Chapter 44: A Mother’s Love

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: A Mother’s Love

The morning Iris was due to return to Seattle arrived far too quickly for Sophia’s liking.

By the time Daniel carried the last of Iris’s bags out of the house, Sophia was already standing by the front door with her arms folded, watching her daughter make another trip toward the car.

"That’s everything," Iris said, checking the smaller bag in her hand before placing it in the trunk. "I think."

"You think?" Daniel called from the driver’s side. "Iris, unless you plan on bringing the entire house back to Emerald Heights with you, we should probably get on the road before noon."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Your father has been rushing us for the past twenty minutes. Apparently, if you don’t leave Spokane at exactly the right time, Seattle will disappear before you get there."

Daniel leaned against the car and gave his wife an innocent look. "I said I wanted to get there before the traffic gets ridiculous. There is a difference."

"You have been saying that since you started the car."

"And I still mean it."

Iris laughed quietly as she closed the trunk.

"I’ll be fine, Dad. We can go."

She turned toward her mother, and the smile on her face softened.

"Come here."

Sophia opened her arms immediately.

"Oh, sweetheart."

Iris stepped into her mother’s embrace, allowing herself to be held for a few moments longer than she normally would have. There was something comforting about being home, even if she had spent most of her time there having fun with her mom and dad. Then sleeping and trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

Sophia rubbed her back gently. "You know you can stay another few days if you want. You don’t have to rush back just because the semester has started."

"I need to go back, Mom. It’s my final semester. If I disappear now, I’ll have to explain to every professor why I suddenly decided to abandon my degree."

Sophia pulled away and looked at her. "I honestly can’t believe that it’s your final semester already. It actually makes me feel old."

"You’re not old."

"I am old enough to have a daughter who is finishing university."

"That’s not old."

Sophia smiled. "Perhaps not, but it is old enough to make me realize how quickly time moves."

Her fingers briefly brushed Iris’s cheek. "And I want you to promise me something."

Iris raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Remember our discussion last two night....Don’t let what happened with Jason follow you back to Seattle."

Iris’s expression became more serious. "I’m not."

Sophia studied her face. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mom."

"I mean it, Iris. I know you told me you’ve moved on, and I’m not asking you to pretend that none of it happened. I only want you to stop allowing that boy to take up space in your head. He made his choices. Vanessa made hers. You don’t owe either of them another tear."

"I know."

Sophia gave her a skeptical look and her expression suddenly changed. A mischievous glimmer appeared in her eyes.

"Although..."

Daniel groaned from beside the car. "Whatever it is, Sophia, make it quick. We really should leave."

Sophia ignored him with an eye roll .

"Honestly, Daniel, give us a moment, will you?" Sophia chided, a playful roll of her eyes directed at her husband who, from behind the wheel, tapped an impatient rhythm on the steering wheel. "It’s not every day our baby bird flies the nest for her final semester."

Daniel chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "I wouldn’t want you two to miss a single, dramatic farewell, my love. But Seattle awaits, and a certain head of financial departments starts work bright and early tomorrow." He winked at Iris in the rearview mirror.

Sophia reached out, smoothing a stray strand of hair from Iris’s forehead. Her touch was feather-light, yet laden with unspoken affection.

"You promise to call, darling? Not just texts, a real conversation. And please like I said before, try to actually enjoy this semester. No more dwelling on... on old news." Her voice dropped a conspiratorial octave, a knowing glint in her eyes.

"You’ve truly moved on, haven’t you? From all that unpleasantness with... well, you know."

Iris, feeling a blush creep up her neck despite herself, met her mother’s gaze with a determined nod. "Absolutely, Mom. Fully and completely. It’s a new Chapter, remember? I’m ready." She even managed a bright, convincing smile.

Sophia’s smile widened, a mischievous sparkle dancing in her eyes. She leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper.

"Or perhaps," she mused, a delicate eyebrow arching, "has that handsome stranger, Alexander, had a little something to do with this newfound enthusiasm for ’new Chapters’?" The question hung in the air, a playful challenge.

Iris’s eyes widened, a flicker of genuine surprise mingled with exasperation. "Mom!"

"What, dear?" Sophia’s expression remained serenely innocent, a masterclass in feigned ignorance.

"You promised you wouldn’t keep teasing me about him," Iris retorted, her voice a little higher than she intended.

"I promised no such thing, darling. My memory is quite sharp on such matters."

"You absolutely did! You said, and I quote, ’I won’t badger you about him every five minutes.’"

"Ah, but I said I wouldn’t interrogate you more about him, didn’t I? And I haven’t, have I? Teasing is an entirely different pastime, one I rather enjoy."

"You’ve been teasing me about him since yesterday afternoon, when you practically ambushed me with a barrage of questions over your famous lemon meringue pie."

