She pulled into the driveway of her mother's house just after dinner time. Carrie answered her knock on the door wearing an apron and dishwashing gloves.
"Stephanie! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"
"I'm fine. Just had a terrible and confusing day, and needed to get out of the city. Is this okay?"
"Of course, baby, where's your stuff?"
"Oh, I didn't bring any. I just got in the car and drove home."
Carrie looked at her with tears in her eyes, then pulled her into a tight hug.
"This is always your home. That city isn't home for anyone. Come on in, I'll make you some food and we can talk."
"Thanks Mom. I'm just exhausted though. Can I curl up in bed for a while first?"
She felt terrible watching her Mom's face fall as fast as it did.
"Of course, honey. Just yell if you need anything."
Stephanie trudged down the hall to her childhood bedroom. Carrie had never changed anything in it, and she was comforted by her high school memories, thinking of simpler times before she ever met Mark, David, or Kevin. She pulled out a pair of old sweats and curled up on her side in bed, watching the squirrels takeover the birdfeeder outside her window.
A few hours earlier, she was cuddled on the couch with Kevin and thought she couldn't be happier. How did it fall apart so fast?
She woke up after the sun was down, a still warm hot chocolate on the table beside her bed. She smiled; her Mom always knew what she needed. There was even a muffin on a plate beside it.
Sitting up, she wiped her face, feeling the dried salt trails left by tears she didn't even remember crying. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, then grabbed the snacks and went to find her Mom.
She found her in the living room, watching a hallmark movie. Carrie moved to turn off the television, but Stephanie waved her off. She sat on the love seat and curled her legs up under her, balancing the snacks on her knee.
She could feel her Mom's eyes burning into her skull, so she turned and smiled at her. "Thanks for the snacks. This is good."
"You're welcome. Will you tell me what happened?"
Stephanie shook her head, "Not yet. Let's just watch the movie."
She finished her snack as the movie ended, and took the dishes to the kitchen. She went back into the living room, kissed her Mom on the head, and bade her goodnight.
*
In the morning, Stephanie slept in until ten o'clock, then scrambled looking for her phone when she remembered it was Monday. She sprinted out to her car, and found the phone on the floor in the back seat.
She had a few missed calls and texts from Denise, and a missed call from Charlotte at work. She immediately called the office to let them know she wouldn't be in for a few days due to a situation back home. She had banked plenty of overtime already, and there was nothing particularly urgent that couldn't wait an extra couple of days.
Then she called Denise.
"Hey Stephanie."
"Denny. Can you talk?"
"Of course. Give me a second to get away from my desk."
Stephanie could hear shuffling in the background before Denise's voice came back on.
"So, what happened?"
"Well, I didn't hear from Kevin, so I went to his place, and he didn't answer me there either. So, either he wasn't actually there, or he's ignoring me. But I still haven't had any messages from him."
"Huh. That's weird. You should try calling him again."
"Nope. He missed his chance. I've called him four times and he hasn't returned any of them. So, obviously that's done now." She stopped for a breath, but went on before Denise could interrupt her.
"And you know what the craziest part of the day was? David called again from an unknown number and asked me out. Apparently, he thought I was still hung up on Mark and that was why I was turning him down. So now that I turned Mark down a second time, I must be ready to go out with David."
"He doesn't know about Kevin obviously."
"Nope, and I think it would end badly if he did. So, I hung up on him and drove straight to my Mom's house. I literally only have my phone and wallet. Good thing Mom still has all my old clothes."
"What did Carrie say when you told her? Did she tell you not to come back to the city?"
"Uh, I haven't actually told her anything yet. I was going to do that today. She kept telling me I made a mistake about Mark the first-time round, and I just wasn't ready for a repeat of that yet."
"Fair. Do you need anything from me?"
"Nah, I'm just going to hang out here for a few days. Read some books, watch movies. Relax with Mom. I'll be back in time for game night."
"Okay. Keep in touch. Like, once a day at least, so I know you're alive."
"I will let you know how my talk with Mom goes." Stephanie hung up and went in search of food. She was definitely going to talk to her Mom, but she refused to do it on an empty stomach.
*
It wasn't until after dinner that Stephanie finally spoke to her Mom about what happened the previous day, and she was shocked her mother listened to the whole story without interrupting. Carrie nearly burst when Stephanie got to the part where she decided to come home.
"Okay, who is this Kevin? Did you find him on that silly app?"
"No, Mom, Kevin is the guy from the elevator. We became friends ages ago. Then we went on one date last weekend."
"So, he's your boyfriend?"
"Uh..." That's a tricky question.
"What about David?"
Stephanie's voice steeled "What about David?"
"Well, why aren't you dating him?"
"The list of reasons why I am not dating David is about a mile long. It starts with, 'He's one of Mark's best friends', and ends with, 'I get seriously bad vibes from him'. Do any other reasons matter?"
"I'm sure he's not that bad if he's best friends with Mark."
"No, Mom, I can assure you, he is the worst. He makes my skin crawl. Please don't bring him up again."
Carrie was silent for a full minute. "I still don't understand why you said no to Mark again. You told me you planned to marry him. What changed?"
Already exhausted from the conversation, Stephanie put her head down and spoke to the kitchen table. "Which of the following reasons speaks to you the most?"
She held up fingers in her mother's direction as she counted them off, "One: He implied my career is less important than his, and two: That what I want is less important than what he wants. Three: He thinks I would be a great prop to parade around for the partners. Then of course there is my personal favourite, number four: His decision to move across the country without even talking to me first." She lifted her head and looked her Mom straight in the eye.
"Why do you refuse to accept that I am done with him? It is not the end of the world that I'm not married yet. Yeah, my plan fell apart. But I'm finding a new plan."
Her Mom still didn't look convinced. "Stephanie, I just hate to see you hurting like this. You came here because you were lonely and scared. You wouldn't feel that way if you picked him. He gave you a second chance after you broke his heart. Now it's your turn to give him one."
"Seriously? It broke my heart when we ended things. There are just some issues we couldn't compromise on. We still can't. Do you want me to completely give up who I am just so I can be someone's wife? You didn't raise me that way, so why would you want me to do that now? You know I don't give second chances. I am not going to be pulled back in just to get my heart stomped on all over again. I am too strong to fall for that trap."
Her Mom looked hurt. "Love is not a weakness. It is a strength. Locking your heart away to keep out love is not strong, it's stubborn. Mark loves you. I know he does."
"Mark loves me, but he is not in love with me anymore."
"What does that mean?"
"His love is selfish. He loves what I can do for him."
"I do not need to know about that part of your life, Stephanie."
"Ew! Mom, that is not what I meant. I mean he thinks I'm a pawn who can help him make partner."
They were both blushing after that outburst, and Stephanie broke the tension when she started laughing. Once started, they could not stop, effectively ending the conversation.