‘Not in person, no. But we’ve been talking every day and FaceTiming.’
‘But … you said it’s serious?’
‘It is.’
‘How can it be serious if you haven’t met him yet?’
‘Because it is. I haven’t been interested in a guy this way for ages.’
‘So, how’s this going to work?’ She should be happy—her daughter was interested in a guy who lived on the other side of the world, which meant an unplanned pregnancy would not be an issue. One less worry.
‘I plan on heading over there as soon as I save up the airfare,’ Savannah said with a carefree shrug.
‘To Canada?’ Jenny repeated.
‘Yes, Mum, to Canada,’ Savannah said, as though explaining it to a dimwit.
‘But what about uni? I thought you were going to think about going back?’
‘I thought about it, but it’s not for me.’
Jenny rubbed her temples with her fingertips to try and stop herself from snapping, then took a slow breath in. ‘Savannah, you need to start thinking about your future. I’m telling you, going back to school when you’re older is hard. Get your degree now so you have it for later.’
‘I don’t want a degree. Why can’t you understand that?’
‘Because you’re a smart kid and you’re going to regret it. You can’t just backpack around the world forever.’
‘Why not?’ Savannah asked, throwing her arms wide. ‘If that’s what makes me happy, then why can’t I do it for as long as I want?’
‘Because eventually you’ll have to come home … you know, that annoying thing called a visa that made you come back before? It’ll happen again, and one day when you come back, you’ll suddenly realise all you’ll be qualified for is a low-income job and you’ll have nothing to show for all those years of travel, except a full passport.’
‘Which most people would envy.’
‘In theory,’ Jenny agreed, ‘but they’ll be envying it in the house they bought and driving the car they own as they head off to the job that allows them to pay for it all.’
‘I don’t want to live like that. I don’t want to be tied down to a mortgage and a job I don’t like.’
‘This boy in Canada? Does he have a job?’
‘He’s a professional snow-boarder.’
Jenny sighed and dropped her hands to her side. ‘Of course he is.’
‘There you go again, being all Judgy McJudgy,’ Savannah snapped. ‘You don’t even know Randy.’
‘Well, neither do you. Not well enough to risk travelling all the way across the world to live with him.’
‘It’s called making memories, Mum.’
‘It’s called practising for the next season ofTo Catch a Killer. This is exactly how most of those shows start off.’
‘It’s Canada, Mum. It’s perfectly safe. I’m twenty-six years old. I don’t need your permission to make decisions in my life. I just wish you’d be more supportive.’
‘I have been supportive. But I think this is a mistake.’
‘Then I’ll learn from it,’ Savannah said calmly. ‘You always told us that’s what mistakes were for.’
‘Yes, but you don’t have to deliberately make them. Just think about uni, okay? Before you make any more decisions about Canada.’
