Pomeranian Puzzle by Molly Maple

Author:Molly Maple [Maple, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary E. Twomey, LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Hannah, make sure you’re applying yourself out there. Your Aunt Emily needs you to be on the ball.

* * *

Aunt Em must sense my dropping mood. “Everything okay?” she asks.

I tuck a strawberry blonde curl behind my ear while I lean my hip to the counter in the purple kitchen. “When my parents told me to move out here, my mom made it sound like you needed help around the house. I’ve been here three days, and I haven’t helped with a single thing. In fact, because I brought a dog into the house, I’m sure I’ve actually made more of a mess for you.”

Aunt Em snorts her amusement. “My sister has always thought I needed help, but I have a good life here. When the ocean is within walking distance, a woman has all she could possibly need. Ocean town life didn’t suit her when we were children, but it’s perfect for me.” She leans in. “But if your mother asks, I’m falling apart and can’t possibly make it another day unless you’re here.”

I smirk at her offering of an easy out for me so I can stay here as long as I like, but I don’t know my aunt enough to be sure she’s not dodging something dire. “How about your health? Do you need help with anything there?”

Aunt Em shakes her head, and I see no sense of dishonesty in her. “Fit as a fiddle.” She sets down her teacup and sighs with the heaviness of someone about to deliver an unpopular truth. “Look, Hannah. The thing that’s wrong with me in your mother’s eyes is that I am unmarried, I tend to be a bit spontaneous, and I don’t care that I’m not filthy rich. If there was a fix for that, I wouldn’t want it. I’m happy. I’m healthy. I’m just glad you’re here. I think she was afraid my contentment would rub off on you when you were younger, so she moved you as far away from ocean life as possible so she could give you the tools to become an overachiever. That’s a good life for some, but it’s not right for everyone.”

My shoulders sink as reality dawns on me. “And now she’s given up on me achieving anything of value, so she sent me here. I’m not here to help you out,” I realize as my self-esteem sinks lower than I can scoop it off the floor. “I’m here because I failed, and my parents are ashamed of me.”

Aunt Em doesn’t agree with me, nor does she brush aside my verdict. Instead, she spreads her arms out wide. “Welcome to Apple Blossom Bay, my dear. It’s where the misfits fit in just fine.”

I snort. “They should put that on the ‘Welcome to Apple Blossom Bay’ city limits sign.”

She stands and kisses my forehead with a short embrace after she sets her dish in the sink. “Never mind your parents’ expectations. That’s a bar no one will ever reach—not even them. Who do you want to be?”

I fidget with the hem of my gray t-shirt, unsure of the answer to that.

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