“So, Kate?” My mom prompted at dinner. “How was your day?”
“Magical.” I sighed.
“Really? What did you and Anne do?”
“Played the pirate game. And pretended we were shipwrecked on an island.”
“Sounds like fun.” My mom looked at her plate. “Goodness, when will your father be home?” As if right on cue, my dad walked in.
“Sorry I’m late.” He apologized, hanging up his coat. “Marcus opened today, and I guess some people were hungry for jewelry.”
“You can make jewelry?” I asked.
“Nope! But I can fill out request forms and make sure people pay!” My dad said cheerfully. “Hey, Marie, what’s for dinner? It smells amazing!”
My mom crossed her arms. “Do you even care?” My dad looked surprised.
“Sorry I was gone all day.”
“When was the last time you were here?” My mom said sadly. “All day?”
“It’s been a while.” My dad admitted. “Marcus has been needing some help.”
“Sorry.” My mom sniffled. “I just haven’t seen the family together for a while.”
“Oh, Marie.” My dad put an arm around her. I got up and hugged her.
“I’m sorry, Mom.” I said. “It’s hard to stay indoors.” My mom looked at me.
“Oh, honey! You’ve always loved the outdoors! I can’t blame you.” This made me feel even more bad.
“If you want, I can stay home tomorrow.” I suggested. “We can hang out, or-”
“Oh, no, honey! I can’t ask you to do that!”
“I can take a day off tomorrow too.” My dad smiled.
My mom shook her head. “No, you both love what you do. I can’t ask you to stop.”
“Well, why don’t you do what you love. I mean, I know you live to cook, but you also love to be outside and draw trees and birds and flowers. You can do what you want too.” My dad said.
“Yeah, Mom! You should do something you love to do too! Then we can all be happy. And I won’t leave as early, I’ll stay and talk with you when I eat breakfast. I’ll try to come home earlier and I’ll be here or maybe even help cook.” I promised.
“And I’ll try to be home in time for dinner, or earlier.” My dad promised. “And sometimes, we can do stuff together! Like go on a picnic or-”
“Or build Peony a new pen!” I suggested. My mom sniffled. She started to cry.
“Oh, Marie, I’m sorry. I just thought you would want-”
“Nate!” My mom sniffed. “I do, I’m just...I’m so lucky to have you. So lucky to have you both!” I leaned over to hug her again, and so did my dad. I felt much better now. Now I knew my mom didn’t hate me for not being here all the time. And I didn’t need a magic stone to see that.