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I miss you. That’s what I wanted to say. I knew I couldn’t though, because I saw her every day. If she asked how I could miss her when she’s always around, I’d have to explain that what I actually miss is our nights together, and I couldn’t do that. “Don’t let your mom get inside your head. You’re an amazing woman, and the world’s greatest mother. She would realize that if she actually took the time to see it.”

The smile immediately returned to Tori’s face, this time even bigger than it had been before. “Thanks, Rosemary. That seriously means more than you know. Especially coming from you. You’re actually the best mom in the world. Not just to your daughter, but also to mine. I guess this is my way of saying thank you for giving me something to be thankful for this year.”

I couldn’t stop the wide smile that spread across my face. Tori’s words made me feel like I could do anything. There was so much I wanted to say in response, but I couldn’t put it all into words. “No. Thank you, Tori.” That would have to do for now.

***

I sat back in my chair and rubbed my stomach after eating way too much food. “You outdid yourselves this time, Mr. and Mrs. Stone. Everything was amazing.”

My mother-in-law gave me a look that I knew all too well. It was the look she gave me whenever I called them Mr. And Mrs. Stone. They’d told me multiple times to call them by their first names, but some things never changed. Calling older adults by their first name would never feel natural after my parents had ingrained it in my head that I needed to respect my elders (even if they were family). My mother-in-law grabbed my plate and put her hand on my shoulder. “Well, I hope you saved a little bit of room. We still haven’t had dessert.”

I groaned, because I didn’t know how I could possibly fit anything else in my stomach, but I also couldn’t turn down my mother-in-law’s Apple Pie. “Give me a few minutes, then I should be good to go again.”

My dad, who was sitting next to me, stood from the table and reached out his hands to take some of the dishes Mrs. Stone was holding. “Let me help you with that.”

“Don’t let him fool you,” I said with a laugh. “He’s only helping so he can be the first one to get his hands on the dessert.”

My dad chuckled as he followed Mrs. Stone out of the room. My parents seemed extra happy today. If this was a few years ago, I would have thought I was in the Twilight Zone. Now I was wondering if my mother-in-law put a little something extra into her stuffing this year.

I smiled as I pulled my phone out to text Tori. I hadn’t heard from her since we both left the house, and I was itching to talk to her. How is everything going over there?

I didn’t even have time to put my phone back in my pocket before a response came through from Tori. It’s going.

My smile immediately dropped. That didn’t sound good. That bad? I’m sorry :(

Not your fault.

We haven’t had dessert here yet :) if you sneak out of there now, you can still get a piece of Mrs. Stone’s pie before my dad eats it all.

I wish.

Want me to steal a piece for you? ;)

Okay.

This wasn’t good at all. Normally, Tori would have had at least one witty thing to say. The short, concise texts told me things were probably going even worse than she’d expected, which was saying a lot since she expected it to be terrible. Let me know if you need anything

When five minutes passed without a response, I turned on my ringer and shoved my phone back into my pocket. As the hours continued to pass by, no sound came from my phone.

“We gotta get you home and into bed, little girl,” I said to Emery as I scooped her into my arms.

“We should be going, too,” my dad said as he stood up beside me. “Before we go, though, could we talk to you, sweetie?”

My stomach immediately dropped as I thought about all the talks I had with my parents in the past. Even after all this time, I still expected every talk with them to go badly.

My mom squeezed my arm. “Don’t look so scared. This is good news.”

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Okay. What is it?”

My mom looked over at my dad who smiled at her and winked. When she focused back on me, the smile on her face was even bigger. “Your father and I are both retiring at the end of the year.”

My heart leapt into my throat with excitement. I was now the girl who got excited over more time with her parents. Thanks again, Willow. “Wait. Seriously? Both of you?”

My mom nodded her head up and down so fast, I was worried it might fly off. “Yep. So you better start looking at houses. We’re hoping to be official residents of Melsborough by the end of 2023.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. I would offer to let you stay with me until you find a place, but I don’t know if we have room for two more people.” And hopefully Tori and Bella aren’t planning to leave anytime soon.

My father waved his hand and scoffed. “Don’t worry about it. Even if you had the space, I’m sure you wouldn’t want your old folks to intrude.”