Cora watched as her sister let out a watery sigh and said, “Okay. You win. But only because you said I’m radiant and glowy.”
Thirty minutes later, people were settled in for dinner. She was seated near the end of the table, next to Taryn and Evan who were helping Sophie feed herself bits of hot dog and carrot. Cora was eating and taking pictures of Sophie with her cell phone. She was so adorable in her sunny yellow dress, her face smeared with carrot.
As the evening wore on, Sophie opened her presents and had the customary piece of cake. She ended up wearing most of it on her face and so Cora took several pictures of that, too. She couldn’t wait to go through them all with Taryn.
Later, when people had already started to make their way home, Cora and Taryn sat in front of the small fire pit. Sophie lay sleeping in her lap. She had been so excited that apparently she’d skipped her afternoon nap. It was barely dark outside, and already she was passed out.
Taryn hauled herself up, then scooped the sleeping girl off Cora’s lap and said, “Be back in a few. Gotta put my girl to bed.”
Cora grinned and said, “Take your time.”
Snuggling back into the seat, Cora slid down another comfortable inch and then took a sip of her coffee.
As she set her cup down, Jamie walked up. “Hey, Cora. Is it okay if I sit?” he asked hesitantly.
“Sure, sure. Have a seat.”
“You’re sure? I just have this feeling that you’re going to get up and wander away,” he said, a teasing grin on his face.
She winced and said, “Yeah. Sorry about that. After the last time, I realized you probably thought I was avoiding you. I’m not really. I just wasn’t really enjoying the fact that your family stopped talking and stared at us every time we were within ten feet of each other. I wonder what they were waiting for.”
“No clue. But, yeah. Sorry. They’re nosy,” he admitted.
“Not your fault. They mean well, I think.”
“Mostly. My mother is a little cagey,” Jamie said, a smirk on his face.
“She’s wily, that one is,” Cora agreed. “She sent me four separate emails to remind me you were moving back.”
He snorted and said, “Subtle.”
“So, uh…welcome back, I guess.”
He gave another laugh as he settled onto the cushion next to hers, and then said, “Thanks. So, catch me up on the last six years.”
“Hmm. Well. I got my doctorate in child and adolescent psychology. I opened my own practice a little bit earlier this year. It’s doing pretty well so far,” she said. “What about you?”
“I spent the last six years buried at work until I realized that I was miserable. Then I decided it was time to come back home. I missed my family. I missed everything about this place. New York has a completely different vibe to it,” he said, frowning.
“Every so often I think about going somewhere else, but I really don’t think I could leave Taryn. Or my dad. Especially not now.”
“Yeah. I was really sorry to hear about your mom, Cora. She was a great lady. I thought about sending a card or something, but wasn’t sure whether it would be appropriate under the circumstances.”
“I didn’t open them,” she confessed. “I couldn’t. It felt rude to throw them away so I didn’t but…” Cora had no idea why she had told him that. She hadn’t told anyone that.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’d love to tell you that it gets easier to deal with, but it doesn’t. Maybe it just gets easier to put it away.”
“I hope,” Cora said. “What are your plans now? Are you going to open up your own agency?”
She watched as a huge grin spread across his face. With a nod he said, “Yep. I’m going around to look at some space with Patty this week. I’m really hoping to find a good rental. I may eventually buy something but I think a small space would be good for now.”
“She found me a great spot in a little business complex,” Cora said. “All I needed was a couple of rooms and a small kitchenette area.”
“Yeah. Something like that,” he said. “It doesn’t need to be huge. It’ll be just me for a little while anyway.”
“The decorating was the best part for me. My old office with the state was…uh…bland,” Cora said. “The walls were dirty beige. It was depressing. Then again, that job was utterly depressing too.”
When he cocked an eyebrow in question and she added, “While I was getting my doctorate, I was doing social work for the state. It was a rough couple of years, but worth it in the end. Some days it felt like I was making a difference, ya know?”