Page 4 of Falmouth Echoes
“Sweetheart, what are you doing here?”
“Classes are done for the day,” Zoe replied, pausing to pick up one of the wooden spoons. She began to stir. “Remember, I told you that I’ve got a couple of days where the course load is light.”
Sophia leaned forward and reached for the vanilla extract. “So, you decided to come in to help? Not that I don’t love spending time with you, but you do know that you can do a lot of other things with your time, right?”
Zoe nodded, a furrow appearing between her brows. “Yeah, I know, but I like being here. You know that. How’s it going with the big wedding?”
Sophia glanced over her shoulders at Nora’s closed door. Then she glanced back at her daughter and lowered her voice. “I think Nora might actually pop a vein or something. The bride is definitely one of our more…challengingcustomers.”
Zoe snorted. “That’s putting it lightly. I’ve seen her live feed. She’s extremely demanding and, honestly, a little entitled.”
Sophia shrugged and picked up a teaspoon. “Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.”
“How did it go at the cottage the other day?”
Sophia drew her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it. “Better than I thought it would.”
Zoe patted her mother’s back. “You know it’s okay if it didn’t, right? You’re allowed to be upset about these things. You’re the one who always says it’s not good to bottle things up.”
“I’m not.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Seriously, Mom. You need to take more risks and have more faith in yourself. I’ve seen what happens when you do.”
Sophia carried a few plates over to the other side of the counter and returned. “Since we’re on the topic of not bottling things up, have you given any more thought to the summer internship?”
Zoe sighed. “Do we have to bring this up now?”
“There’s no time like the present.” Sophia began to sift the flour, resisting the urge to glance over at her daughter as she did. “I know you want to join Zac in Africa, but maybe you can do a month in Wilson Realty first, like we talked about.”
“I don’t know,” Zoe replied without looking at her. “I thought it was a good fit at first, but I’m not so sure right now. It’s important to be well-rounded, you know. Not everything is about the degree I’m getting.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pursuing a career in your field. It’s what the degree is for—”
“Not everyone wants a quiet and simple life, Mom,” Zoe interrupted, her voice turning sharp toward the end. “There’s a whole other world out there, and maybe I don’t want to settle, okay?”
Sophia swallowed and pressed her lips together.
Had she been trying to get her daughter to settle?
Sophia herself had walked away from a high-profile career as a pastry chef in one of the most famous restaurants in the country, but she hadn’t regretted it one bit. Over time, Sophia had come to the conclusion that she was better suited to a quieter and more even-paced way of life, and every day since walking away, she’d known she’d made the right decision.
But it didn’t keep her from wondering how different her life would’ve been if she’d stayed.
For starters, she could’ve afforded her own house.
“I’m sorry,” Zoe offered in a quiet voice. “I didn’t mean to say that. Look, let’s just finish, and we can talk about this later.”
“I just want what’s best for you, Zoe,” Sophia whispered, pausing to place a hand on her daughter’s shoulders. She squeezed once and released. “I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.”
Zoe nodded and didn’t say anything.
For the rest of the afternoon, the two of them worked in silence. Each time Sophia turned to her daughter, a comment on the tip of her tongue, she swallowed it and returned to work. When Zoe left near the end of the afternoon, muttering something about study groups and library hours, Sophia almost reached out to stop her. Instead, she returned to the wedding menu and poured over it until the tightness in the center of her chest abated.
She had no idea what was happening to her relationship with her kids.
Or how to fix it.
