I mean, I could go on.
But with thrift and hard work, my parents had carved out a comfortable middle-class existence for themselves, and along the way, I learned the value of money. As much as they disliked the idea of my trek across Europe, I’d worked and saved for it myself, starting at thirteen.
Between then and the time I graduated from high school, I probably had two dozen shitty minimum wage jobs. While I’d burned through a good chunk of it the last year and a half, I still had enough funds to cover my first semester and hopefully some place cheap near campus. I really didn’t want to live in a dorm, but if I had to, I would. So while it didn’t bother me I’d have to work my way through school, they weren’t happy about it. I assumed I wouldn’t have to be home for long before the topic came up again.
“Oh, Mom,” I said, pointing at the luggage-choked conveyor belt. “There’s my bag.”
She gave me a nod and pulled out her phone. “I’ll call your father.”
Luckily, he was nearly back to the airport after making another low speed lap around it. So with Mom in tow, I grabbed my bag, and we headed outside into the warmth of a late summer’s day. We hadn’t been curbside long when he pulled up, parked, and practically jumped out to greet me.
“Tay, honey!”
“Hey Dad!”
We hugged, and he leaned away, motioning for me to give him my bag. “How was your flight? You must be exhausted.”
“Um, I’m okay.” If he only knew. “I slept some during the layover.”
He slammed the trunk and turned to face me again. “Glad to have you home, kiddo. We missed you.”
“Thanks, Dad, I missed you too.”
After a final exchange of smiles, we all got inside and Dad pulled away from the loading area. Unfortunately, as warm as the greetings were, the welcome home vibes didn’t last long. I half-expected they’d want to know more about what I’d seen, where I’d been, but really, I should have known better.
Dad got down to business. “So, what are your plans?”
I knew what he meant, but I just wasn’t in the mood. I mean, I’d barely set foot back in Idaho. I answered him with a half-hearted shrug.
“Nothing right now.”
Even over the grind of the Toyota’s ancient transmission, there was no mistaking the disappointment in his deep exhale.
“You’ve got tuition to consider.” He shot a glare at me in the rearview mirror. “A place to live. You know, rents have been skyrocketing. Apartments aren’t as cheap as they were a year and a half ago, Tay. Even in Pocatello.” He snorted. “Especially in Pocatello. Why don’t you live on campus?”
Cringe.
I shot him a wordless glare in return but almost as quick, looked away and stared out the window. Even though I might have been physically back among the tall pines, my mind was still thousands of miles away on that beach and safe in Dalton’s embrace.
“Tay?” Dad kept poking.
“I heard you,” I muttered. “Everything’s expensive, I know.”
Mom reached across the front seat, touching Dad with a loving word of warning. “Walter.”
I looked to see Dad turning his head toward her. The beginnings of a scowl etched itself across his forehead before he gave Mom a reluctant nod.
He’d drop it.
For now.
Satisfied she’d diffused the ticking Dad bomb, Mom turned and looked at me, saying what I’d expected to hear from the moment she laid eyes on me.
“We’re so glad to have you home!”
I smiled at her. “Thanks, Mom.”
Mom knocked softly against my bedroom door, easing it open with a question.
“Are you too tired to have dinner with us?” She gestured over her shoulder toward the kitchen. “I made your favorite - finger steaks and fry sauce. Oh, and mashed potatoes.”
“Oh, um.” I looked up at her while I rummaged through my bag, still searching for the sea glass. “Yeah. That’s fine.”
I knew I’d packed it. What the hell?
Mom smiled and turned to leave when it hit me. After everything that happened with Dalton, it must have slipped my mind.
Shit.
“Mom, wait!” I stood up and winced at the next words from my mouth. “Actually, I can’t. I have plans.”
“Plans? What plans?”
“Tonight is Chrissy’s bachelorette party. I’m sorry, I thought I told you.”
“No.” Her arms floated up her torso and crossed at her chest. “You’ve been gone for a year and a half, Taylor. I think you need to spend your first night at home, don’t you?”
I looked away with a roll of my eyes, answering her with a heavy sigh.
“I can’t do that. She’s my best friend. Besides, I already missed out on a chance to be in the wedding party because…”
No, no, no. That is the mistake of which we do not speak.
“Yes?” Mom’s eyebrows lifted. “Because?”
My mouth hung open while I kept the truth stuck somewhere in the middle of my throat.
I couldn’t tell her the actual reason. If I’d come home at the end of one year like I’d planned, then we wouldn’t be having this discussion. But my impulses got the better of me when I hooked up with that douche and wasted another six months cavorting around the continent with him. I mean, looking back, I regretted not being able to make it in time to be in the wedding party.
But then again, I never would have met Dalton so…
“Taylor!” Mom snapped at me, bringing me back to the moment.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said, trying to offer an alternative. “I mean, I can sit with you guys for a little while, at least until she gets here.”
Creases of disapproval etched into in her face as she stood there shaking her head.
It felt strange.
I’d been gone so long I’d forgotten what it was like to be under their watchful eye, always having to account for my comings and goings. I didn’t want to get into a whole thing with her about it right then, but eventually, we needed to talk.
For now, though, I drew my first line in the sand.
“I’ll hang out until she shows up. When she does, I’m leaving.”
Mom pursed her lips before turning and walking away.
Awesome.
Could things get any more awkward with her on my first night home?
Less than an hour later and I already regretted asking myself the question.
“Tay?” Mom stabbed at her potatoes between bites. “What ever happened with that young man? The one who you were seeing over there? What was his name again?”
“Matteo,” I choked out. If only I’d forgotten as fast as she had. I tried downplaying it, lowering the tone of my voice and casually shrugging. “We were just friends.”
I hoped that would be good enough. While I wouldn’t say my parents hovered when it came to my dating life, I knew they had their preferences. A guy like Matteo wouldn’t even show up at the bottom of the list, but at least my half-truth seemed to do the trick.
“Did you meet anyone else? Any nice American boys?”
A cube of fry steak stuck in the middle of my throat. Half-gagging, I reached for my water and gulped it down. For the next several seconds, I coughed and tried to sputter out a response while looking at her through suddenly watery eyes.