Page 53 of Intoxicating Pursuit
The Road Trip
“ N o thanks, Sammy.” Mom tugged at the weeds that had rudely taken up residence in her flower beds.
“Mom, seriously? Are you just toying with me?”
“I’m not toying with you, sweetheart.” She continued wrenching clumps of Pennsylvania smartweed from the earth, not bothering to look in my direction. “I do actually have a life, and you seem to be doing fine.”
“You want to spend time with Meghan, though. Plus, don’t you want to see where she might go to school? Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Sammy, wrap your head around this.” She finally stood up from tending her garden, a riot of sunflowers and zinnias surrounding her with color. “I have a date.” She smiled with pride and wiped her gardening gloves across her brow.
“You have a date?”
“Yup. Stan Rosen won the tennis tournament and invited me to dinner. He has a great serve and a nice backside, and I said yes.”
“You have a date?”
“Sammy, are you stuck on repeat? Yes, I have a date, and I’m kind of excited.
For the love of Pete, honey, get out there and start living your life again.
It’s been three years. Okay? Now, shoo.” She brushed me away.
“Besides, I might have a guest, and I don’t need you cramping my style.
It might get steamy .” She smooched kissy faces at me.
She may not have been needling me before, but she was definitely doing it now. “Are you sure you won’t come? I get that you’re fine here, but just because we split up a couple times and survived doesn’t mean it has to keep happening.”
“And what do you think is gonna happen when Meghan leaves for college next fall? Do you think we’re going to follow her there together?”
I had no response to that. She was about to be irritatingly logical again—I could tell. “Fine, Mom. If you’re just going to make sense, I’ll go back to my day.”
She buried her face in her flowers again. “Love you, Sammy,” she called as I retreated.
I sighed. “Love you, too.”
***
T he next morning, I still had not heard back from Gabe. My call went to voicemail again, so I gave up and texted:
Still so sorry about everything.
Not planning to be in town when Marco's drug test comes back. Heading to Charlotte with Meghan. Need to check out the brewery there. . . it’s a mess. If you happen to be in Creekside, we’ll be nearby if you want to talk face-to-face.
Just like yesterday, there were no dancing dots to show he was typing. No delivery notification. Nothing. I tucked my phone back in my purse and got on with my day. I couldn’t control Gabe’s reaction or his choices. Only he could decide to warm his cold shoulder.
***
M eghan and I packed up the Subaru, said goodbye to Mom, and headed out.
Escaping the worst of Philadelphia’s traffic always took a while, but once we were on our way, the driving was easy.
I took the first shift while she played DJ and leafed through literature on Duke.
Bubbling with excitement, she filled me in on the lore, the business school statistics, and things to do in the Raleigh area.
I listened to her prattle on and asked a few questions along the way.
As long as she was Googling, I had her search for the best pizza places in Charlotte and make a plan for dinner.
When I asked her about the blond boy at Gabe’s house, her face turned soft and dreamy. “Oh my gosh, Mom. He’s so amazing. I can’t even begin to explain.”
“Gabe said his name is Connor?”
“Yup. He starts business school at Pepperdine this fall. He’s so smart and so beautiful. Really, he’s just perfect.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s not perfect , but I’m glad you like him. What did you guys talk about?”
“Everything. School, sports, friends. He’s so easy to talk to, and he says Pepperdine is really cool. It’s right near the mountains and the ocean, and the weather is supposed to be awesome all year long. It sounds amazing, Mom.”
“Are you guys staying in touch?”
“A little bit. We’re connected on social media, and he’s texted a few times. I know he’s headed off to school, so he may get busy, but I do think he really likes me.”
Oh boy. “And you like him?”
“Um, he’s smart and gorgeous and interesting. Of course, I like him.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re in touch then. Sounds sort of thrilling.”
I prayed she was being smart. We had shared a million birds-and-bees conversations over the years. I tried to launch another one, but she shut me down quickly.
“Oh my God, Mom. Please stop. You are beyond embarrassing.”
I gave in and switched topics. Hopefully, everything had sunk in a long time ago.
We arrived before nightfall, ate way too much pizza, and watched movies in our hotel room until we couldn’t stay awake any longer.
She still needed to realize just how wrong she’d been to betray my trust—and Gabe’s.
But I was incredibly grateful for some much-needed bonding time.
Nothing was more important than our relationship surviving the teenage years, and today had been a good day.
I checked my messages before bed but still saw no response from Gabe. . . no matter how long I stared at the phone.
***
M orning arrived too quickly, and if it weren’t for the promise of gourmet donuts, I might never have coaxed Meghan from her teenage slumber.
I could be persistent when I wanted to be, though, and I was determined to get to Forbidden Brews before the cook staff arrived.
So we rose with the sun, stuffed ourselves with scrumptious fried dough, and positively vibrated with caffeine and sugar as we unlocked the front doors of Forbidden Brews Charlotte.