I entered my apartment and sprayed the corners in the house, just a little so the scent wouldn't get everywhere. I didn't like scents that were strong and always made sure to buy the sprays that were advertised as zero odor, and even though I could always smell it, it was tolerable. Thankfully, I had also introduced the brand to my neighbor because Claire was asthmatic.

I took the spray to the bathroom and stored it in the cabinet before I started with the cleaning. Not that it was dirty, or I'd left it dirty, but the dust had made the floor tiles as well as the toilet dusty.

I closed the lid of the mac and cheese that was boiling on the gas and checked my clock. It was a little after five now, which was the time I was expecting my mother to come. Thankfully, I'd been able to finish cleaning the bathroom and the living room, arranging the frames I'd kept in the bedroom back in the living room, going to get groceries, and cooking. Even though it had looked and felt like I wasn't going to be able to do it, I'd done it.

My phone started ringing, and I picked it up. "Hey, Mom. Where are you now?"

I heard her voice both from the phone and at my apartment door. "Come and open the door for me."

With a squeal, I turned the burner to low and ran to the living room, opening the door. My mom's peeked her face in, and I hurriedly hugged her.

"Hey, baby."

After about two minutes of trying to get as close to her as possible, don't mind me. I just like her that much; I made distance between both of us. "How did you find this…" I looked at the bags that were at her feet and gasped.

"Jeez, Mom. One would think you're moving in." She had with her two suitcases with the big handbag she was holding. "What did you bring?" I whispered in surprise.

Mom just stared at me. "Are you going to open the door for me? I even had to walk up the stairs with all these." She teased gently, and I shook my head.

"Oh. Sorry." I opened the door wider, and she entered with a suitcase, with me following behind with the second one.

I huffed and dropped it in front of my mom, who was inspecting my couch as soon as she had sat down. "Did you forget to tell me something? Have you been kicked out?" I shook my head. "That makes no sense. You own the house."

Mom smiled and rummaged in her bag for a bag of candy that she opened and gave to me. "Of course not. How could I have been kicked out of a house I own?" She replied with a smile.

I didn't return it. "Then what are all these bags for? And why will you go through the stress of bringing all these? Or did you book a cab?" I asked hopefully, and she scoffed.

"Why would I do that? I took the train and easily brought it here. See?" She gestured to herself. "I'm here, and I'm perfectly fine."

I glared at her. "You should have called me when you got to the train station. How did you even carry these?" I pointed at the suitcases. They weren't that heavy, but they were big bags, and while I wasn't infantilizing her, there were some boundaries some humans needlessly cross, especially not older people. Since I was also on the first floor and the elevator wasn't working, she had also had to drag it up the stairs. Something that would have been easier had she called me.

"I wanted to surprise you." She said quietly. She stood up and hugged me. "Alright, dear daughter. I'm sorry I didn't call you and brought it all myself. I just thought it would be fun surprising you, especially since this is my first time in your apartment. Did I really do the wrong thing?" She asked, batting her eyelashes like I used to do when I was younger to get out of trouble. It had always worked, by the way.

I narrowed my eyes. Her apology had sounded sincere, maybe too sincere. I studied her face and saw the bare lifting of her lips, and her eyes were sparkling with laughter. "Mom." I groaned, and she burst out laughing.

"Can you stop nagging me now? I don't have that much time here, and I'd like a tour of your apartment. It looked promising from the outside."

I gave up and sighed. "Just… next time, call me. It still wouldn't have been a surprise, since I had described the house to you. Let's start the tour from the kitchen. I only have a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a restroom, so it'll be a very short one."

Mum glanced at me. "Does that bother you? The size of the apartment?"

I paused and looked her straight in the eyes. "Of course not. What made you think that?" I asked, genuinely surprised. Never had I complained about the apartment, even when I'd been stuck in the elevator for over two hours before it had been declared out of commission. And that had been horrible. I'd been late to my interview and wasn't attended to. "For the price of the rent, it's perfect. It's cozy, has everything any home could ever need, and I'm not about to waste my savings because I'm looking for a bigger apartment." I added.

Mom shrugged. "I just thought since you grew up in a small place, you would prefer something a bit bigger. That doesn't remind you of that."

I shook my head. "It doesn't bother me." I took her hands, and we started the tour. "This is my kitchen. It's effective, and it's pretty cozy." I said, entering my kitchen. Unlike most recent apartments like mine, I had a separate kitchen. There was a small fridge and microwave and just a few kitchen appliances. I could tell what was going through her mind.

"How effective will it be since you cannot cook? Do you even use this place? Won't it be better suited as a storage room?" I saw the moment she noticed the pot on the gas. She moved closer to it. "What is this?"

I laughed. "Mom, that was the old me. I made mac and cheese. We can eat when the tour is complete."

She turned a disbelieving look at me. "Really? You cook?" Her look turned concerned. "Why? Did someone say something?"

I laughed and grabbed her hands. "I'm a grown woman, ma'am. I decided to try it out and realized I was a natural. Plus, it's fun making something myself and realizing I can eat it and feed others. It's very satisfac…" I trailed off. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked. She had let go of my hands and had been watching me with a shocked expression.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head as if shaking the thoughts that had been in her head. "Let me see your room."

I ignored it, and we entered my room. There wasn't much to see apart from the different floral wallpaper that decorated the room, my made bed, my small shelf, and my wardrobe. There was also a small foldable table that had been folded and was on the top of the shelf.

"It looks nice. I like the wallpaper." Mom commented, and I smiled.

"I got it because of you, but I doubt you will remember. I once asked which I should use. Sunflowers or something like this, and I remember what you said."

Mom was already smiling, so I knew she had remembered. "You asked why anyone would willingly want to stay in a room that had yellow as the central theme." I laughed. "And you were right." I experimented with a small patch of just sunflowers and removed it after a week. I wasn't feeling it.

Mom nodded. "You should have just listened to me. I'm curious about the dish you prepared, especially since I brought lots of things for you, so you could have home-cooked food after a while."

"I'm still going to take it. Nothing I can make can beat the food you make. There's no need to see the restroom." I said as we passed it. "You can see it later if you want to use it. I'm starving."

I took her arms, and we went to the kitchen together. There, I dished the meal into two dishes and took it to the living room. I watched her face as she took the first bite.

She looked at me. "How? I mean, this is so good." She said and took another spoon, nodding her head. "So, did you get this from a recipe book or what? It tastes so delicious."

I smiled and took a spoonful of mine and had to agree with her. It tasted delicious. "Yes. I got it from a recipe book, but that was only because the first time I prepared it, it tasted like something between oats and just cheese. It was horrible." I replied, laughing.

She smiled at me. "That's right. Practice always makes perfect. Did anyone have anything to say about the food? That must have given you some motivation to continue, especially since it's a hobby you've never really liked or wanted to explore. Even after trying to bribe you multiple times."

I laughed, remembering my high school days. I'd just hated cooking, and Mom had loved cooking, so it hadn't been that bad. About motivation, the look of surprise on Jonathan and Eleni's faces was all the motivation I needed. The fact that his housekeeper approved was even better. I nodded. "Yeah. They've said it tastes like something out of a restaurant."

Mom narrowed her eyes, and I looked at her. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. You just sounded very different. The person must be somehow special to you."

I rolled my eyes. "Not at all, not..."

"Who is the person? Are you in a relationship?" She interrupted, and I gaped at her. "What?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I wanted to talk about that with you. I wasn't really sure, but now I think I've confirmed it from you."

My heart started beating faster. Had she heard anything? "About what?" I asked hesitantly, food forgotten.

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