Page 123 of Sweet Ruin

She released a sigh as she considered me. “It’s hard to know the café is gone, but I guess it’s also a little freeing.”

“Your life burning down feels freeing?”

Mom nodded. “I’ve been killing myself for years trying to keep the café afloat. And now that it’s gone, well, I guess I’m free to start over.”

“But what will you do? Open another café?”

The corner of her mouth lifted, and her eyes seemed to glitter. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about getting a certificate to teach yoga.”

“What?”

Her expression dimmed a little. “You think that’s silly.”

“No, gosh, no,” I quickly backtracked. “It’s just unexpected. I didn’t realize you were that serious about yoga.”

“I wasn’t, but that class I did in New York reignited my passion for it, and I’ve been doing an online class ever since. I think it’s time I started focusing on a slower pace of life. I know it will probably be a while before I’m good enough to run classes, but I was thinking it might be nice to teach on the beach. And, if that goes well enough, maybe I’ll open a studio.”

It sounded like she’d really thought this through. I guessed she’d had a lot of time to think while she was stuck in her hospital bed.

“You know you’ll probably still have to get up at the crack of dawn every day,” I said.

Mom chuckled. “I’m so used to it I think I’ll wake up at that time forever.”

It was hard to imagine my mom doing anything other than running her café. She’d been doing it my whole life, so it felt like as much a part of who she was as her curly hair or her stubborn sense of pride. But this did sound like a much easier existence for her. Maybe a change of pace would be good for her.

“It does mean I might have to leave Rapid Bay for a while though,” Mom continued. “There’s a course I’ve been looking at taking in New York. With Matt being based there and you within driving distance of the city, I think it might work out perfectly,”

“Wait, what?” I interrupted her. I thought she was only considering this for her future, but it sounded like she had it all planned out already. I’d realized there would be some changes now she was engaged to my dad, but the thought of my mom leaving Rapid Bay still caught me by surprise.

“It makes sense for me to be there,” she replied. “And now that I don’t have the café…” Her voice trailed off, and a wave of anguish flickered through her eyes. My mom was holding herself together well considering everything that had happened, but she was clearly still deeply affected by it.

“I didn’t think you’d ever leave Rapid Bay,” I said.

“Me neither,” she agreed. “But it won’t be forever. I know I’ll be back.”

I stared at my mom, feeling both sad for her and proud of her all at once. She was so incredibly strong. She’d had so much taken from her, but she remained unbreakably optimistic. I hoped I could be half as courageous as her one day.

“So, you’re really not going to stay here?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. Not once I’ve recovered from the fire.”

“Because I was planning to move home to be with you.”

“Matt told me.” My mom reached out and took my hand. “Isobel, one of the things I love most about you is the size of your heart. You’ve always been there for me and looked after me. I know you would sacrifice your own dreams for me without question. But what you don’t get is how much it breaks my heart to see you do that.”

“Mom…” I whispered.

But she shook her head. “I know you want to be here for me, and I love you, Iz, but that’s not what I want. I don’t want you giving up your future for me. I never have. Especially not when it isn’t necessary. I really am doing okay—fires aside.”

“But you shouldn’t be facing cancer alone…”

“And I’m not,” she said. “I never have been. You’ve always been a phone call away when I needed someone to make me smile. And now I have your father to hold my hand through it all.” She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “And now that I don’t have the café to keep me tied down, I can come and visit you all the time.”

She was right. And it did provide me with a lot of comfort to know Matthew was going to help her through all this. “Can I at least stay in town until you’ve recovered from the fire?” I asked. “You nearly died.”

“But I didn’t,” Mom replied. “And I refuse to let you stay here any longer than you need to. I’ll be back on my feet in a few days, and the last thing I want is my teenage daughter missing school to play nurse.”

“Especially when you already have one,” Matthew said as he returned to the room. “I’m going to take really good care of your mom, Isobel.”

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