Lit Up: A Small Town Romance in the Foggy Woods by AM LaMonte

Author:AM LaMonte [LaMonte, AM]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“Hello?” Guilt pulled on Valentine like gravity as she opened the door to her house, an earthy cabbage under each arm. This was the longest she’d been away from her mother since she’d first become ill, and she’d hardly even texted. Had her mother eaten? Had she slept? Had she taken all of her pills?

“In here, Valentine!” Her mother’s voice was strong and bright, and Valentine exhaled in relief as she followed the sound into the front room. Mary Sherwood was there in her favorite recliner, and beside her on the sofa sat Ted from next door. They were both drinking tea.

“Sweetheart!” her mother said, opening her arms. “Did you have a good time?”

Valentine leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. She looked nice and put-together, sitting upright with the crocheted afghan draped over her legs. Her white hair had been blow-dried and she wore just a touch of lipstick.

“I did. Are you all right?” Valentine asked quietly.

“Of course,” said her mom, a touch of dignity in her voice. “I had a lovely evening with Ted last night, and he’s just come back this afternoon.”

Valentine flashed her eyes to her mother’s tea partner, and wondered what percentage of the past twenty-four hours he’d spent here. “Thank you so much for staying, Ted. Did you check on her in the night?”

“Yes,” Mary answered primly. “Although I told him he didn’t have to.” She furrowed her brow at Valentine’s cargo. “What are you holding?”

Valentine felt slightly silly with her arms around the rotund vegetables. “Cabbages.”

“Yes, but where did you get them? They’re beautiful.”

Valentine cleared her throat. “A friend.”

“Oh?” Her mother’s eyes fastened on her, and Valentine tried not to color.

“It’s just a customer from the diner, Mom. We talk sometimes.” She chose not to mention that they’d spent the last twelve hours together in Portland. That part was only by accident, after all.

Mary nodded while Ted sipped his tea. “I see,” she said, and left it there, open. Valentine saw they’d both like to know more. But if she said anything, it would be all over town within the day. Besides, what more was there to tell? She’d met a man. They’d danced. He’d given her a cabbage. Tale as old as time.

“How is Emma doing?” her mother asked, gracefully changing the subject.

“She’s good, Mom. And her roommates are great. It was really fun.”

“Did you go dancing?”

Valentine briefly wondered what her mother was picturing. The Portland club was a very different scene from the country dances Mary Sherwood would have grown up with. But maybe one excuse to get close to the opposite sex was as good as another. The memory of how Valentine’s hips had aligned with Ulysses’s the night before ran through her mind—how she’d casually rested a wrist on his shoulder and let herself shimmy against him.

“Yeah, we danced.”

“Meet anybody cute?”

“Mom!” It was usually the easiest thing in the world to tell her mother things, and Ted was perfectly nice. But she wasn’t quite ready to talk about this yet.

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