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Mom pulled her keys from the ignition but hesitated before she opened the car door. “One more thing.” She turned to me. “Do I smell like a cheeseburger?”

I laughed and leaned over so I could give her a sniff. “No, you smell just like your perfume.” She’d been wearing the same one since I was a little girl and always smelled of roses with a hint of vanilla.

“You’re not just saying that?”

“Mom, stop worrying. It’s going to be fine.” I shook my head and opened the door. I had a feeling she’d keep stalling if I let her, and then Matthew really would think something was up.

Mom slowly exited the car after me. She was usually so confident, but right now she was a nervous wreck. I wasn’t sure why she was freaking out so much. She’d talked on the phone with Matthew several times over the last few weeks.

“Hey, Matthew,” I said as I approached my father. We still weren’t at the point where we hugged each other or gave each other kisses in greeting. Seeing as he was usually so formal, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever get to that point.

“Isobel, it’s lovely to see you,” he said. He was smiling, but I thought I could see the corners of his lips twitching slightly like he was nervous too. He turned to look at my mom.

“Candice,” he said.

“Matthew,” she replied.

The two of them stood there staring at each other for an inappropriately long amount of time. They almost seemed to be drinking each other in. Marking every line and scar that had marred their features in the time they’d been apart.

Matthew was the first to realize he’d been staring too long and jerked his gaze away from her. He gestured into the house. “Won’t you come inside?”

“I just have to grab my bags,” Mom said, glancing at the car.

Matthew shook his head. “I’ll have someone see to that. Please come in.”

“Oh, ah, okay,” Mom replied.

We followed him into the house, and Mom was still struggling with the surprise of seeing Matthew here. She didn’t even seem to notice how ridiculously opulent his home was. I doubted she noticed anything other than my father right now. Seeing him after all these years apart had to be weird for her.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to be here this weekend,” Mom said as we followed Matthew up the grand entrance staircase.

“I had a meeting cancel on me last minute,” he replied. “I didn’t intend to crash your girls’ weekend, but there were some maintenance issues I needed to oversee here at the house. I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible.”

I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from lifting. Matthew had Caldwell to deal with stuff like that. I doubted my father had ever overseen a maintenance issue in his life. I had a sneaking suspicion he was here because he wanted to see my mom.

“Don’t be silly. We don’t expect you to stay out of our way,” Mom said before slowly glancing at me. “Does that mean you’ll be joining us at the Halloween carnival tonight?”

I was surprised my mom had jumped at the opportunity to remind Matthew of our invite. I had asked him earlier in the week but hadn’t expected him to be here.

“If that’s still okay with you both,” Matthew replied, “I would love to.”

“Of course,” I said. “Though be warned, Mom takes Halloween very seriously. You’ll be lucky to escape without some kind of paint on you.”

Matthew laughed. The sound was easy and light and so unlike him. “I’m sure I can handle a little paint.”

Mom’s face lit up with a smile. “Well, it’s settled then. We’ll go together.”

Matthew nodded, returning my mom’s smile. He then gestured toward an open door we’d arrived at. “I’ve had this room prepared for your stay,” he said. “If it’s not to your liking, I can find you another…”

“I’m sure it’s perfect,” Mom said.

“It’s right next to yours, Isobel,” he added. “I’ve had your room made up so you can stay here tonight as well if you like.”

“Oh, that is a nice idea.” My mom clapped her hands together. “What do you think, Iz?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks, Matthew.” Neither of them seemed to be listening though. They were staring at each other again. This time, it was my mom who realized the silence had gone on a little too long, and she cleared her throat.

"Yes, thank you so much, Matthew,” she said.