Page 93 of The Reluctant Roommate

“It’s beautiful. What color are you going to use for the edging?”

“I thought navy blue.” Her mom turned. “Morgan, I know you always sleep here, but if you prefer, there’s the third bedroom. It’s smaller, of course, but it’s the room we use for guests now.”

“I’m sure we’d be comfortable here,” Heidi said, “but we wouldn’t want to keep you from your quilting.” She turned to Morgan. “Shall we look at the guest room?”

Morgan nodded. Maybe the guest room would be better. She followed her mom down the hallway.

“Oh, this is lovely,” Heidi said.

The guest room was the tiny room Morgan remembered, but her double bed had been moved there, and it butted up to the window, set in the sloping eaves. Morgan’s old bedside table was there, and a small chest of drawers was the only other furniture. She looked at the drawers. It was carefully made, with a mix of dark- and light-colored timber. The surface was a complicated parquet pattern of the two woods. “Did Dad make this?”

“He did. We’re both more creative these days. Most of what he makes gets sold to benefit the Men’s Shed, but this one was too beautiful to part with. We thought it looked good here.”

Morgan ran her hand over the polished surface. “It’s beautiful.” She raised an eyebrow at Heidi. “Are you okay to sleep here?”

Heidi grinned back. “Of course.”

“I’ll let you get settled,” her mom said. “Come down when you’re ready. Linda’s coming to dinner tonight. Just her—the kids will be out with their friends, but they’ve both moved back home for a few weeks while she has radiation and recovers from surgery.” She fumbled for Morgan’s hand and gripped it. “I’m proud of what you did, and so happy that Linda’s getting treatment. She’s a stubborn one.”

Jinny left, and Heidi lifted her bag onto the bed, then took the two steps to close the door. “Are you okay here? You looked like someone had kicked a kitten when you saw what had happened to your old room.”

“I’m fine—now. It was a bit of a shock. I guess we always expect our bedrooms in our parents’ house to always be there for us, a shrine to our teenage sainthood.” She scoffed. “Guess not. But it makes a lot of sense for Mom to have that room.”

“My old bedroom at home is now a junk room. Fiona’s is now the playroom for the dogs, and the twins’ room is the guest room. It could be a lot worse. Your mom is creating beautiful things in your space. My old room has a cardboard mountain and a pile of broken electricals that are supposedly fixable—but will never be looked at again.” Heidi plonked onto the bed and patted the space next to her. “But we have this comfortable bed, big enough for two, small enough that we’ll have to spoon. And, yes, you can be big spoon if I get the window side.”

Morgan sat and wrapped an arm around Heidi’s shoulders. “Maybe we’ll do more than spoon.”

Heidi turned into Morgan’s embrace and kissed her. “As long as we’re quiet, I think there’s every chance of that.”

Chapter 42

Goal Setting

Linda arrived around six. Morgan was sitting with her dad, hearing about his woodworking, while her mom and Heidi prepared the vegetables.

“Where is she? My savior!” Linda burst into the room.

Morgan blushed but stood to meet Linda, who wrapped her in an enormous hug and peppered her with kisses. Morgan hugged Linda back, then wiggled free to link her arm through Heidi’s. “Linda, this is my girlfriend, Heidi.”

“I’m very happy to meet you.” Heidi held out a hand.

Linda brushed past it to give Heidi a quick hug. “If you’re making my niece happy, you’re a friend of mine.”

Her mom abandoned the vegetables to make a pot of coffee and slice some fruitcake. Linda produced some brownies she’d bought on the way over, and they sat around the table.

“How are you doing?” Morgan asked Linda.

“I want to say good. That’s my default. And I am doing good—now. But it’s been a rough few weeks.” She made a face. “My chest hurts. I can’t say my boob hurts since it’s not there anymore. I kept throwing up from the radiation. At first, some days, I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed. But it’s okay now.”

Nods all around the table.

“Would anyone like fruitcake?” her mom said after the silence had grown. “It’s homemade.”

Boom.Difficult subject dealt with.

Except… Except…

Linda and Heidi shook their heads, and only her dad took a slice. “It’s so lovely to have the family here together,” her mom said. “And Nathan and Ellie will be here on Christmas Day.”