IRL: In Real Life (After Oscar, #1)(77)
“He hasn’t had a relationship since he was in school. And that was with a horrible person.”
“Poor thing. Sounds like he’s overdue for some lovin’.”
“Ew. You make that sound… dirty.”
The sound of her light chuckle made me so happy, I couldn’t help but join her which set her off even more. When the laughter died down, she gave me the mom look. “Conor, what do you want?”
“For you to be healthy. For my game piece business to grow and thrive. For Broad River Board Games to become more self-sustaining so I can spend more time on the game piece business.”
The flight attendant came by to bring us some bottles of water. After we thanked her, Mom turned to me again.
“Game pieces don’t keep you warm at night, and neither do I.”
“Jesus, Mom. You’re on a roll today with the gross innuendo,” I said, even though I got her point. “But one of the best pieces of advice you ever gave me is that there’s a time for everything. This doesn’t have to be the time for me to find my person.”
“That’s a crock of shit,” she muttered, pulling the blanket up around her neck and snuggling down into it. “If not now, when? And if my illness hasn’t reminded you that life is short, then you’re not paying attention.”
The words hit me like arrows to the gut.
“Mom…”
“Don’t Mom me. You know I’m right.”
I rubbed both hands over my face. Just because she was right, didn’t mean trying to figure out how to move forward with Wells would be easy. But maybe after I returned to Asheville and our lives slowed down a little, I could at least think about it.
As it turned out, that day was going to come sooner rather than later. Once we landed at O’Hare, spent one night in a hotel, and got Mom all settled into her room at the clinic the following morning, she sat me down for another conversation about her knowing what was best for me.
“You need to go,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I am. My flight home is in two days.” Mom’s treatment was scheduled to last two weeks with another two-week treatment a month later. As much as I’d hoped to stay nearby while she was going through it, I really couldn’t afford to be away from my businesses that long, especially with Kyle gone.
“Not home. Minneapolis. The con.”
My stomach twisted. I’d tried to stay in close contact with James so I could help answer any questions while he worked my booth, but he’d told me the booth was located in a part of the convention center with no cell service. Being out of touch with him had left me nervous about how my company’s presence there was going.
“I trust James, Mom. I’m sure it’s fine without me.”
“I can’t have you sitting here staring at me. I brought a Kindle packed with sci-fi novels and would much rather lose myself in them than worry about you being bored and antsy. Go.”
She was right. If I wasn’t going to pursue something with Wells, I could at least go see the fruits of my labor with the game piece business. ICECon was my big break. Even if I wasn’t there to show it off to its full potential, just having the technology there getting exposure to the right audience was a boon.
“Okay,” I said, standing up before leaning over and dropping a kiss on her head. “But you’d better keep your phone handy in case I need a status check.”
“Make it so,” she said in her pathetic attempt at Jean-Luc Picard’s voice.
I looked down at the green and blue badge they’d given me at the registration table. Interactive Comic Entertainment Convention. I was here.
Even though I wasn’t in costume and didn’t even have anything better to wear other than a Settlers of Catan T-shirt, walking into ICECon still felt like coming home. There were colorful superheroes everywhere and even decked-out kids riding on parents’ shoulders. Fans, vendors, and celebrities chatted enthusiastically everywhere I turned, and I took a moment just to breathe it in.
My mom had been chatting happily on the phone giving Bill updates when I left, and knowing she was in good hands at the clinic had helped ease the departure. I’d fly back up to bring her home in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I planned to attend the final two days of the con here and then head back home to catch up on work.
And think of Wells.
Since I was back to being pathetic, I sighed and glanced down at the app on my phone that showed the convention schedule and map. The Hold Your Piece talk had already started in the Rosemount Ballroom, but if I hurried, I could still make it in time to join James on stage to answer any questions at the end.
The convention floor was full of people, the crush of bodies nearly impossible to navigate through quickly, and I barely reached the right room a few minutes before the end of the session. Cursing under my breath for having missed so much of the talk, I hauled open the ballroom doors and stopped dead in my tracks.
The first thing I noticed was that the room was huge. Much larger than I’d expected. The second thing was that it was packed. To the point that several folks had been forced to stand along the perimeter by the walls, and many more crowded in the back. A few by the door glanced my way, one woman in a Jessica Rabbit costume even placing a finger over her lips to motion for me to be quiet before tilting her head to the stage to indicate the presentation was still going on.