I hit the button on the steering wheel. “Hey, Mom. You’re on speaker.”
“Is my girl home?” my mom asked.
“Grandma!” Isla shouted. “I loved camp.”
“I’m sure you did, baby. Tell me everything.” My mother listened like every word was breaking news.
“I want to come see you tomorrow,” Mom said when Isla finally paused for air.
Isla lit up in the back seat. “Really?”
“Of course. I missed you.”
“Can we go to the zoo? Or somewhere fun? Dad is fun, but he also makes me unpack.”
“Unpacking is important,” I said.
“See?” Isla said. “That’s what I mean.”
Mom laughed. “We can go somewhere fun. Maybe the zoo, if your dad says yes.” Mom hummed, and that wasn’t a goodsign. One of her famous Sloane Russell inquisitions was about to start.
“Quinn mentioned something interesting,” she said.
Oh shit.
My stomach dropped. “No,” I said immediately.
Isla leaned forward. “What did Quinn say?”
“Nothing,” I said.
Mom ignored me because she was Sloane Russell and had never respected a boundary she didn’t personally approve of. “She said you might be dating someone.”
“Mom.” She clearly didn’t realize that this was an adult conversation and not one my daughter should be involved in.
“Oooh,” Isla said from the back seat. “Is it the mommy thing?”
I gripped the wheel tighter. “No one is talking about the mommy thing.”
“The mommy thing?” Mom asked, way too interested.
“We’re not doing this in the car, Mom,” I said.
“So there’s something to discuss?” Mom asked with too much excitement. I knew she meant well, but she wasn’t helping right now.
“No.”
“That no was too fast.”
“Mom.”
“I’m just saying, if there is someone?—”
“We’ll talk later,” I cut in, keeping my voice even for Isla’s sake. “Right now, I want to hear about camp, and then I’m getting Isla dinner.”
“Fine,” Mom said, but I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll come by tomorrow morning. Love you both.”
“Love you, Grandma!”
