My father was a successful businessman. My mother had built her world around being the perfect wife. The perfect mother. The perfect woman.
In their eyes I was neither successful nor perfect. But I had tried. I had really tried. But I was learning that my version of success was just as important. And being perfect didn’t mean being happy.
“I have to meet Maysie, Mom.” I got to my feet, not able to sit there with her any longer.
“Oh. I was hoping we could have some dessert,” my mom said, looking disappointed. Her made-up face softened momentarily and she took my hand. “I like your shoes, I meant to tell you that.”
I looked down at my plain, black pumps with their short heel. They weren’t the sort of shoes my mother would ever consider wearing.
She gave me a smile and I smiled back. I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”
I left thinking that maybe I wasn’t the only one trying to change.
“Wow, this place is awesome!” I exclaimed, getting out of my car and joining Maysie on the front porch of a beautiful colonial style house.
“It is, isn’t it?” Maysie remarked giddily. She jingled keys in her hand in obvious excitement.
“So you want to tell me why we’re here?” I asked as Maysie unlocked the front door and stepped inside. I followed her into a small foyer.
“This is my new house. Well mine and Jordan’s,” she said, walking into a large living room with a fireplace against one wall and a bay window looking out onto the street.
“What?” I gaped. “You got a house? When did this happen?”
“Well, we can’t live in Garrett’s spare room forever. As much as I love the guys, we need our own space. Especially now with so many changes happening.” She started pulling dustcovers off furniture and dropping them in a pile on the floor. “I took that PR job. I got the phone call confirming everything this morning. I’ll be working mostly from home with a handful of existing clients, but there will be some traveling required, which is cool.”
I followed Maysie through the downstairs as she turned on lights and removed covers from the rest of the furniture. It was a cute house. Small but quaint, with hardwood floors and lots of natural light. It was the perfect kind of house to start a family in.
“You guys are settling down, aren’t you? Jordan’s not going to go back out on the road is he?” I deduced, leaning against the counter in the kitchen as Maysie went through the cabinets, making sure there was nothing left behind by the previous tenants.
Maysie’s shoulders sagged a bit. “He’s really not sure. Things are up in the air with the label. But it doesn’t look good. Jordan and the others are sort of preparing themselves. And on some level, I think they’re all ready for the hammer to drop. To just know one way or another where they stand. This whole band thing was a dream. They never thought in a million years they would get as big as they did. It’s been one hell of a ride, Gracie, but at the end of the day, it proved to be more stress than I think any of them anticipated. It’s been hard. And with Jordan and me getting married and starting a family—”
I held up my hand. “Back up a second. Starting a family?”
Maysie smiled, her entire face lighting up. “I’m pregnant, G.”
“Oh my god!” I shrieked, all but launching myself at her. “What the hell? When did you find out?” I demanded.
“I had suspected for a few weeks, especially with how crappy I’ve been feeling. I took a test when we got back from the show over the weekend. It was positive. I’m waiting for Jordan to get back into town so we can go to the doctor’s appointment together.” Maysie put a hand on her flat stomach. “It’s early days. I can’t be more than a month along, but yeah, we’re having a baby.”