My mom brings her fist to her mouth and lets out a fake cough. Then I hear her barely say it.
"Florida," she says, muffled from the fake cough.
"WHAT!" I say. "Florida? Why Florida? That is so far away."
"Oh, honey. That's why man made airplanes. Your dad and I are getting older. We want to live somewhere where we don't have to shovel snow or worry about sliding off the road."
"Yeah, because alligators are so much better," Brittany says.
"We aren't going to live in a swamp," this from my Dad.
"We actually talked about living close to Disney, so when you all give us grandkids, we can take them whenever they want."
"Oh lord," I say, shaking my head.
My sisters go back and forth about who gets to visit first. Sophia even said she would want to move there, too. She's only two years into college, and moving for her would be simple because she does everything online.
Then what? Just me and Brittany. Who knows where James will end up? My heart rate picks up, and my chest starts rising and falling a little faster. My breath becomes labored, and it feels like someone has ahold of my heart. The pressure on my chest is getting worse by the second.
"Um, Chrissy? You, okay?" Brittany asks.
My head turns quickly to her, my eyes burning, and I shake my head.
"What's wrong honey?" my mom asks.
"I…um…" I take a deep breath in my belly, helping some of the emotion drift away. "I'm alright. It's just a lot."
"I know. But this is a good thing. Dad and I have done our job and raised four amazing human beings who are going to do incredible things with their lives."
A small tear slides down her face, and she puts her hand on my dad’s shoulder.
"Your dad and I need to figure out how to be a couple again, without kids."
My emotion gets caught in my throat, like a lump that I can't swallow down.
Watching my brother walk across the stage and receive his diploma was bittersweet. I am so proud of him, of all my siblings, but they are all adults. Just like me. I don't have to be here to rescue them. I don't need to be their person they come to before mom and dad because they may have done something stupid.
They are all grown up. And I'm...What am I doing?
"Chrissy." I turn to the sound of my name. It's Cheryl, my mom’s best friend. The woman is like a second mother to me.
"Hi Cheryl, how are you?" I ask as she hugs me.
"Doing good, sweetie. How about you? How was Sarah's wedding?"
"It was a winter wonderland."
"Oh, I’m sure it was. She’s always had a magical imagination, so I would expect her wedding be just as whimsical."
I nod my head.
"And you?" she asks again.
"I'm doing fine. Working hard."
"Your mom told me her and your dad are thinking about moving. Can you believe she's going to leave me?" She chuckles.
"I was surprised when she told me, but I think it will be good for them."