Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“I don’t know how successful we will be, but I’m in,” I said, putting as much enthusiasm into my voice as I could.
Chapter 42
Lillian
We got to our Mom’s place and Rose brought the car to a stop in the driveway.
“What did you tell her exactly?” I asked, feeling slightly nervous.
“The truth. That we’re going to look at houses so that she can see what options there are,” Rose said.
“Wow! I can’t believe she agreed.”
“Not readily. I became a pest and wore her down,” Rose said.
The front door opened and our mother stepped out. She was still a beautiful woman and it was sad that she had drifted apart from her friends and kept to herself so much. Recovery was taking a long time, but maybe if she moved that would be the first step.
She wore an irritated look as she entered the car. “Good evening,” she said crisply.
We swapped pleasantries, but I could tell she didn’t want to talk. Rose and I exchanged a look. Although, I wasn’t surprised she was in a lousy mood. Anything that involved selling the house did that to her. I felt like a complete ass for forcing her to look at houses. I considered asking Rose to forget about it, but before I could voice the thought, we had reached the real estate agent’s office.
Rose killed the engine. “I’ll just let Leanne know that we’re here.”
Mom sighed when the car door shut. I turned to face her.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” she said. “How’s the job going? Is the moody boss thawing?”
I laughed, but it didn’t sound genuine even to my ears. Mom would have been horrified if she knew what was going on between my boss and me.
“It’s going okay. I’m enjoying it.”
Rose returned after a few minutes. “We’ll follow her car.”
A black Honda stopped in front of us and honked.
“That’s her,” Rose said and eased the car onto the road.
My mom perked up when we started talking about her grandchildren. Picking on Mom’s change of mood, Rose regaled us with tales of what they were up to now.
I listened with half an ear as my mind drifted back to Max. I wondered if he was thinking about me and missing me even the tiniest bit. I knew now that Maggie was definitely wrong. Not only had I fallen for Max, I had fallen hard. What other reason was there to think about a man for every minute that you were awake? The only respite was when I was asleep or when we were together.
“Here we are,” Rose said, pulling me back to the present. “What do you think at first glance, Mom?”
The cottage was surrounded by a pretty garden which meant a lovely view every morning. It had a small porch, but it was enough to put a rocking chair on. It was like stepping back in time, but in a good way.
“Oh wow! It’s gorgeous,” I said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Goldilocks’s bears walked out.”
“It is pretty and homely,” my mother admitted in a grudging tone.
“Let’s go see if the inside matches the outside,” Rose said, and we all got out of the car.
Leanne came over and Rose did the introductions. We followed her into the cottage. It was just as charming inside, but it was hard to interpret my mother’s thoughts. Considering her mood earlier, I wasn’t too hopeful.
She didn’t make any comments when we returned to the car and headed to the next cottage. Nor did she comment on any of the other two cottages that we were shown either. I could see the strain on Rose’s face as she waited for a reaction. Mom gave nothing away until we went for dinner at a deli near the real estate agency.
We ordered our food and as we waited, the waitress served us coffee. I sipped on mine gratefully.
“Girls, if you have something to tell me, I’d rather you come right out and say it,” Mom said suddenly. “I’m tired of looking at houses. It’s not my hobby and I don’t think it’s yours either.” She trained her eyes on me. “Is the mortgage too much of a strain? I can speak to the—”
“Mom, I don’t have a problem helping with the mortgage,” I said quickly, already regretting not discouraging Rose from pushing Mom too hard and fast.
“Mom, it’s not about that,” Rose protested. “It’s about starting life afresh for you.”
“I know,” Mom said. “But I’m not ready.” She looked relieved when the waitress brought our food to the table.
We dropped Mom off later, then Rose drove me home.
“That wasn’t a successful day,” she said.
“It doesn’t look like it, but it was a good idea,” I said. “Those cottages were gorgeous. Makes me want to live there myself.”
“They were, weren’t they?”
“Yeah. It was a good idea, but I think we should let it rest for now, okay?”