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“That’s good.” Genevieve sipped her wine.
Willow set a plate of charcuterie on the bar in front of Genevieve. “So, tell me about the art class. Did you enjoy it?”
“I did. But I’d rather you tell me why you’re here, Willow.” Genevieve chose a piece of cheese. “I know you wanted to talk, but this is a lot of effort. It feels bigger.”
Her daughter grimaced, then topped off her own glass of wine. “I had hoped to ease into this conversation with some small talk, but you always did say it’s best to pull the bandage off fast. That said, I’d rather start with the easiest and work my way up. Okay?”
Genevieve made a sweeping gesture. “This is your show.”
“All right. Well, then. Here goes. Remember how I talked about guiding words on New Year’s Eve? How I told you that mine for the year islisten? Well, I listened to you. I went and talked to Noah like you suggested.” Then, because she couldn’t help herself, she added, “I asked him if you two had a Mrs. Robinson thing going on.”
Genevieve choked on her cheese. She took a sip of wine to wash it down before saying, “You did not!”
Willow offered her mother a napkin. “I did. You threw me a loop with the whole passion thing.”
“Willow Anne,” Genevieve scolded.
“Don’t fret. I never really thought that, and Noah set me straight. I need you to know that I heard you, Mom. I did some hard thinking. I’ve made some decisions, but I want to run them by you before they’re set in stone. You have veto power. No hard feelings if you choose to exercise it.” Willow met her mother’s gaze and stressed, “I totally mean that. Okay?”
Warily, Genevieve said, “Okay.”
“All right. First, I’d like to make our stay in Lake in the Clouds permanent, but I intend to be mindful of your need—of all of our needs—for balance. To that end, after-school and summertime childcare will be handled by Little Ducklings Daycare while I try to get an event-planning business off the ground. Emma starts kindergarten in August, and I don’t intend to homeschool either her or Drew for the fall semester. In the meantime, you’re welcome to take them out of daycare for nana playdates whenever your heart desires.”
Genevieve folded her hands prayerfully in front of her face. “Oh, honey.”
Willow rushed on, anxious to get everything on the table before her mother offered a comment. “Auntie said we could continue to stay at the cabin at Raindrop, but I’m going to start looking for a house. Actually, I have started, but nothing appropriate is on the market right now. I wouldn’t have made an offer before having this conversation, but I wanted—”
“Oh, honey!” Genevieve repeated, rising from the bar stool and rushing toward her daughter. She threw her arms around Willow and hugged her hard. “I’m thrilled. Truly, I couldn’t be happier. This is the most wonderful news.”
“I’m glad you think so. We need you, Mom.”
Genevieve’s heart caught. Tears stung her eyes. “Oh, honey. You don’t know how badly I’ve missed being needed by you.”
“Well, if that’s the case, some of the other stuff I have to share will knock your socks off.”
“That sounds ominous.”
Willow gave Genevieve a crooked smile, then reached for her own wine. “It’s nothing that won’t keep until after dinner. Please, let’s lighten the mood so that we don’t spoil the chicken?” When Genevieve nodded her agreement, Willow continued. “I hope you’re ready to jump right into campaign mode. Auntie has a meeting scheduled for ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“So I understand. I had about one thousand and one e-mails waiting for me when I turned on my phone this morning.”
“How did you like being unplugged for so long?”
“I’ll be honest. I loved it.” Genevieve glanced ruefully toward her phone as she added, “It made me feel young again.”
“Oh, Mom. You are so not old. Tell me, how much fun was it to drive a Maserati?”
They talked about the car and the classes while Willow finished preparing their meal. Over dinner, the conversation turned to the events in Lake in the Clouds. Genevieve asked a few leading questions about Noah Tannehill. Still, Willow apparently hadn’t seen him, but for that one visit Genevieve had sent her on. Dang it. They talked about Helen’s campaign, Emma’s new shoes, and Drew’s latest scrape. Genevieve frowned and thought back over the past weeks. “Why, is that his first set of stitches since Christmas?”
“It is,” Willow confirmed.
“Wow. I hadn’t realized that.”
“Even more, this one was totally not his fault. Emma tried changing him into a frog with her fairy wand, and he accidentally backed over a log and clipped his arm on a rock.”
Genevieve clapped her hands and grinned. “Well, there you go. Smart boy to back away from a girl with a fairy wand. This chicken is fabulous as always, Willow. It’s truly one of my favorite meals ever.”
Willow accepted the compliment with a nod, then added, “Save room for dessert.”
