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I can’t stop the giant smile from spreading across my face. “Oh, Mom, I know that you aren’t sure about him, but I am. He’s really lovely, a hero, he will treat me right. And if I do want to come back to you, I know that won’t be a problem. He will bring me back. He cares about me like that.”
She can’t disagree with that, not after everything that she has seen. Mom nods and slowly releases her grip on me. I know this will be hard on her, it’s going to be a challenge for the both of us, but she will be fine. There isn’t anyone stronger than her. Once she gets used to the change, everything will be fine.
We say our goodbyes in a much calmer way than I was expecting. Mom doesn’t necessarily seem over the moon about me leaving, but she isn’t angry either which is the best that I can hope for. She even hugs me just before I climb in to the car with Tim and she waves as we finally drive off in to the sun set.
“Is this really what you want?” Tim asks me cautiously. “I don’t want to take you away…”
I rip my blazer off and unbutton some of my shirt before a burst of laughter bombs from me. “Tim, this is exactly what I want. This is all that I could think about while I was in that job interview. Being here in this car with you and driving off in to the distance, going on more adventures like we planned. I don’t even know why I let my mother get under my skin and convince me to come to the interview at all. It seems insane now.”
“I can understand,” Tim reassures me with a little chuckle. “She is a very persuasive woman. Scarily so. You were brave today and you made some bold choices. I just want you to know that they are right for you. Especially after hearing all of that stuff about your father. That must have been hard for you.” He gives me a look. “Right?”
I slide across the seat and rest my head on his shoulder, smiling to myself with joy because I know for sure that this is where I was always meant to be. “It wasn’t nice, but I’m not going to be like him. He ran off and clearly wanted to escape his life responsibilities, but I’m adventuring and traveling. It’s different.”
I suppose it doesn’t really sound different when I say it like that, but there us a clear distinction in my mind and I am extremely happy about it. I know what I want right now, I am clear for the first time ever, and it’s perfect. My brain couldn’t be more crisp and focused on what’s next, even though I don’t know what is next. I don’t have a plan laid out in front of me, I don’t have my mother pulling my puppet strings, I have started making my own decisions and it feels good. I have begun doing what’s right for me. Whatever that might be.
“So, do you have any idea of where we are going to go?” Tim asks me happily. “For your first adventure?”
I extend my arms wide and beam. “I don’t mind where we go Anywhere in the world, Tim. As long as I am with you, I’m happy. As long as I can spread my wings and fly, I’m all for it.”
He tilts his head towards me and grins, finally seeming to relax in the idea that I am here because I want to be now. That I’m not going to leave him again. I hope that he can trust me because it was a mistake to let myself get swept along with my mother to go to that job interview. But if I am honest with myself, at least I kinda proved to myself that I could be a lawyer if I wanted to be, but I turned my back on it. I chose not to be a part of that life; I made that choice and now I can be confident in what comes next.
“You look good,” Tim comments idly. “Like you feel free once more. I love that in you.”
“I feel great. Although I don’t have anything with me other than these clothes so we might need to stop somewhere that I can shop because these clothes definitely don’t suit me, but aside from that I really am awesome.” I chew the inside of my mother for a moment. “I am sorry about this morning though…”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he reassures me quickly. “Honestly. It was a bit of a shock, but I could see that you weren’t happy which is why I stuck around. I wouldn’t have interfered any further if I was sure that you had what you wanted. I’m glad that I did now though because the world is our oyster.”
