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53

[📞☎️ You called Mum 👩‍💻]
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"Mandy?"

"Hey, Mum. It's so good to hear your voice," I say, and I really mean it.

"It's good to hear your voice, too, honey. How is my little girl?"

"It's... I'm, uhm, Mum, actually," I don't know what to say. I mean, I expected this question, but I didn't think it would be that hard to tell my mum that I was giving up my studies, that Amy's and my friendship broke, and that my heart was nearly shattered by a boy.

"Mandy?"

"It's just a lot going on right now, Mum," I say instead of a real answer. "How are you?"

"Actually, I'm good – better than ever." My mum makes a pause. "I've moved."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too, but you know I always liked Southern Ontario more than the west, and... I got a job in a law office and it's actually really great."

My mum's always been on the run – the move from Suffolk, England to Canada years ago didn't change anything about that.

"Oh wow. That's... really big news."

"Yes, it is, but it's so great, such a wonderful city, really nice neighbours, a supermarket right in front of the door, and only a few steps to the next park..."

"I liked the old house," I interrupt her. "I really liked it."

"Oh darling, I know you did," my mum says. "But since you've moved out, and I was working way more, the house was just too big, and I wanted something tiny and cute and more proper."

"You could've talked about that with me," I say, but I know that it wouldn't have changed anything. We see each other barely, only one or two weekends per month, and that would have never been an argument to hold the house. We both know that, and my mum doesn't answer.
I breathe in and out and then say: "So tell me where exactly you moved to! Do you now live in Toronto?" I laugh. "I was just there, you know? I could've stopped by."

"Toronto? Really? You know, I'm very often in town for my job. I want to hear everything about it when you visit me the next time!" I hear her smile. "But no, I didn't move to Toronto. It's really close to that, but much better, because less big, and the people are a bit more calm, I think." She pauses. "It's a much cuter town with roundabout 90,000 habitants. You probably never heard of it." She laughs.

Do you know this feeling when you're on a rollercoaster, and you're up on the highest point, and you know, the next second, you will get this kick where you fall?
Right now, this is one of those moments. My mum says something, and I need several seconds to process it. Then, I realize what she said.

"It's not Toronto. It's Pickering."