“Are the surprises done now?” her mom asked.
Since she asked, and Chloe was on a roll, she went on. “Actually... you know the cross stitches that I do?”
Her mom nodded as Erin said, “Oh, no.”
“I have a pretty successful shop where I sell completed products and patterns.”
“Why haven’t you ever told me? I would send all my friends to buy from you.”
Chloe smiled. “These are not the kind of crafts your church friends would enjoy.”
She pulled out her phone and opened her online store. Then she turned the screen to her mom.
“You should’ve stopped while you were ahead,” Erin murmured.
“I need to stop hiding parts of who I am. I’m not a perfect woman or a perfect child.”
“I never expected you to be perfect,” her mom said. She slid the phone across the table. “And as for your shop, I think you underestimate the foul minds of my friends. You can be a nice Catholic woman and still be subversive to undermine the patriarchy. Lenore has a print in her office that says, ‘A woman once said Fuck this shit, and lived happily ever after.’ It makes me smile every time I see it.”
Erin snort-laughed. “You never swear. That sounded all kinds of wrong coming out of your mouth.”
“I choose not to curse. That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a well-placed fuck on occasion.” She took a cookie from the bin. “I’ve never expected perfection from my children. I want you healthy and happy and able to function in the world. And to visit on occasion.”
“Okay. I’m all of those things, Mom. I thought you didn’t approve of anything about me.”
“You don’t need my approval. I worry about you. That’s what mothers do.”
She was getting full of emotions she couldn’t process at the moment. Luckily, Erin switched the subject to ask about the bar and Alan’s wake.
Chloe hung out with her family until the party across the street had started. She didn’t want to be the first to show. Standing, she said, “I hate to spill and run, but I have a party to attend.”
Erin stood. “I’ll walk you out.”
Chloe grabbed the second container of cookies and rolled her eyes. She knew Erin wanted more details.
Out on the porch, her sister said, “Quite the bombshells you were dropping in there.”
“They handled everything better than either of us thought they would.”
“Yes, they did. They’ve always been so proper and...nice. I guess we don’t give them enough credit.”
“They did raise us.”
The sisters laughed.
Then Erin lowered her voice. “Please tell me he’s as hot and sexy as I’ve always imagined those Doyle guys to be.”
Chloe laughed. “Yes, he is. And then some.”
As she crossed the street, Chloe listened to her sister’s laugh echo down the block and her mother’s admonishment for being so loud.
She’d definitely underestimated the importance of family.