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Misha nodded. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m so grateful for your sisters’ generosity in letting us stay with them. Both Mom and I have enjoyed staying there.”
“But there’s nothing like your own space.”
“Yeah. We’re used to living on our own, so it will be nice to get back to that.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean that the only time we see you will be at the clinic.”
Misha wasn’t sure what to make of that comment. “Well, I think we’ll see you at church, too.”
“I just want you to know that we’ve come to think of you as a friend, not just as an employee.”
“Yes, I think we’ve well and truly crossed that line.”
Jay chuckled. “It happened with Aria too. Although, I would say that the friendship/employee line was crossed even before she arrived, since she and Janessa had been friends prior to her arrival here.”
Misha had heard about Aria’s arrival and how her relationship with Gareth had blossomed and then almost met its end. It was hard to believe, looking at the couple now, that they’d had such a rough patch.
“I didn’t expect such a supportive community when I was first told about the job here, to be honest,” Misha said.
Rather than question why she’d thought that, Jay nodded. “I would imagine that there might have been some apprehension about moving so far away from your friends and family. Plus, a community that you were unlikely to find here.”
“Yeah.” And they hadn’t found a community exactly like they’d had in Atlanta, but they had found something in Serenity. Not better, necessarily, but at least she didn’t feel that they were completely on their own.
Her worry was more about her mom than about herself. She’d found friendships with Charli, Janessa, and Aria. Her mom, however, had only connected with Cathy, and that wasn’ta strong connection. At least, not yet. Mainly because the woman was in and out of Serenity
When she’d mentioned it to her mom, she’d brushed Misha’s concerns away, telling her it was far too soon to be worried about her not having made a bunch of friends. Hopefully, once they were settled into their own place, her mom would have more opportunities to meet people.
Back at the house, Aria offered to watch Ciara while Misha and her mom went up to pack the last of their things.
“Are you excited, Mom?” Misha asked as she put her makeup bag into her suitcase.
“I am. How does it look?”
“Perfect.” And it really did. The biggest blessing of all, however, was that they would no longer have to look over their shoulders, scared that they were in some gang member’s crosshairs.
“Once it’s all set up, we’ll have to send pictures to Doctor Martin,” her mom said as she wheeled the suitcase with Ciara’s stuff over to the door. “I’m sure it will give him a sense of peace to know that we’ve been able to find a home here. He was worried.”
Misha nodded. As much as the doctor had encouraged them to leave, she knew he’d had concerns as well. So being able to put his mind at ease would be a good thing.
After she’d put the last of her things into the suitcase, Misha took one final look through the rooms to make sure they hadn’t left anything. Not that that was terribly concerning, since Janessa or Aria would give them anything they left behind.
“Let me just remake the beds,” her mom said. They’d stripped the sheets earlier, and her mom had washed and driedthem while Misha had been helping supervise the moving of their things.
“I’ll help.”
Together, they made quick work of both the beds, and even though she hadn’t been there to see her do it, she was quite certain that her mom had vacuumed, dusted and cleaned both bathrooms. Her mom’s pride wouldn’t allow her to leave a mess behind for someone else to clean up.
They each carried one suitcase down, but were then told by Gareth and Jay that they’d get the rest. They put most of the remaining things into Jay’s SUV, with the rest going into Misha’s car.
“I feel so emotional,” Aria said as she followed them out onto the porch. “We’ve gotten so used to having you all around that it’s going to be weird without you here.”
Misha smiled at the other woman, happy that they weren’t looking forward to seeing the backs of her and her mom. They could have been saying that just to be nice, but Misha didn’t think Aria was like that.
“You know we’re always here if you need anything,” Charli said. “Babysitting or whatever.”
“I wish you could leave Ciara,” Layla said as she took the baby’s hand.
Misha had to tighten her grip on Ciara as she leaned toward Layla. The little girl had been a great help with entertaining the baby.
