“How are the flying lessons going?”
I hesitated for a moment. I knew exactly what she was doing—changing the subject, neatly sidestepping the question I hadn’t finished asking. Part of me wanted to push anyway. Her health mattered more to me than polite conversation. But another part of me knew that if she wasn’t ready to talk, forcing it would only make her retreat further behind those carefully built walls.
So I let it go.
For now.
I had mentioned my dream of learning to fly during oneof our late-night conversations, and she had been the one who helped me find instructors.
“I’m loving it,” I said. “It’s exhilarating—lifting off and watching the ground fall away beneath you.” I glanced at her. “One day I’ll take you up… once I’m a little more confident, of course.”
“Of course,” she said. “That would definitely make me feel a lot better.”
I laughed with her, rinsed the mugs, and kept the conversation light for Lucas’s sake.
When it was time to leave, she walked me to the door.
“Text me when you get home,” she said.
“I will.”
I stepped into the hallway and waited until the door closed before exhaling.
Driving away, I replayed the evening in fragments—the way she had leaned against the counter, the sudden loss of colour in her face, the deliberate way she had changed the subject.
None of it felt accidental.
None of it felt small.
But for now, I chose patience.
Whatever she was carrying, she wasn’t ready to set it down. And until she was, I would stay exactly where she had placed me—close enough to matter, far enough not to frighten her.
28
NYAH
“Ican’t believe we’re going to a new place for Christmas and New Year’s this year, Mama!” Lucas said excitedly from the back seat.
His reaction couldn’t have been more different from mine. My stomach was knotted tight, while his probably fluttered with anticipation. I had been more anxious about spending the holidays with Caleb’s family than I wanted to admit. It felt like I was overstepping the boundaries of his kindness and our friendship, until Randall came to the hotel and invited Lucas and me himself. I had nodded, even as uncertainty had fluttered inside me.
Caleb had picked us up and driven us to his parents’ house in Point Grey. Black wrought-iron gates opened as we approached, revealing a winding cobblestone driveway.
The front door swung open before we even reached it, and a beautiful woman with short blond hair and curious blue eyes bounced down the stairs.
After greeting Caleb, she stopped in front of me. “And this must be her?”
“Sophia, this is Nyah—” Caleb began.
Before he could finish, she pulled me into a long, tight hug. “Oh,my God! I have been waiting to meet you! Dad talks about you all the time—about how you’re this wonder woman who turned the hotel around. It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. And let me guess,” she said, glancing down at Lucas, “this is your son, right?”
“Lucas… nice to meet you!” he squeaked, stepping forward.
Sophia shook his hand and kissed him on the cheek.
A Beagle named Dodger and two Golden Retrievers—Baxter and Cooper—came charging toward us. I crouched beside Lucas and told him to hold out his hands so they could sniff him. His lips trembled as he followed my instructions, but soon the dogs were wagging their tails and licking his fingers. He burst into giggles.
We walked inside the house, and Christmas decorations were everywhere. Passing a couple of doors, we entered an informal dining area filled with the smell of coffee and pastries. The rest of the family was already there as Sophia announced us.
