8

I...uh..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I wanted to ask." Mom assured me as I fiddled nervously with the spoon in my ice cream. "Just forget I asked okay?" I mumbled, looking down at my lap and twiddling my thumbs. "I promise I won't pry." She replied kindly, reaching out with one hand to put it gently on top of mine.

"Thanks mom." I whispered, leaning in to give her a brief hug. After I pulled away, I grabbed my spoon again and took a huge bite of my ice cream.

~*~

"We're home" I announced after stepping through the door. I placed my bag on the floor and followed it with my purse, hanging my jacket over the back of the chair before turning to face my mom, who had already closed the door behind me. "How was school Sissy?" she asked, taking a seat at the dining table and motioning for me to join her.

"Umm, okay." I answered, hesitating briefly before sitting down across from her. I decided to change the subject before things got awkward again. "So, did you finish that book that you were working on? Did you finish the chapter about the princesses?" I asked excitedly. I loved hearing about how she wrote, I loved seeing how much passion and creativity she brought to every story she wrote. I hoped that I would enjoy reading that book someday but I knew that was probably impossible.

She smiled softly at me, chuckling a little bit afterwards, clearly amused by the question. "Yes kiddo. I did. And no I haven't finished it yet, it's quite far from where I want to finish it." She stated, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers and giving me a look that said that she wanted me to know she'd eventually finish it, despite knowing that she wouldn't ever actually. I smiled brightly and nodded eagerly, wanting to hear her confirm it. "I also talked to your father while I was at school, he said that he wants us to come over to his office soon to discuss a few things concerning his company."

"Really? Does that mean that we can come back early this time?" I asked excitedly, my smile widening at the sight of the prospect of finally coming home after so many days.

"Not quite, we may just come back a few days late, since the meetings take place on weekends and it's still pretty hard to schedule anything.