Abby and my mum leave the room, and Drew drops down on the couch next to me, releasing a contented sigh.“Think your mom would adopt Abby, Fern, and me?”
“In a heartbeat,” I say.
She smiles absently as she curls her legs under herself and angles to face me.“I really love her, Graeme,” she says, laughing lightly as if she can’t believe what she’s saying.“Your dad too.Is that weird?”
“Nah.It’s not like they were strangers before you came.You’d talked to them on the phone and video-chatted with them.”
“True.”She bobs her head, gnawing on her bottom lip for a moment.“I guess I worried it wouldn’t translate into real life.That they’d meet me and think I was too much or not enough, or that Brodie had made a horrible mistake falling in love with me.”
I open my mouth to respond, but she carries on before I can offer any reassurance.
“I know that’s my trauma talking,” she says with a rueful smile.“My therapist and I have spent a lot of time working through that, but it’s still there, lurking beneath the surface.Being with your parents, especially your mom, is healing something inside me, though.I’ll admit, her warmheartedness and caring freaked me out at first and made me want to run, but I made myself lean into it instead.To accept it and remind myself I deserve it.”
“Youdodeserve it,” I say firmly, taking one of her hands between both of mine.“You deserve all the love and good things in the world.”
She blinks rapidly, letting out a quiet sniffle.“Thanks.I just need to keep reminding myself of that.”
“Happy to chime in with reminders whenever necessary,” I say.
“I appreciate that.We need to do the same with Abby too.I think the whole ‘wonderful, loving mother figure’ thing is poking at old wounds for both of us.”
“I suspected as much,” I admit.
She makes a humming sound as she frees her hand from mine and leans back, pulling the elastic from her hair to redo her ponytail.Her shrewd gaze remains trained on my face the entire time.“That shouldn’t surprise me.You know Abby better than anyone.”
“Except for you, of course,” I say lightly, surprised she didn’t tack that bit on herself.
She hums again, tilting her head back and forth.“I don’t know.Sometimes I wonder.”Whatever my expression is, it makes her quick to add, “It’s not a bad thing.It’s not like she’s some different version of herself with you or anything, but...close?I don’t know, it’s hard to put into words, but I’m grateful she has you and that you love her so much.”
That last part makes my heart slam against my ribcage.I do my best to keep my expression neutral and not give in to the instinct to turn away.I’m aware she’s referring to my love for Abby as a friend, but still, it stirs something inside me.Drew is the least subtle person I know, so if she had even an inkling that my feelings for Abby went deeper than friendship, she wouldn’t hesitate to mention it.
“You two are easy to love,” I say.“Fern too.Having the three of you in my life the last few years has made it infinitely better.”
Drew’s bottom lip juts out, and she drops her head onto my shoulder.“I feel the exact same way.And you know whatelseis easy to love?This country.I’m obsessed.Your mom has been dropping hints to Abs and me that we should move here.”
My ears perk up at this.“Oh?”
“Mmhmm.It’ssotempting, not gonna lie.I hate that we’re all going our separate ways soon.The thought of us all being together in this amazing city is...well, it’s exciting.”She sits up to look at me, and my heart plummets.I know before she says it that there’s a ‘but’ coming.“It’s not realistic, though.Brodie and I talked about it the other night, and we agreed it wouldn’t work.Wealsoagreed it’s something to consider down the line.”
“Have you talked to Abby about it?”
Her gaze flicks to the living room doorway, then back to me.Voices drift down the hall.I hear Brodie’s deep laugh among the feminine ones, which tells me he and Fern are back from the errand Mum sent them on.
“I haven’t said anything to her,” Drew says.“Honestly, I keep expectingherto bring it up, especially after the hints from your mom.She clearly loves it here, and she keeps saying she wishes we had more time.I guess she’s banking on the fact we’ll come back to visit.People alwayssaythey’ll return to the places they love, but it’s different for us because we have family here now.”
Warmth spreads through me.“Familyanda home, whether it’s here with my parents or my place once I’m settled.You’ll always be welcome.”
There’s a commotion in the hallway, followed by the others filing into the room, filling the space both physically and with their chatter.Brodie squeezes onto the couch on Drew’s other side, while Abby and Fern both start toward the empty space beside me.
“You sit with Graeme, and I’ll take the armchair,” Fern suggests, gently pushing Abby in my direction.
Abby offers me a smile as she slides into the small space beside me.“For a second there I thought I might have to sit on your lap.”
Thankfully, the sound of my mum clapping her hands to get our attention stops me from imagining Abby in my lap.Dad pulls two chairs over from the dining table and kisses Mum’s hand as she drops into her seat.In her other hand, she holds three gift bags, which she settles on her knees.
“Girls, we have something for each of you,” she says excitedly.“The other day when I was out with you, I noticed Drew and Fern picking up souvenirs here and there, but Abby, you didn’t get anything for yourself.”
Abby looks startled at being put on the spot.“Oh.Photographs are my favourite type of souvenir.”
