I reach Zac’s door in seconds, pausing at the silence on the other side. With a gentle knock, I call out his name, waiting for him to answer.
After hearing his muffled ‘come in,’ I slowly open the door to find my son sitting against the bedhead, black headphones on, tapping away on his iPad. He looks up, removes his headphones with a brief nod, and then returns to whatever has captured his attention.This kid! Seriously!
“What? No hello, Mum?” I joke lightly, leaning against the doorframe with my arms crossed.
“Hello, Mum,” my son grumbles, not even bothering to look up from the screen.
Shaking my head, I start walking around his room, picking up his discarded clothes from the floor one by one and tossing them into the laundry basket next to his drawers.
“Whatchya doing over there anyway?” I ask curiously.
“Finishing off a math quiz for school,” he says, holding up the iPad to show me the online quiz he’s been working on.
“Good job. Are you almost finished? Dad said dinner’s ready.”
“I have four more questions left and then I’ll come out.”
I nod. “Well, don’t be too long, okay. We’ll see you out there.” Grabbing the laundry basket that’s practically overflowing with his dirty clothes, I head to the laundry room to start a load before settling down for dinner.
For the next twenty minutes, we sit around the dining table, savouring another one of my husband’s delicious meals while chatting about our day.
Midway through our conversation, Adrian gets up and disappears into the hallway, saying he needed to grab something. Moments later, he returns and places a small package on the table beside my plate. “This came in the mail for you today.”
“Oh, my seeds have arrived!” I beam, tearing open the package and pulling out ten different packets of vegetable seeds.
“Looks like we won’t be seeing your mother for a while, son. She’ll be too busy tending to her other babies.”
“Well, it’s not like there’s much for me to do here. And besides, this place could do with a little more green.”
“Is one of them zucchinis?” Zac asks. He’s been obsessed with fried zucchini flowers ever since he tried them for the first time at a restaurant called Hawkins Bar and Grill. They were absolutely superb, and my son has been eager to go back for more ever since.
“Sure is. I picked it especially for you so we could try making those fried zucchini flowers you loved so much.”
“No offence Mum, I don’t think they’ll be as good as the ones in therestaurant.”
I gasp just as I hear Adrian snort into his drink. I snap my gaze at him, narrowing my eyes, but he simply laughs and shrugs his shoulders.Prick!
“And here I was, planning to surprise you with a trip back to Sydney next weekend to visit that restaurant while we see Nan and Pop. But I guess you can forget about that now,” I say, teasingly.
“What? No! I’m sorry. You’re an amazing cook, Mum!” he quickly adds, backtracking.
Adrian and I both burst out laughing, shaking our heads in unison.
“She’s joking, bud. Your grandparents miss you terribly and can’t wait to see you,” Adrian assures our son.
The look of relief on Zac’s face is almost comical. He doesn’t say another word and goes back to nibbling his steak, perfectly content at the thought of returning to Sydney, even if it’s only for the weekend.
We finish our meal, and I help Adrian clean up while Zac heads back to his room, most likely to get lost in his iPad again.
As I wipe down the counters and put the dishes away, I find myself thinking what I always do before visiting my parents—I can’t wait to head back home to Sydney.
Chapter 7
Kaden
Dr. Carroll settles comfortably into her chair, her notepad balanced on her knee, as she asks how my week has been since our last session. I take my time updating her on the apartment, my side projects, and how work has slowly started to feel manageable again.
Her smile widens when I tell her I haven’t touched a single drop of alcohol since our first session—an achievement that, I admit, even tookmeby surprise.
