“You came.”
I nod, knowing it’s his way of saying he missed me. “I’m here, and I’m going to kick your butt on Rabbids.”
He chuckles. “No, you won’t.”
“Yeah? Wanna bet?”
“Yeah. If I win, you have to go out and get me ice cream.”
I scoff. “Fine. And if I win––” I start to say, but I can’t think of anything. “I have to think about that.” I walk into the house and say, “It smells amazing in here.”
The house smells like garlic and tomato, like it’s been roasting for hours.
“Lasagna?”
“Yup,” Bear says behind me.
Tyr is in the kitchen pulling the pan out of the oven with two oven mitts. Mom is in the dining room setting plates at the table. She has on the green sweater she has been wearing. Her hair is down. The sight melts my heart. She crosses the room when she sees me. She hugs me at the door. The hug is short, but it’s warm and welcoming. I feel loved.
“Hi, baby,” she says.
I smile. “Hi, Mom.”
She looks at me. “You look good.”
“You, too.”
She smiles at that.
“You look really good, Mom. Happy.”
She hugs me again. “Did you figure things out with Gianna?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m back.”
She scrunches her nose. “I knew you two would figure it out.”
I touch her arm as she walks off. Little does she know that this simple conversation is all I ever wanted between us. I watch her finish setting the table and keep my smile to myself. It feels like a piece of me has healed. I look over at Tyr.
“Lucy,” he says. “How’s it going, mathematician?”
I chuckle. “Hi, Tyr. I’m good. Thanks for dinner. It smells great.”
Tyr cuts the lasagna and serves it. Mom pours wine for herself and Tyr and then sparkling water for me and Bear. Bear is on his second piece before the rest of us have started ours.
Tyr tells a story about a guy whose basement he renovated last spring. Mom asks me about my classes. She asks follow-up questions. She asks me about tutoring and tells me that she hopes I’m saving my money. I tell her that I am.
Halfway through dinner, she sets her fork down.
“Lucy, guess what?”
I look up and slightly panic. I hate when people do this guessing game. “What is it?”
Tyr is looking at his plate. Bear is on his third piece of lasagna, on the iPad, and not listening.
She says, “I started a new job this week.”
I almost fall over. “What?” I say Camdenthless even though I heard her.
