bench seat.
“Anybody home?” Avery’s voice carries down the hallway.
“We’re back here!” I shout.
“Aunt Avery!” Mia says, taking off at a sprint down the hall.
“Oof!” my sister says with a laugh. “Man, girly. You have to be careful. You’re getting to be a mighty little beast.”
I can’t see Mia, but I know she’s beaming. Calling her a beast is her version of a compliment.
“Sorry I’m late!” Avery says, walking through the kitchen doorway holding Mia’s hand. “I had to stop at the new Buc-ee’s and I got lost at the taffy wall.”
