Page 23 of The Girlfriend Game
I roll my eyes at the underlying message.Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
“Sure, Mom, I could. I could chase after him like a schoolgirl instead of acting like the thirty-four-year-old confident woman that I am.” I scoff with a loudpfft.
Shetsksat my insolence. “Honey, that’s not what I meant. I raised you to be smart and independent and to go after what you want. You’ve done it in every other aspect of your life. Why not try it with your love life? You deserve to find love and be happy.”
“I am happy,” I argue again, this time with a bit more dramatic inflection, knowing that there’s a part of me that doesn’t even believe it. “I am happy just the way things are.”
My inner voice chooses then to pipe up with its own retort.Liar.
With a soft chuckle, my mother moves on. “Okay, you’re right. And you know I’m so proud of you. Now, let’s discuss the anniversary party plans that you and your sister are working on.”
My eyes widen with surprise, although I really shouldn’t be shocked over my mother’s intuition. Kerry and I are supposed to be planning this event as a surprise party, but clearly my mother is already on to us.
“How did you know?” I ask incredulously.
She laughs, a quieter version of the normally loud and gleefully exuberant sound that Andrea Rush is known for.
“I’ve been a mother for thirty-five years now. And I know my daughters far too well.” She coughs lightly, voice growing soft. “Especially when one has badgered me about what the plans are for the upcoming big day.”
Ah, that explains it.
“Kerry isn’t known for her ability to keep quiet about things. Obviously.” I chuckle, thinking back to all the times throughout childhood when she couldn’t keep her mouth shut about anything.
Even if I had ever wanted to be the bad girl when in high school or college, I wouldn’t have been able to get away with anything because my sister would’ve tattled on me every single time.
“We haven’t nailed down anything specific, but we’ve made a few decisions. As long as you and Dad aren’t going to be out of town on some Mediterranean cruise, and will be in town on July twentieth, we should be fine. Now let us, and by us, I mean Kerry, have our fun in planning your big day.”
She chuckles. “Okay, that sounds fine. I won’t pester you anymore about your love life. You have enough on your plate to deal with. And speaking of which, I need to run over to your sister’s house so I can take Celeste to her dance class.”
It dawns on me then that Kerry and her husband, Brendan, are probably together at the ER with Conrad.
“You don’t have to do that, Mom. I’m closer to their home than you. I’m happy to take her and pick her up.”
It irks me slightly that Kerry didn’t call and ask me to do that. My parents still live in the house we grew up in, in Wallingford, the north Seattle ‘burbs, and it’s a thirty-minute drive for her to get to Kerry’s place in Issaquah. I’m just ten minutes away without traffic.
“Don’t be silly, honey. I adore my grandchildren and want to be there for my only granddaughter. She’s growing up so fast and I don’t want to miss these moments if they’re the last I get.” She lets this drop with a wistful sigh. And of course, my mind reads into what she’s really saying. “Plus, you need some downtime to chill out and enjoy it. It’s beautiful out. You should get outside, maybe go for a walk or bike ride around Green Lake. I love you, Kendall. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, Mom. Love you too.”
Our call disconnects and I drop the phone on the patio table at my side, rehashing all that was said and left unsaid in our conversation. Words and phrases she used that remind me how much she wants me to give her more grandchildren.
It gives me the impetus to finally make my decision.
Logically, I know I don’t need to find a man to make me happy. But I also don’t want to let go of the connection I’ve already established with Mountain Man. If it truly does exist and he hasn’t ghosted me, then I’ll see where this leads.
In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to look further into the IV fertilization method.
Picking up my phone once again, I click on the Heart and Soul app and find the Mountain Man profile and our string of recent exchanges. There, underneath my finger, is a green button shaped in the form of a key icon that says “unlock.”
I swallow down my reservations, my finger hovering over it for less than a second. Then I press it and the phone lights up with confetti and hearts.
Your Heart and Soul connection has been made.
And then I wait…
