“It was the same as always,” I replied as I tugged a barstool over to the fridge so I could search the upper cabinets.

I was perched on top when a screech sounded below.

“Ah!”

I had to grip the sides of the fridge to keep from falling off the stool.

“Mom!”

“Get down from there this instant. You’re going to fall and break your neck.”

“I am not. Stop exaggerating.”

Opening the cabinets, I huffed when I came up empty-handed. Climbing back down, I returned the stool back to its spot under the kitchen island and began rooting inside the lower cabinets.

“What are we looking for?” my mother said from beside me on her hands and knees as if we were in search of hidden treasure.

Rolling my eyes at her antics, I explained, “I’m looking for a small vase to place a flower someone gave me.”

Immediately I knew I said too much as my mother’s eyes widened in delight and she sat back on her haunches.

“Someone gave you a flower?” It was less of a question and more of her excitedly repeating it back to make sure that she heard me right.

“Who was just handing out single flowers?” my father questioned from his seat at the table, where he continued to play a game of sudoku.

Ignoring them both, I continued to browse the lower cabinets until I reached the one in the farthest corner. I blindly moved my fingers around until I felt something like glass and shaped familiar. Gripping it in my hand, I pulled it free and smiled when it happened to be the vase I was looking for. White milk glass with cute little knobs. It was a favorite of mine.

Stepping over to the sink, I filled it halfway with water, then took it over to the island and set the stem of the pretty flower inside. I knew it wouldn’t live long, but I wanted to admire it while I could.

“It was just a stranger looking for a flower arrangement for his dinner date. I happened to be leaving the store at the same time and helped him pick one. It was his thank you, I guess. Don’t read too much into it.”

Of course, I didn’t tell them how I made a complete fool of myself and how I hoped to steer clear of him for the unforeseeable future.

“Oh! I’ll have to call Betsy to see if she saw any of it. She has a direct view of that area from the bakery. I know she’ll have the scoop on who he is. I can get you all of his information before sunset.”

“Mom,” I said gently as I placed my hand on her arm. She was practically shaking with excitement. I hated to disappoint her. “It was nothing. Okay? I was simply helping someone out. Don’t bother Betsy.”

“Fine. If you say so.” My mother frowned like a disciplined child who was told no. I moved over to the grocery bag and began unloading the contents from her list.

“It’s okay, dear. We’ll find someone for you. We’ve had a bunch of new people your age move to town. I’ll keep my eyes and ears out for any single men.”

I glanced up at her in confusion. What new people?

“Don’t look so surprised. They sold and developed two of the farms on the east side of town into neighborhoods. We’ve added a new school and up the interstate about twenty minutes is a new manufacturing plant. That’s where the new transplants work.”

“Huh. How come no one mentioned it before? I speak to you guys on the phone all the time.”

“We did, sweetie,” Mom said as she brushed past me, patting my cheek along the way, just as she did when I was a child and she was placating me. “You heard us, but you were sort of in your own little world with work going on in the background.”

I hated when she called me out like that. I did have a hard time paying attention to the conversation when it focused on the town and there was a work event I was focused on. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about what she was telling me, or about the town as a whole. I had just mentally removed myself from the entire foundation of Ashfield on my journey to find my own path in life.

“I’m sorry, Momma,” I told her as I went up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist as she was reaching in the pantry. “I’ll try to do better.”

“I know, baby. You have the biggest heart I know.”

“Can I help with dinner?” I asked her, knowing that was the way to mend any fences in our house when it came to our mother. She loved to cook and was always willing to share that love with us. Only Alex inherited her culinary talents. I was lucky that take-out was the go-to in New York.

If there was anything that I missed when I left, it was my mother’s cooking. And my father’s hugs, but he was well-versed in that fact. It was no secret that I’d always been a daddy’s girl.

Mother and I went to work preparing the korma sauce I loved so dearly and had never found another Indian restaurant that served anything quite like it.

It always baffled people when I moved to the big city and they learned that an Indian dish was my favorite. They always assumed there wasn’t much variety in small town living. And sometimes there wasn’t, but we had all different cultures that took up roots in Ashfield. It also helped that my mother had spent her college years in Boston. Despite her always asking when I’d return home, she’d always been my biggest advocate for leaving. And made sure I knew that I always had a place to come home to.

My mom cheated a bit with the jarred sauce, but by the time she added all her own ingredients, it looked and tasted nothing like what was served in the glass jar. It was a trick she learned from one of her college roommates.

While the sauce cooked, mom went to work on the naan using the dough she started this morning.

“Hey, Dad. Do you have a minute?” I asked him and he pushed the sudoku aside without a backward glance, giving me his full attention. His blond hair had started to turn grayer over the years and the blue in his eyes was grayer too, something I hadn’t noticed before. But he was still just as handsome to me. Those eyes twinkled with knowledge and mischief, both of which my father carried in spades.

“Pull up a chair and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“How’d you know I have something on my mind?”

“You’re giving me that same look you did when you were twelve and wanted to install a pool in the backyard. I’m just surprised you don’t have your trusty notebook in hand to make sure you don’t miss any points.”

I glanced over my shoulder and eyed the pool with the cover draped over the water for the colder weather. My parents had caved and installed it a year after my talk. I didn’t believe for a second that it was because of my well-planned and thought-out pitch, but that my sisters and I begged non-stop for a year. Our half-brother even told Mom he thought it would be a cool place to hang out in the summer. And they were willing to do anything to keep my brother close to home. He loved us all but he felt as suffocated by Ashfield as I did, though Aspen said he’d been hanging around the farm more and more.

Turning back to my father, I said, “Yes, well. I keep my notebook all up here now.” I pointed to my head. “Anyway. I wanted to talk to you about the farm on the west field.”

“Oh, are you asking Dad about the barn?” a voice chimed in from the hallway before Aspen appeared. She was covered in dirt from head to toe and Mother called out her name the moment she placed her foot in the kitchen.

“I’m going, Mom. My room’s upstairs, remember? Did you want me to walk in here naked?”

“No, I want you to use the mudroom, put your nasty clothes in the basket in there and switch into the clothes I specifically laid out for you for when you came in. Just like I told you this morning.”

“Fine.” As Aspen stomped away, I turned my attention back to my dad, who was shaking his head in amusement.

“Like I was saying. I wanted to speak with you about the old barn in the west field.”

“Sweetie, are you trying to ask your father about turning the old barn into a wedding venue?”

I swiveled on my chair and pinned my gaze on my mother. How did she know about that idea? I only ever mentioned it to my sisters.

“Don’t look so surprised. Nothing is sacred in this house. Remember how I told you the walls have ears? Well, those ears lead straight back to me.”

I didn’t want to think about the things she might have heard. All those times Alex and I snuck out when we were in high school and then the nights the girls and I spent gossiping about boys. My inner teen cringed.

“Is that it, Autumn?” my father asked and I spun back to face him. “You want to know if you can turn the old barn into an event venue?”