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“I’ll talk to you later, Guis Thanks for the heads up,” I told her, trying to sound sincere

“S for a response

I sighed heavily, feeling a hundred pounds heavier after the conversation

“Everything okay, darling?” My mother breezed into the kitchen on a wave of perfu her hair differently She no longer pulled it back away fro it so that it laid above her shoulders I wondered how e up her look had to do with the new neighbor who had taken her out to dinner last night

“Fine,” I answered vaguely, tucking my phone into my purse

“I don’t want to be nosy, but I’er Is that the director you worked with in the past? Roger—what’s his last name?” Mom poured herself some tea and mixed in a dollop of honey Huh, that was new It bothered e, even if they were tiny alterations Once you reach a certain age, you expect the consistency of your parents to be one of the few things you could count on

“Roger Heiden,” I answered

She nodded “Right, Roger Heiden I really liked hier at a party a few years ago when she and dad had coer had charood at that And itout for her eldest daughter She had no idea how on my own I had truly been

“That’s Roger Mr Char,” I said around a mouthful of muffin

“Sowhat about Roger?” Mo out theto the blue house across the street She was definitely dolled up for someone specific

“Guisselle mentioned he was about to roll onto a newI don’t have any details, and it doesn’t reallyhere now”

Mom’s attention zeroed in on otten “Noould that stop you fro makeup artist, Whitney Rose Galloway” Uh oh, she had middle naain

“I’m not interested inwoued And I meant it While I missed the job, I didn’t miss the bullshit that was intricately tied to it I hated the industry as much as I loved the work

“Okay, so find so painted a mural when she ca she had been doing,” Mom pointed out

“There’s not exactly a ton of opportunities for a makeup artist in Southport, Pennsylvania, Mom,” I stated matter of factly