“And devour an entire jar of cookies, I see,” Mom laughs, then snatches the last one.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Well, I don’t blame you. Linds’ cookies are killer.”
“Speaking of killer, I’d better get back to work before Dr. Nitpick shows up.”
Mom rolls her eyes, mumbling, “I know,” around a bite of cookie.
I frown at the two of them. “What?”
Mom waves her hand. “Nothing. Just a new resident who thinks he was put on this earth to breathe down our necks every five minutes.”
Lindsey nods, placing the empty jar in the cabinet below her desk. “Too bad, actually. He’s kinda cute, and I think he plays for your team, hon.”
“Lindsey…” Mom chastises.
“Right, right, I’ll mind my own beeswax.” She pinches my cheek. “It sure was nice catching up with you, Kayden.”
“You too, Lindsey. Make sure to say hi to Laurie for me.” Laurie is Lindsey’s husband, and before he retired, he worked at the shipyard. He’d suffered a back injury at his previous workplace, but Dad and Caleb offered him a part-time position in the storage area, driving the forklift truck.
“Sure will. You come by anytime and say hi to him. He’d love to see you.”
I nod, then get up and hug Mom. She chuckles, then brushes at my face. “My own little cookie monster.” Mom always knows how to make me feel like a little kid again. “Always found you with your hand in the cookie jar as a kid whenever you came home from school.” She brushes my bangs out of my eyes, then murmurs, “My beautiful boy.”
“Mom…”
“Lindsey, I’m taking my break now. I’ll be in the cafeteria if Dr. Owens needs me.”
“Sure thing, Viv. No rush.” Lindsey places her headset on top of her gray curls, then starts tapping away on her keyboard.
The cafeteria is almost empty as we enter, a few patients and visitors sitting around some tables, chatting, nursing cups of coffee. Mom grabs us two cups, then leads me to our usual spot, a small corner table overlooking the large park surrounding the hospital. I sip my coffee, looking out at the large oak tree in the middle of the pristine lawn, flowerbeds lining small paths cutting through the grass.
Mom tilts her head, frowning. “So, what’s up?” Her long hair is gathered in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing a keychain in trans colorsaround her neck, holding her keycard.Vivian Somner, it says.Pediatric nurse.‘Mom extraordinaire,’ it ought to say, too.
“Nothing,” I mumble, looking down at the table, tracing a crack in the surface with my index finger.
“Nothing, huh? So my son just came by to see me after a long day at work, even though I only just saw him the other day?” Mom’s voice is gentle, but I feel her eyes on me, boring into me.
I look up from the table, meeting her probing gaze. “Can’t I come see my mom at work?”
I hate how my voice trembles and the edge of indignation in it, but Mom is patient as always when she says, “Sure, you can, sweetie. It always makes me happy to see you. And you sure made Lindsey’s day, that’s for sure. She asks about you all the time.”
I love Mom. I won the lottery with both of my parents, but Mom is special. She’s softer somehow, where Dad keeps his feelings more locked up. She’s intuitive too, which is why she’s looking at me right now in that familiar way of hers, where it feels like she’s seeing all the way into my soul. She doesn’t push, though.
She takes a long sip from her coffee, then reaches for my hand across the table, squeezing it. My stomach churns, and the words are just on the tip of my tongue. Iwantto tell her. I think the reason why I came today was that I wanted her to notice something different about me and for her to ask me about it, so I’d have an excuse to tell her.
“You know I love you more than anything, right?” She brushes her thumb back and forth across my knuckles, and my heart races in my chest.
“I know.”
“And that I’ll always have your back.”
“Jesus, Mom, I know,” I blurt, then lower my voice. “You and Dad have proven that time and time again. I know that. I owe everything to you guys.”
“You owe me nothing, Kayden. Absolutely nothing. That’s not part of the deal.”
“What deal?”