Chapter 22 #2
‘I need you to come too. I need to talk to both of you.’
She looks at me with concern. ‘What’s this about?’
‘I’ll tell you when we’re with Dad.’ I turn to Mia. ‘I’ll be right back.’
She nods.
Mom and I go into Dad’s room. He hears us coming in and his eyes flutter open.
‘Martha, what are the boys doing here?’ he says, sounding annoyed. ‘I told you I’m fine. Even the doctor said so.’
‘Jason has something he wants to tell us,’ Mom says.
I walk up to Dad. ‘I’m going to be moving to Boston with Mia.’
‘Yeah. So what do you want to tell us?’
‘What I just said. That I’m moving.’
‘Honey, we already knew that,’ Mom says.
‘How? I told you I hadn’t decided.’
Dad shakes his head. ‘You decided the moment that girl showed up in town. We all saw it. Your brothers. Your mom and me.’
‘Saw what? What are you talking about?’
Mom sits on the bed next to Dad. ‘You’ve been fighting against being with Mia for months now. Telling yourself and us and anyone who would listen that she wasn’t the girl for you. You didn’t want it to be true because admitting it meant having to leave us. Leave your home. Leave Haydon Falls.’
‘We could’ve saved you some time and heartache and just told you to go,’ Dad says. ‘But we thought it’d be better if you came to that decision yourself.
‘Wait—so you’re okay with this?’
‘We’ll miss you,’ Mom says, ‘but you need to do what’s best for you and Mia, and right now, that’s moving to Boston.’
‘I never expected you boys to stick around,’ Dad says. ‘I wasn’t surprised when Nick left. I thought Sawyer would leave too. You and Brody were the only two I thought might stay, but I knew the right girl could convince you to leave. And now you’ve found her.’
Mom smiles. ‘And we’re very happy for you.’ She looks at Dad. ‘We’ll be making a lot of trips to Boston to see our grandson.’
‘And your son,’ I remind her.
She laughs. ‘Well, yes, of course.’
‘We’re going to go out there tomorrow,’ I say, ‘or as soon as we can get a flight.’
‘You’re moving this week?’ Mom says, sounding alarmed.
‘No, we’re going out there to see her parents. Her dad fell down the stairs and is in the hospital. We’ll go see him and check on her mom and look for an apartment. I’ve already started applying for jobs. Next week, I’ll tell the school that I’m leaving.’
‘I know you’ll miss it here,’ Mom says, ‘but I think this is the right decision.’
There’s a knock on the door. ‘Am I interrupting?’
It’s Matt, Nick’s best friend. We all went to high school together. Matt’s a real estate agent in town. He sold Brody the house he fixed up and the one he’s living in now.
‘We just finished up,’ Mom says. ‘Come on in.’
Matt walks up to Dad. ‘How are you feeling, Mr. Kanfield?’
He huffs. ‘I’d be better if people stopped treating me like I’m dying every time I have a pain.’
‘He’s a little grumpy today,’ Mom says to Matt.
‘Me too,’ Matt says. ‘Just had a house sale fall through. The people who were going to buy it decided it was too small and backed out.’
‘That’s too bad,’ Mom says.
‘It happens.’ Matt looks over at me. ‘How are you doing? Getting ready to be a dad?’
‘I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.’
Matt laughs. ‘I felt that way too with the first one. With the second one, I wasn’t worried at all.’
‘Jason just told us he and Mia will be moving to Boston soon,’ Mom says to Matt.
‘Yeah, Nick said that might happen. That’s gonna be a big change.’
‘I’m going to miss being here,’ I say, ‘but Mia needs to be close to her parents. Her dad’s almost 80 and has some health issues and her mom can’t care for him on her own.’
‘Why don’t they move here?’
Mom, Dad, and I all look at Matt, not saying anything.
He shrugs. ‘It was just an idea. You know how I am, always trying to get people to move here.’
‘How did I not think of that?’ I say, mainly to myself because I can’t believe the thought never occurred to me.
It hadn’t occurred to any of us. We just assumed Mia’s parents had to stay in Boston.
But why would they have to stay there? They don’t have jobs keeping them there, or family.
They just have a house. But they could sell their house and move here, to Haydon Falls.
‘Do you think they’d consider it?’ Mom asks me.
‘I don’t know why they wouldn’t. Why would they have to stay there?’
‘They have a house, don’t they?’ Dad asks.
‘Yes, but they could sell it. They’ll have to, now that her dad fell down the stairs. They’ll need a house that’s all one level.’
Matt smiles. ‘I got the perfect one. That sale that didn’t go through? It’s a one-level house. It’d be great for her parents. And the previous owners fixed it up so it’s move-in ready. It has a yard, but they could hire Brody to take care of it for them.’
‘He wouldn’t charge them,’ Mom says. ‘They’re family.’
‘What do you think?’ Matt asks, directing the question to me. ‘I can send you the link to the listing.’
‘Yeah, do it. I’ll talk to Mia.’
‘Talk to her right now,’ Dad says. ‘What are you waiting for?’
I leave his room and return to the waiting area where I find Mia talking to Lyndsay.
‘Mia, we need to go,’ I say. ‘Hey, Lyndsay.’
‘Hey.’ She smiles at me. ‘What are you so happy about?’
My excitement must show on my face.
‘I’ll tell you later.’ I take Mia’s hand. ‘C’mon. We need to go home and talk.’
‘Um, okay,’ she says. ‘Bye, Lyndsay.’
‘Bye!’
When we get outside, Mia asks why I’m in such a hurry. I don’t tell her. I want to wait until we’re home where we can discuss this without being interrupted.
‘Would you please tell me what’s going on?’ Mia says the moment we get in the house.
‘Do you like it here?’
‘Where? This house?’
‘This town. Haydon Falls.’
‘Yes. I love it. It’s beautiful.’
‘So if we could stay here, you would?’
‘Definitely. But we can’t, so why are we talking about this?’
‘I think we should move your parents here.’
She doesn’t say anything as she slowly walks to the couch and sits down.
‘I’m not saying we have to. I was just thinking there isn’t really a reason they need to stay in Boston, is there?’
Mia’s staring straight ahead, looking lost in thought. ‘I can’t believe I never even considered that.’
‘I know, right?’ I go to the couch and sit next to her. ‘This whole time it’s been an option and nobody thought of it.’
‘I just assumed because their house is there and because they’re from there that they couldn’t leave. But they’re going to have to sell the house. My dad can’t live in a house with stairs.’
‘What do you think of this one?’ I get out my phone and show her the house Matt told me about.
Mia gasps. ‘It’s perfect.’ Her eyes light up as I flip through the photos. ‘My dad would love the brick on the outside. And Mom would love the built-ins in the dining room. And that kitchen looks like the one in the house Mom grew up in. When was this built?’
I read the description. ‘It says 1950, but Matt said the owners have done a lot to fix it up.’
Mia takes my phone and scrolls through the listing. ‘Did you see the price? That can’t be right. It’s too cheap.’
‘Houses are cheaper here. A lot cheaper than Boston. What do you think? Could we convince them to move?’
‘I don’t think we’ll have to convince them. They loved this area when they came to visit. I could totally see them living here.’
We just need them to agree to it. I don’t know why they wouldn’t. Living here is cheaper, safer, it’s easier to get around, and they’ll have not just Mia and me, but my whole family to help them out if they need it.
I was prepared to move to Boston, but staying here and having Mia’s parents with us is a better option for all of us. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.