Page 81 of A Dangerous Kind of Love

When I finally move, it’s because I make myself. I turn and walk toward the doors, each step automatic. My body already knows the routine even if my head doesn’t want to be here. The glass doors slide open as we get close, and the air inside is too clean. It never feels right no matter how many times I walk through it.

Cheryl, the receptionist’s smile settles on me the second we walk in.

“Hi, Katie.”

“Hi,” I say, giving her something back that passes.

Her eyes move past me. To him. There’s a flicker there. Not because I didn’t come alone. I bring Sarah sometimes, but this is different. Her expression shifts slightly, trying to place him before I say anything.

I don’t make her wait.

“This is my boyfriend, Michael,” I say. “Michael, this is Cheryl.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Cheryl says.

Michael steps forward and offers his hand. “Nice to meet you, Cheryl.”

She takes it, smiling, but she’s already filing this away, adding it to whatever version of me she’s built over the past two years. I shift my weight, my focus already pulling down the hallway behind her.

“Can we head back?” I ask.

“Of course,” she says. “Go ahead.”

I walk down the hall with Michael right next to me. People say hi as we pass, voices I recognize, faces I’ve seen enough times that they’ve started to stick. They’re all older. Way older than my mom. This place was never meant for her. Sixty isn’t old enough for this. It never will be. I keep my focus straight ahead, refusing to let that thought sit too long. A few of the women glance at Michael, glance again, not even pretending they’re being subtle. It almost makes me laugh. Even here, even now, that part of the world works exactly the same.

Her door is open.

I hear her voice, clear, mid-conversation, and my stomach tightens. I don’t let myself get ahead of it. I don’t let myself think anything yet. I step inside, Michael behind me, and Nina is in the recliner, my mom sitting on the edge of the bed.

She looks over. Straight at Michael. There’s confusion there, immediate and obvious, and I feel it hit before it even fully forms. Her eyes move and land on me.

“Katie!” she says. “My baby!”

My breath catches hard, tears hitting my eyes. She knows me. Right now, she knows me.

Michael’s hand settles against my back, and I lean into it.

She’s off the bed before I even take a full step in, moving faster than I’ve seen her move in a long time. She’s right there, her arms around me, pulling me in tight. I fold into her.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she says into my hair.

“I’ve missed you too,” I say, and my voice breaks, the tears already falling.

She pulls back enough to look at me, her hands coming up to my face. “Oh, baby. Why are you crying?”

I shake my head, wiping at them even though they keep coming. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Her smile softens, and for a second, everything feels normal. Then her eyes shift over my shoulder.

“Who is this, Katie?”

I turn, my hand in hers as I look at him.

“Mom, this is Michael,” I say. “My boyfriend.”

Michael steps forward and offers his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Miller.”

Mom looks at me first, then back to him. She takes his hand. “You too,” she says. “I didn’t know my Katie had a boyfriend.”