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‘I can.’ I’d seen the six-figure amount in my account that morning, and stood staring at my phone for a good ten minutes before squealing with Lara over it. It seemed almost criminal to me I’d enjoyed myself so thoroughly and also made so much money from it.
‘Love, I know you make okay money doing... what you do. But you need to keep it. It might not be a forever job.’
‘I made a lot of money, Mum. And I want to do this for you. I want you to not owe anything to Uncle Tony. Please? You did so much for me growing up, and I can finally repay you.’
‘You don’t need to repay me. I’m your mother. I love you.’
‘Please?’
My mum tore at her napkin as she stared down into her lap. ‘It’s too much.’
‘It’s not.’
She remained quiet for a few minutes before her shoulders dropped, and I smiled.
‘On one condition; we put the house in your name. So that it’s your house and your money goes into it.’
‘I don’t need your house.’
‘But it’ll go to you one day anyway, and this way you won’t need to worry about inheritance tax. It’s the only way I’ll let you pay off the mortgage.’
She was so bloody stubborn.
‘Fine. But you stay there until we are both old and grey and wrinkled.’
‘And then you can always have it there as a backup.’
‘Mum, I don’t need a backup.’
‘I don’t need details. I just don’t want to worry about you.’
Mum liked to keep any discussion of what I did to a minimum. While she never tried to dissuade me or put me down about it, she didn’t want to talk about it either.
‘Can I ask you something about Dad?’
‘Of course you can, love.’
‘How did you know he was the one? When did you know?’
Mum’s smile was soft and sad as she met my eyes. ‘I knew from the first moment he held my hand.’
‘But how did you know?’
‘It wasn’t a concrete feeling. It was a wave, sometimes overwhelming and sometimes just lapping at my feet. No matter the size of the torrent, it always drew me to him. It was unavoidable. I needed to be near him, to hear his voice and feel his touch. It wasn’t a knowing as much as it was an unavoidable need to be with him.’
‘Oh, Mum,’ I said, sliding a hand over the table and gripping her fingers.
‘Have you met someone?’
I’d never been able to lie to my mum, and when she lifted a brow, I swore my ears even blushed.
‘You have! Who is he?’
‘It’s not like that. I met a guy and I feel that pull to him, but he doesn’t want a relationship.’ I left out the fact it was her niece’s fiancé.
‘If he’s right for you, he’ll be back. He won’t be able to resist it.’
God, however wrong it would be, I hoped she was right.
