You Can Run To Me

Seven

"How's college, honey?"

Natalie's mother, always cheerful when there was an audience, sounded far too up-beat to Nat's ears. She was clutching a new handbag, and was wearing heels higher than Natalie had ever expected to see on her mom's feet. She was also altogether unwelcome here. Natalie loved her mother, of course, and had missed her intensely since leaving home, but she had more important things to get on with.

She had considered calling a rain check on their lunch that Saturday. However, she had known how disappointed her mom would have been if she'd done that, so here she was. Not doing the two long essays she had been assigned to do by Monday lunch. In all honesty, it was her own fault that they weren't done. She could hardly blame her mother for her letting herself be distracted by her friends. This interruption had just been an uncomfortable reminder of how bad she was at balancing her new friends and schoolwork.

"Nat?" said her mom. Again.

"Sorry, Mom. I was..."

"Daydreaming again. Of course you were," her mother admonished, but she was still smiling. "So. College. How is it?"

"Great. The teachers are okay, I'm making friends, I'm settled in." She glanced at her mom as they made their way into her tiny room, hoping she believed her just this once. After all, she wasn't even lying.

"Are you happy, though?" ventured her mom.

"Of course," said Natalie, and that wasn't a lie either. She really was happy here.

She looked around her tiny room, realizing how accustomed she had grown to it. She had settled in here so fast. Whenever she had been away from home when she was younger, she had felt so sick, and she just couldn't enjoy any of it. Sometimes it was so bad that she had had to go home. That had always been really embarrassing. Nat wondered why she was so used to it already. Maybe it was because she'd arrived late that first day. She'd had to move her stuff in so fast and all the goodbyes were hurried.

Natalie turned back to her mother and smiled. If she just closed her eyes, she could still roughly remember what her room looked like. Was it really so easy to forget a place you had spent so long in? A sudden wave of love for her mom surged up in her, and she stood to hug her. Natalie breathed in the scent of home, and with it dawned the realization that she had forgotten that too.

"Let's go," she said quietly, and grabbed her bag to leave for the restaurant.

Natalie's mother made her spill about her friends and crushes. There wasn't all that much to tell, but she confided a couple of likely pairings. Of course, she didn't have any crushes yet, but her mom just liked the gossip; even when she had absolutely no idea who Nat was talking about.

"So – wait – Rachel has a crush on Stan..."

"No, Mom, Rachel has a crush on Paul. Or maybe Paul has a crush on her. Or both. I don't really remember what it was she said."

"Pau-chel," declared her mom rather loudly, catching the attention of a few of the other patrons.

Natalie blushed and squirmed a little. Her mom could be so mortifying sometimes. At least she didn't know anyone here, she supposed.

Natalie asked her mom how her father was doing and checked in on Piper, their cat, who was the closest thing she had to a sister. She missed them both painfully, and it made her wish that she had said yes to lunch at home instead. Then she could have seen Piper for a bit.

"Yes, I was going to tell you about your Dad...." Her mom's voice trailed off, and Nat's heart stumbled.

"What?" she cried. "What's wrong, Mom?"