Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Sarah King climbed out of her trusty hybrid and hurried into the house, grateful to shed her pumps the moment she crossed the threshold.
“Hi, Mom,” she called, kicking her shoes into the corner of the hall closet. “I’m going to get changed and I’ll be down in a minute.” She climbed up the stairs and away from the inviting scent of lasagna that beckoned from the kitchen. Her stomach growled.
“Is Riley home?” she asked, passing her daughter’s bedroom.
“I’m here, Mom.” The eleven-year-old stepped out, her brown eyes bright.
“Hi, honey.” She pulled her daughter into a quick hug. “How was school?”
“Fine. Can we go to the bookstore next Saturday?”
“Um, maybe.” Sarah’s mind was already racing, trying to remember if the jeans she wanted were in her closet or still in the laundry.
“But—” her daughter began, her eyes pleading.
“Right now, I have to get ready for the parent–teacher meeting at school.”
“But—”
“If I can’t take you, perhaps Grandma can.”
“But Grandma’s leaving this week. Besides, I want you to take me.”
Sarah paused for a moment. “We’ll see.” She knew her mother was leaving but had avoided thinking about it. Was her flight really this weekend?
“Now wash your hands and go help Gran. Dinner smells heavenly.”
“But Mom…”
“If you keep whining, the answer will be no.”
“Okay,” her daughter muttered, shuffling toward the kitchen. Guilt tugged at Sarah. She wanted to encourage her daughter’s love of books, not crush her enthusiasm. But the whining. Oh, how she hated whining.
She ducked into her room, swapping her skirt and blazer for well-worn jeans and a soft cardigan that said serious but approachable. Padding downstairs in sock feet, she arrived in the kitchen just as her mom was dishing out dinner.
“Thanks again for cooking,” Sarah said, taking the salad to the table and returning to bring out the full plates. She was going to miss her mother. “What time is your flight on Monday?”
“Ten, so I’ll leave Sunday on the ferry, I think,” said her mother. “Just to be sure.”
“That makes sense,” said Sarah. “Though this time of year there’s not so much of a chance of weather interruptions.”
“Still. I promised your sister I’d be there, and she’s got enough to worry about with the twins coming soon.”
“Yes. I can’t imagine two babies at once,” said Sarah, sitting down in front of her dinner and glancing at Riley, who had more energy than three children.
She wasn’t often envious of her younger sister, Lynette, but she wished she also had a man in her life who was an equal partner who did his share of housework and put his family ahead of work.
“Have you got your plans in place for when I leave?” her mother asked, sliding into the chair across from her.
“Yes, of course,” she said, though she realized she would have to double-check the time and location of the summer camp she had registered Riley for.
“I’m sorry I have to leave you just as summer is starting.” Her mother was apologizing again.
“Don’t worry, Mom.” Sarah reached across the table and patted her mother’s arm. “It will take us a few days to adjust, but we’ll be fine. Won’t we, Riley?”
Riley nodded eagerly.
“Riley has promised to help out more,” said her mother. “She’s growing into a responsible young woman. She even helped make dinner today.”
Sarah peered at her mother. What was she up to? “Well, let’s see how it turned out.” She took a bite of the lasagna and closed her eyes as she savored the flavors.
“Mmm. This tastes wonderful.”
“Thank you,” said her mother, biting into her own dinner.
“Yes, thank you,” said Riley, quieter than normal, which made Sarah think she was up to something.
She ate a few more bites and noticed Riley watching her with a pitiful puppy-dog expression. Yep. Definitely up to something.
“Eat,” she said. “And I’ll think about the bookstore.”
Her daughter’s face lit up. “Thanks, Mom!” She attacked her dinner with new enthusiasm.
“Slow down. You’ll choke.” She turned to her mother, who was smiling indulgently at her granddaughter. “How has your day been?”
Her mother chuckled softly. “I’m almost finished packing, and I’ve been making extra freezer meals for you.”
“You didn’t have to.” Though thank goodness she had. Sarah had no idea how she was going to juggle everything this summer with work being so busy and Riley bouncing from summer camp to summer camp.
“I wanted to. It’s only enough for about ten days.”
“Thank you. It’ll be a huge help,” said Sarah.
This summer would be harder than last. Graham, her daughter’s father, was now remarried, living on the mainland, and expecting a new baby.
His visits had reduced in frequency, so instead of staying with him every two weeks, Riley now went to Vancouver once a month for only a couple of days.
Though he phoned her fairly often, Riley felt the shift.
Sarah hated watching it happen, but she understood.
He had a new life now. One that didn’t include Sarah, certainly, as their marriage had been over for a year before he met his new wife, Tanis.
But this new life also increasingly excluded Riley, and that hurt more than his leaving had.
She hated seeing her daughter’s pain.
And the new arrangement meant she was the only constant in Riley’s life. Sarah had to stay strong, set boundaries, and give consequences. Perhaps in seven years, when Riley graduated, she could let her guard down and relax. But not yet. Not while Riley needed a parent to put her first.
“You’re still able to watch Riley tonight?” she asked her mom as she was finishing her meal.
“Of course. We only have a few more days to finish our book, don’t we, sweetie?”
“Yes! And then we can go to the bookstore next Saturday?” Riley said. hopefully.
“Libraries have books too, you know,” Sarah said.
Her daughter’s face fell.
“Sometimes you’re too easy to tease,” Sarah laughed. “Yes, we’ll go.”
Her daughter beamed just a little too brightly, leaving Sarah with a niggling feeling that she had been played, but she didn’t care.
You could never have too many books, and she’d been meaning to pick up the romance her friend Tamara at the knitting store had recommended.
If she couldn’t have real romance, at least she could read about it.
She finished her last bites, put her dishes in the dishwasher, and excused herself. Eighteen minutes later, she was sliding into a chair at the back of the school library just as the meeting began, nodding to familiar faces before turning toward the front of the room.
The speaker—Raven Johnson—was introduced to discuss the Pages and Paws initiative. As Raven spoke and a video of the Cat’s Meow Rescue Centre showed footage of a pair of cute Russian Blue kittens called the Tumble Twins, realization dawned.
No wonder Riley was so eager to go to the bookstore. This wasn’t a setup to get her to buy a new book. Her daughter was conspiring to convince her to adopt a cat. And her mother knew about it. She was sure of it.
Thanks a lot, Mom.
She clenched her jaw, determined to resist. Another responsibility was the last thing she needed right now.
Sitting forward, she listened hard, in the same way that she would listen to a client she had to defend in court.
She needed arguments. Arguments that would counter any her daughter could come up with.
The last thing she needed was to bring a pet into their lives. Not this year.
Not ever.
As she listened to Raven—a funny name for a cat lover—and watched the short tour of the Cat’s Meow Rescue Centre on the screen above, she found herself grasping for strategies to avoid pet ownership while satisfying Riley’s interest in interacting with cats.
At first, she considered letting Riley volunteer at the center, but it was at the end of town opposite from where they lived, and she would have to be driven.
Then she thought Riley might be able to volunteer at the bookstore where some of the cats lived, but no.
Riley was only eleven, not old enough to be left alone at a retail shop for hours.
As the other parents oohed and aahed when the camera panned back to the kittens, her shoulders slumped with dread. Those tiny bundles of gray fur were adorable, and therein lay the problem.
Saying no was going to be difficult.
Sarah touched her hand to her temple, sure that she could feel a headache coming on.