To Say Goodbye by Lindsay Detwiler

fine. I want to get out of town. It’ll be good for me to come to you.”
    “Sophia, really. Your father and I aren’t doing anything anyway. Why go through the trouble of driving here?”
    “Mom, I’m not a fragile flower. I’m fine.”
    Her mom had sighed, finally giving in.
    Sophia loved her parents. Over the past few months, they’d driven the two-hour drive to visit her almost every week, making excuses to check in on her. It was good to have them there, good to be kept busy. But she needed to get out of the house now, away from the memories. She wanted to visit her childhood home, sleep in her childhood room, remember a time when life was simpler.
    She had driven this drive so many times with Tim when they were dating, when they were married. She’d been blessed to have parents and a husband who got along splendidly. Tim was the son her father never had, and they always joked and laughed like old friends.
    Pulling into the driveway, Sophia could see her mom in the living room window, peering out. She blasted to the front door, rushing down the driveway before Sophia was even out of her car.
    “Hey, Mom,” Sophia said as she grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and started getting out.
    “Sophia, we were so worried! You’re fifteen minutes late!”
    “Mom, I stopped to get a coffee. I’m fine.” She smiled at her mom’s frantic worry. She was lucky to be so loved.
    She followed her mom into the house, the familiar scent of the home taking her back. She reached down to pet Muffin, the twenty-year-old orange cat who just refused to give up on life. He hissed at her before recognizing her scent and then purring.
    She ambled into the kitchen, where a feast was strewn about the counter. All of the traditional items were there—her mom’s turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, vegetables. The only substitution was a raspberry pie for the traditional pumpkin.
    “Mom, what’s all this?”
    “I just whipped a few things up.”
    Ever since her mom had retired from teaching last year, she’d been frantically trying to keep busy. Cooking had been her recent forte, and Thanksgiving dinner was apparently the perfect time to show it all off.
    “Looks great. Where’s Dad?”
    “I’m coming,” he yelled, heading down the hallway from the back library. Also recently retired, he managed to keep himself busy with the one thing he’d devoted his life to—reading. As a previous English teacher, he didn’t seem like he’d ever give up his love for books.
    “It’s good to have you home,” her dad said, approaching her for a hug.
    The three sat down at the kitchen table, the same one Sophia had done her high school homework on, had painted her nails on for prom, had sat around when she told her parents she was engaged. It was filled with memories.
    “So, honey, we’re glad you’re here. We wanted to talk to you about something.”
    Sophia perked up, looking up from her plate after serving herself some turkey.
    “Oh yeah?”
    “Your father and I have an idea.”
    They looked at each other, pausing, as if weighing whether or not to continue.
    “Go ahead, guys.” They were making her nervous.
    “We want you to move back home with us.”
    Sophia stopped herself from laughing out loud. “Are you serious?”
    They didn’t laugh, didn’t budge. Clearly they were serious.
    “It’s just, well, we hate you being so far away and all. All alone in that big house, surrounded by memories. We miss you. We’re worried about you. It’s not good to be cooped up alone. Come home. You can have your old room back. We’ll find you a job at Maria’s salon.” Maria was her mom’s friend from high school.
    “Guys, you can’t be serious. My life is in Hollidaysburg. I can’t just leave my business, Stella, everything behind.”
    “We hate you being there, so far away. We know this is hard. And, honey, with the holidays, it’s only going to get harder.”
    Sophia felt frustration mounting.