Kade

My weekend had started with me finding a dry cleaners near the airport.

Not one of my finest moments, but the man—thank God it had been a man and not a young girl—had quietly put a sticker on the front of my pants like it happened everyday.

And maybe it did.

But not to me.

Madison was going to drive me crazy if I had to see her every day for three months.

I’d barely seen her at all and already she was driving me insane.

I figured that since most of my time would be spent in the air, I could mostly avoid her. Even though I had a designated office there in the Skye Travels Building, I could do my paperwork on my own iPad and avoid the office.

It would be best.

I turned off of San Felipe and onto another small road. One more left and I pulled into the gated community. The guard was expecting me, but I showed him my identification anyway. I wanted the staff to get to know me well enough that they would feel comfortable talking to me when they needed to.

I parked the car and looked around. Everything looked clean. And secure.

Those things were very important.

When I knocked on the door, it took a few minutes for someone to come and open it.

I recognized the girl immediately. Her name was Susan and I’d hired her myself three months ago.

About the same time I’d made the decision to move back to Houston.

“Come on in,” Susan said with a smile. “She’s in the sunroom.”

Susan was not only capable, but she was one of the most positive people I knew. She always had a smile and something good to say.

I followed her through the house. It was clean and uncluttered. I paid someone for that, too, to keep it that way.

I stepped into a bright sunlit room with walls of glass. Just outside the window there was a birdfeeder, birds fluttering all around it.

There was also a hummingbird feeder. Hummingbirds were her favorite. One buzzed the window just as I walked through the door. 

My mother was sitting in a recliner, her feet up, her eyes glued to her iPad. She didn’t know I was there, but she glanced up at the hummingbird.

Trying not to startle her, I walked around to stand in front of her so she could see me.

“Kade?” Her face lit into a smile and she closed the cover on her iPad. “I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”

“I couldn’t wait any longer to see you.”

I went over and gave her a huge, long hug.

It had been two years since I’d seen her. Two years too long.

I’d vowed to myself never to do that again.

Work was important, but not as important as family.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t known how much care she needed until she’d fallen and broken her leg.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said and I heard the tears in her voice.

“I’m sorry, Mother. I’m here now.”

“Yes, you are,” she pushed me back and I straightened. “So let me look at you.”

My mother had aged in two years. I could see it in the lines around her eyes that weren’t so obvious on facetime calls.

But she was taken care of now and I would be able to see her often.

Never again would I let two years keep me away from my family. 

Not for work.

Not for anything.

“Sit down,” she said. “I want to hear all about Madison.”