“That’s true.” She laughs. “And I do have a job at a tiny little café here. It’s so much fun! I’m learning more and more Italian every day, even though I just work in the back. I have to read Italian, too, but I must say that the ladies I work with think that Declan is my husband.” She laughs some more.
“Because he’s always at the bakery, huh?”
“Yes. He walks me there and stays for my entire shift, and then we head out.”
“Good. I’m glad he doesn’t leave your side.”
“I must say that hiring a bodyguard might not have been your worst idea ever.”
“Geez, thanks, Mom. You make it sound like I have terrible ideas all the time!”
“That’s not what I meant at all,” she assures me.
“And friends?” I press. “Have you made friends?”
“I’ve started to go to church more. I have a few friends there and at the café. Café, bakery… you could call it either, I suppose. Such a quaint little place!”
"And your happiness is just because of all of this? Are you finding your place in the world?" I ask.
“Not quite,” she murmurs.
“Then what is it?” I cry. “Mom, please. I don’t think I could handle it if you continue to be coy. Just tell me what’s going on with you.”
“I think I’ve found him.”
“Him who?”
“The one, silly!”
I almost drop my phone. “You’re in love? Who is he? Tell me about him!”
“Oh, well, I think you would like him.”
“If he treats you right, damn straight I’ll like him! He’s nothing like Father, right?”
“No, honey, you don’t have to worry. It’s not like your father at all. He’s a good man.”
“Does he have a job?”
"Of course! I wouldn't want to be with a freeloader. Not that I make enough to be a sugar momma." She laughs. "I make just enough to cover a small place that I'm renting. No car. I mostly walk everywhere I have to go, even if it's a mile or so away. You should see my legs! They're so toned. I never realized how great walking is as exercise. And it's so lovely here temperature-wise."
“Mom, that’s great and all, but tell me about him. What’s his name?”
“Now, now, I don’t want to jinx things,” she says slowly, “but he’s the first person I think of when I wake up in the morning and the last one I talk to at night.”
My stomach twists into knots. This reminds me of Rob, and it hurts. How long is it going to hurt for? I’m ridiculous.
Or maybe not. Maybe I had fallen in love with him that quickly. I mean to hurt this much, it had to have been love, right?
“I am so happy for you, Mom. Seriously.”
"Thank you. What about you? Do any boys catch your eye? I really wish you could have spent more time with that one boy who turned your head on the cruise."
I make a face and rub the back of my neck. “Yeah… I don’t know. I’m focusing on studies.”
“Smart girl! You get ‘em, tiger!”
I blink a few times. Seriously, is love like a drug or something? Because my mom doesn’t normally talk like this.