“That was so kind of your brother to do that.”
“What? No, Mom, it wasn’t. I don’t want to see him. Do you remember how much we hated each other? Now, I’m going to see him more. And possibly witness the walk of shame from one of his future”—I pause, lowering my voice—“whores.”
“Oh, stop it. It will be fine. I can’t understand why you get so worked up by him. He doesn’t know many people out here, so maybe Harry was just trying to be helpful since you live there too?”
I don’t answer and instead roll my eyes at her.
“Jess and I were talking the other day about how it might be time for you to start dating again.”
“Oh, have you?” I arch an eyebrow while slowly folding my arms at my chest. “You and Jess?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t think I’ve dated? Because I have.”
My mother cocks her head. ”One-night stands don’t count.”
“Oh, my god, Mom! It hasn’t just been one-night stands.”
“Bailey.”
“What?” I say, glaring at her.
“Get back out there. Luca is getting older. You have us, your friends, your brother,” she continues, “you’re happy in your job.”
I hold up my hand in front of us. “I don’t need you listing off things in my life that are going well.” I begin, then take her hand in mine. “I finally have everything figured out, and it feels good. I don’t want to think about adding anyone else into that mix right now.”
“Fine,” she says, releasing my hand and walking over to pick up one of Luca’s stuffed animals from the floor.
It doesn’t bother me that my mother and one of my best friends are talking about my love life—it is all with good intentions, but I can’t help the frustrating realization that they both have a point.
My dad starts to clean up the puzzle on the carpet that he and Luca were working on. “You’re not traveling this year on Thanksgiving, right?” he confirms while his head is down, stacking the pieces on the floor.
My mom quickly interjects before I can answer. “Bailey is here, Fred. She already gave us her November schedule.”
“How am I supposed to remember? It changes every month,” he quips.
I open my mouth to speak, but as usual, my mom talks first. “It’s taped on the fridge.”
“Well, okay. Thank you, Mary.”
I laugh. “I always miss you guys.”
Gathering all of Luca’s things, we both say goodbye to my parents. I remind them of my schedule, yet again, so they’ll know when Luca will be back.
On the short drive home, Luca entertained me with stories from the past two days. His little giggles and attempts at telling jokes make me not only proud but also grateful at the same time. Watching him grow every day is a subtle reminder how fast life goes by. It’s hard to be away from him when I travel, but the quality time that I get with him when I’m home is worth it all.
We enter the double doors into the ground floor of the building. While I wheel my luggage along the tile, Luca is dragging his bag across that same dirty floor.
“The floor is dirty, buddy. Try using your big muscles to pick it up,” I say.
He plops down, sitting crisscrossed in front of the elevators. “I can’t,” he whines.
This boy sometimes.
“Okay, I’ll grab it for you,” I tell him, bending down to loop my arm through the straps. He leads the way into the elevator, down the hall, and to our front door.
Chapter Five
