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“Because I just peed a little.”
“Me too,” Mira said, crossing one leg over the other and squeezing.
Pushing his way through the door, Ian muttered, “Gross.”
She really needed to fix their bell.
“I gotta go.” Jen kissed Mira’s cheek. “The new gelding won’t train himself.”
“Is Madigan still thinking about teaming up with you for equine therapy for Little Timber?”
“I think he’s still firmly in the pre-contemplative phase. But it would be cool.”
“So cool,” Mira agreed.
“Congratulations, Mira,” Jen said, then added in a whisper, “To celebrate, why don’t you break your vow of orgasm silence?”
Mira snorted.
After Ian gave Jen knucks on her way out the door, he looked at Mira, narrowed his eyes, and asked, “You’re smiling. Is this a Cole thing? Are you going to smile like that all the time while he’s here?”
Mira walked around the counter again. “Will it just ruin your life if I do?”
“Totally,” he deadpanned, taking a seat at the counter, setting his backpack down. “It’s…kinda nice. You don’t smile much normally.”
She nearly tripped over her own feet.Do not overreact. Do not freak out. Do not make it a thing that your teen son said something nice to you, because if you do, he may never do it again.“Actually, I got a gig making a wedding cake for Jon Richardson.”
“The senator guy? Isn’t he already married?”
“It’s for his daughter.”
Without looking up, too busy rummaging through his bag, pulling out his notebook, his pencil, Ian raised his left hand for a high five. “Cool,” he said while she slapped it.
Their heads turned slowly toward the stairs when her mom came down them, then Mira jerked to attention when the rhythm of her steps faltered. “You okay, Mom?”
“I’m fine,” she crooned, rounding the corner. “Just need to pay better attention.”
It was brief, but the look Mira shared with her son was one they’d honed since her mom moved in: a nonverbal “Should we be concerned?”
“Be careful, Mimi,” Ian said, his shoulders tense until she ruffled his hair and said, “Oh, don’t worry about me.”
It was all her mom wanted, for them not to worry, for everything to be normal, the way it used to be. It was also the one thing they couldn’t give her, because what if she fell down the stairs? What if she broke a hip or an ankle or hit her head? What if she left the oven on while she was baking? They had to be vigilant.
“Did I hear you shouting earlier?” her mom asked. “Did something happen?”
Opening his math book, Ian said, “Mom scored a wedding cake job for Senator Richardson’s daughter.”
Her mom clapped her hands together, her eyes clear and bright. “That is spectacular news! When? How much are they paying you? Did you negotiate?”
Mira laughed. “I have no idea. I forgot to ask.”
Her mom clucked her tongue. “Of course you did. Well, this is worthy of a celebration. Cards? Pizza?” And when she suggested, “Maybe your new boyfriend can come. I’d like to meet him,” Mira coughed into her fist.
“Yeah, Mom,” Ian said with a sideways grin. “Let’s invite yourboyfriend.” He might as well have said “fuck buddy.”
She was an easy target. Moms were always easy targets, especially when they had fuck buddies. But her mom was trying not to laugh, and Ian was smiling, and it all felt so good, she didn’t even mind. “First of all, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re only friends.”
Her mom and Ian exchanged doubtful glances.
