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She shrugged. "Not much. She said as along as I was happy, she was fine with it. Come on up. I've got a snack waiting for you."
As we walked up the narrow staircase, I listened to Vic's tales of her trip, what she and mom had been talking about. Shit, this is functional fitness. I'm not un-fit, but I would almost think twice about zipping out to get the mail if I had to keep doing that each time.
Up at the top landing, we took off our shoes and walked into Mom's place. My mom called out from the kitchen.
"Vic? Who was it?"
I rounded the corner of the kitchen and poked my head in. Mom looked up and her eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Dominic!" She engulfed me in a hug that could only come from mom. I squeezed her back tightly. "Oh, my Dominic. My sweet Dominic." I felt a lump rise in my throat. "How long has it been, my boy? I've missed you so much."
"Hi Mom. I'm so glad to be here. And yes, it's been far too long. I'm sorry for that."
"Oh, don't you mind that. I know you're busy being an important doctor up there in Boston. You know I'm all fine here in quiet New London. If anything was wrong, you know I'd let you know."
"I know, Mom. Busy as I may be, I need to start making time for things other than work."
"Come, come, sit down." My mom ushered me to the kitchen table. "Now I know why Vic was making this beautiful afternoon snack for us." She winked at Vic, who laughed. She had outdone herself. She had made a full charcuterie board for us in true frou-frou fashion, likely learned while living in California. Sliced meat, fancy cheese, olives, nuts, spreads, the works. A far cry from how we were raised. Ritz crackers and cheese slices were a fancy day back then.
"That's right, Mom. It's not just me this weekend, it's both of your crazy kids!"
"Oh, this couldn't be better. Thank you both for making the time to come. I really appreciate it."
"We should do this more often," I said, mostly to myself.
We settled into an afternoon of just being together. Board games, takeout pizza, late-night movie with microwave popcorn. I was thrown back to my childhood and it couldn't come at a better time. Mom loved spoiling us still, trying to make us comfortable in any way she could. I couldn't wait to celebrate her birthday tomorrow.
"Well, I need to head to bed, my lovelies," Mom announced. "Don't stay up too late."
"Love you, Mom," Vic and I said in unison.
As the movie wore on, it just felt good being there with my kid sister. Popcorn crumbs on the blankets, tongues numb from salt. What more could I ask for?
"Do you have any plans for Mom's birthday tomorrow?" I asked Vic. She was the planner.
"I have lunch booked at the historic Lighthouse Inn, so we can just have a light breakfast. After that, we can just do more of the same that we did today. Maybe do some walking around and act like tourists?"
"Sounds good to me. And I was wondering whether we could zip by a jewelry store and you can help Mom pick out something special for her birthday. Then, I thought we could go to the home center and update all of her garden tools. I hope you don't mind if I pay for everything. Of course, it's from both of us."
"I personally don't mind at all," she laughed, punching me on the shoulder.
She leaned her head on me.
"Thanks, bro. So nice to see you again."
I put my arm around her shoulder and squeezed. "Yep, same."
She looked up at me. "Do you think I could pick out something for myself at the jewelry store, too?" She fluttered her eyelashes theatrically.
"Of course you can. I probably owe you a few birthday presents."
"Shit yeah, you do. Get your credit card ready because there's Thanksgiving, Easter, Hanukkah, Ramadhan, Veteran's Day," Vic laughed her boisterous laugh. I grinned at her playfulness. God, I missed her.
Vic took the guest room and I tucked myself into the couch.
This is the weekend I needed.
Chapter 12