Sophia’s smile widened into a full, radiant grin. "Because every time I mention his name, Iris, you suddenly become very, very interested in whatever happens to be outside the window, or the intricate patterns on the wallpaper. It’s quite telling, don’t you think?"

Iris looked away, her gaze fixed on a distant, fluffy cloud. "His name isn’t even relevant. He was just... a moment."

"Alexander." Sophia’s voice was a soft, deliberate whisper, just his name.

Iris immediately looked back at her, a flush creeping up her cheeks. Sophia laughed, a rich, warm sound that filled the small space between them.

"There. See?"

"Mom, please. Like I told you before, it’s impossible that I’m going to meet him again, so I’m not gonna think about him ever again. He was a distraction, nothing more. A very fleeting, very handsome distraction."

Sophia stepped closer, lowering her voice as though she were sharing the most profound secret, her expression softening now, the teasing still present but overlaid with genuine curiosity.

"So, tell me, my pragmatic daughter. Is the handsome stranger, the one with the eyes like glaciers that supposedly held ’wildfire and starlight,’ the real reason my brilliant daughter suddenly seems perfectly capable of forgetting Jason, of truly leaving him in the past?"

Iris folded her arms across her chest, a defensive posture that Sophia recognized instantly. Her jaw tightened, a clear sign of her resolve.

"I have moved on because Jason cheated on me, Mom. Because he broke my trust and proved himself unworthy of my affection. I don’t need another man, no matter how charming or ’Alexander-like,’ to accomplish that. My emotional liberation is my own."

Sophia’s teasing smile softened, transforming into something truly genuine, filled with pride. "Good answer, my darling. A truly excellent answer."

"Thank you."

"But you didn’t quite answer the question, did you?" Sophia’s eyes, still sparkling, belied the innocent tone.

Iris stared at her mother, a silent plea for mercy in her eyes. "You’re impossible, Mom. Utterly, delightfully impossible."

Sophia laughed, a sound like wind chimes. "All right, all right. I’ll leave you alone and won’t tease you anymore. For now, at least."

Iris narrowed her eyes, a hint of suspicion lingering. "Promise?"

"I promise, my love. Scout’s honor."

A beat passed, a pregnant pause filled with unspoken words. Then Sophia added, her voice a playful afterthought, "For today."

"Mom!" Iris exclaimed, a genuine laugh escaping her despite herself.

Daniel finally laughed from the car, a deep, booming sound that signaled his patience was wearing thin, but his amusement was intact. "Enough. Let the poor girl breathe."

Sophia turned toward him. "You’re only saying that because you want to leave."

"Absolutely."

Iris shook her head, laughing despite herself. She stepped forward and hugged her mother again.

"I’ll call you when we get there, Mom. Promise."

"You’d better. A detailed report, mind you. No ’I arrived safely’ texts. I want to know about the weather, the traffic, what snacks Daniel insisted on buying."

"I will."

"And don’t forget to eat properly. You have a terrible habit of getting so caught up in schoolwork that you completely forget meals, and then you start looking like a wilting daisy."

"I won’t, Mom. I’ll eat my vegetables."

"And call me if anything happens. Anything at all, no matter how small."

"Mom," Iris sighed, a note of fond exasperation in her voice.

"I mean anything, Iris. A flat tire, a bad grade, a broken heart – though I hope that last one is firmly behind you."

"I know, Mom. I know."

Sophia held her a moment longer, pressing a soft kiss to her hair, before finally letting her go, a lingering reluctance in her touch. "I’ll come visit you soon. Maybe in a month or two, once you’re settled."

"I’d really like that, Mom. A lot."

"And by the time I come, I expect you to be completely done with the heartbreak nonsense. Completely, utterly free."

Iris smiled, a genuine, unburdened smile. "I truly am, Mom. Honestly."

Sophia looked at her carefully, her gaze sharp, assessing. "Completely?"

"Completely. The past is a closed book."

"And what of Alexander, then?" Sophia’s voice was a quiet, testing murmur.

Iris groaned, a sound that was half exasperation, half genuine amusement. "I’m leaving. Now. Before you interrogate me further."

She hurried toward the passenger side of the car, practically leaping in before her mother could say anything else.

Sophia laughed, a warm, joyful sound that followed Iris even into the car. "Drive safely!"

"I will!"

"And Iris?"

Iris lowered the window thinking that her mom might have something important to say. "What mom?"

"Try not to fall for any more mysterious men."

Iris covered her face with one hand. "Goodbye, Mom."

Sophia laughed as Daniel finally pulled away from the curb. Iris watched her mother grow smaller through the rear window, standing there with one hand raised in farewell.

She smiled. Despite everything, she was going to miss home. The highway quickly ate up the familiar Spokane landscape, replacing sprawling green with concrete and muted towns. Iris leaned her head against the cool window, watching the world blur past...