All Grown Up(66)

A Billy Joel song came on while I was in the shower, and I sang along, belting out “Only the Good Die Young” at the top of my lungs like I was putting on a show for a sold-out crowd. It felt good…so damn good. As I rinsed the last of the conditioner from my hair, I closed my eyes and joined Taylor Swift for an earsplitting performance of “Shake it Off” that culminated in my singing and shimmying the towel to dry off my back. I wrapped my hair in a towel and threw on yoga pants and a tank top. Grabbing my moisturizer, I wiped the fog from the mirror and found a face smiling at me in the reflection—my own. I felt giddy.

This morning I’d done the sunrise yoga class with Bella and then went for a long walk on the beach. Halfway back home, my cell rang. It was the school I’d had a second interview with yesterday. I got the job!

Since then, I hadn’t stopped smiling. And I couldn’t wait to tell Ford. He’d been in a rush to catch his plane home from Chicago when I’d texted him earlier, so I figured I’d save my surprise until he got back to Montauk. My plans were to go to the supermarket and pick up a few things to make his favorite dinner.

Though those plans abruptly changed the minute I opened the bathroom door.

I startled and jumped to find a man casually leaning against the top stair railing a few feet from the bathroom door. But then my eyes bulged and jaw hung open.

“Surprise.” My son smiled and chuckled. “That’s some show you put on. Didn’t think you were ever going to come out of there. I didn’t know you were such a Swiftie, Mom.”

“Oh my God. Ryan! You’re home!” I swamped him in a giant hug.

He laughed and hugged me back.

“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t going to be able to come home at all this summer because of the internship?”

“I finished a project I was working on a few days early, so I asked if I could take today to make it a four-day weekend for Labor Day. I need to fly back early Monday morning.”

“Why didn’t you call me? How did you get out here from the airport?”

He shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you. I took the train and then a cab.”

“Well, you succeeded.” God, I needed to squeeze him some more. I snuggled in for another hug. “I missed you.”

“I figured it might be a tough summer being out here for the first time alone.”

Except…uh-oh…I wasn’t alone.

“Umm… I kept myself busy.”

He looked over my face. “You look good, Mom.”

I patted the towel wrapped atop my head. “Must be the turban.”

Ryan smiled. “No…something’s different. You look…I don’t know…less stressed, maybe.”

I squeezed his hand. “I am. I was going to tell you when we spoke this weekend. But I got a job.”

“Wow. Congrats. That’s awesome. And so quick.”

“Yeah. I’m really happy about it.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners, and he smiled warmly. “That’s what it is. You look happy.”

“I am.” Though a large portion of that had nothing to do with getting a job.

“Well, come on. Go dry your hair or do whatever you do when you take it out of the towel, and let’s get something to eat to celebrate. I’m starving.”

“Okay! Give me fifteen minutes.”

After I dried my hair, I shot off a quick text to Ford.

Valentina: My son just surprised me. He’s home for the holiday weekend.

I watched for the text to show as delivered, but it never did. Checking the time on my phone, he should’ve been off the plane and on the train by now. Though perhaps his flight was delayed, and his phone was still off. I hit Call—but it went directly to voicemail. His phone was definitely off. So I shot off another text.

Valentina: I’ll still pick you up from the train. Text me when you know which one you’ll be on.

I tossed my phone into my purse and slipped into a pair of flip-flops. Ryan being home complicated things between Ford and me and the plans I’d had for us to celebrate this weekend, but I couldn’t be upset my son had surprised me. I was happy he was home.

On my way down the stairs, I was surprised to hear two voices, but found no one in the house. “Ryan?” I yelled.

“On the back deck!”

I found Ryan leaning over the railing talking to Bella. “I didn’t know Ryan was coming this weekend,” she said.

“I didn’t either. He surprised me.”

“Awww, that’s so sweet. It’s been a while, huh, Rye-Rye?”

I hadn’t heard that nickname in at least ten years. Bella used to call Ryan that when he was little, and he’d hated it.

But when I looked over at my son, he didn’t seem to dislike it anymore. His eyes dipped down to do a quick sweep over Bella. He was checking her out. “You’ve changed.”

She batted her eyelashes. “So did you.”

Oh God. No.

I needed to get Ryan the hell out of here. I tugged at my son’s arm. “We’ve gotta run. See you later, Bella.”

Our lunch lasted two hours. We went to Lobster Roll and sat outside on the benches eating and talking, mostly about his first year of college and his internship.

“All we’ve done is talk about me. Tell me how your summer was. Is it weird being out here without Dad and me?”