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“So? Get a group of girlfriends together.” I held my fingers poised over my laptop’s keyboard. “Do you want me to make you an online dating profile? I’ll do it right here. It’s the perfect time. Let’s take a look at what you want.”
“Oh, I don’t want to date again,” my mom said scornfully. “That part of my life is over.”
“Love can pop up in the most unexpected of places,” I warned her. “Most of the time, it’s on the internet, but that’s just a symptom of the modern world.”
“Well, do you have an online dating profile?”
I choked on my water and was reduced to a minute full of coughing. “I don’t. No.”
“Then why would you set your mother up with one?” My mom opened up her book, but she seemed to stare right through the pages. “I don’t want to be ridiculed.”
“No one’s ridiculing you, Mom. I’m telling you that online dating is where it’s at. It’s so much easier than traditional dating. You can even make filters to weed out the kind of people you don’t want.”
She sniffed. “Sounds like ordering takeout.”
I laughed. “If only love could be that simple.”
“I’ll get a dating profile,” my mom said gamely, her eyes glinting in the afternoon light filtering in through the windows. “If you will, too.”
I gulped. I really wanted my mom to have a happy and fulfilling retirement. Up until this point, she hadn’t had a chance to do nice things for herself outside of her grueling work hours. I hated the thought of her being alone, and I really wanted her to get back out there and figure something out for her love life, especially given all the free time she’d soon have.
But the idea of me getting back on the market? I just wasn’t ready for it.
“You’re white as a sheet,” my mom observed. “Is online dating that scary?”
“Charlie and I met at a party,” I said weakly. “I haven’t ever online dated. Well, except for Tinder.”
“What’s Tinder?”
“I can’t get into that with you,” I said quickly.
“How am I supposed to get back in the saddle alone like this?” she demanded. “You’re not giving me a whole lot of confidence here, Heather.”
“Okay, fine,” I said, punching my keyboard with extreme prejudice. “We’re doing this, then. We’re two single, gorgeous women, and we’re ready to mingle.”
My mom stared at me for a moment. “Are you really sure about this Heather? How is this even going to work?”
“Of course I’m sure, Mom. Lots of senior people still date and find love and companionship. Take a look at this.” I quickly showed her the online dating site, specifically for seniors.
It worked like it was supposed to. It gave my mom something to focus on beyond packing up and moving out of her home, and it gave me something to stress over as requests began to ping my phone and inbox. I didn’t want to be with Charlie anymore, but I wasn’t ready to let anybody else in—not even for something casual.
Maybe not for anything at all, ever again.
6
Heather
Ihadn’t grown up with my father. He’d left before I was born as he was not interested in being a father at all. That caused my mom to struggle, and it made me her extra charge when she was busy being a nanny for other families. I always felt like such a burden when I was here that it became imperative to leave as soon as I graduated high school. I didn’t want to be my mom’s responsibility anymore, not when she had so many other responsibilities to attend to in this county.
It made me grateful to set my phone aside while I packed, cleaned, and shuffled boxes around. Also, to immerse myself in caring for Collins, who was a live wire and utterly hilarious and whip-smart. And, as it turned out, to interact with Graham on much more of a regular basis than my mom did—if her memory served her correctly.
He was often home before five, and he rarely left before ten. It must be nice having that kind of schedule, but I figured the man in charge could set his own schedule. He frequently looked in on me while I interacted with Collins, sometimes merely leaning against the door and observing the situation. It was a classic case of paranoia. He even installed cameras in Collins’ play area.
If I were sticking around longer, I might’ve called Graham out on all of this ridiculousness. But as it was, I sucked it up and continued marching forward. It was just a temporary situation, so it didn’t need permanent solutions.
I was disentangling myself from Collins one evening—who was performing for her dad’s attention—when he finally broke the ice with some deeper conversation than his usual taciturn comments.
“New York, huh?” Graham drawled as I gathered my things to go. “How’s that working for you?”
