A Place to Call Home

After dinner, my mother, Gloria Grant, sliced up the pumpkin tarts and sent us to the living room to open some presents she'd gotten for us.

My older brother, Fred Grant, got a brand-new set of gaming gear. My younger sister, Lily Grant, got the vintage designer bag she'd been eyeing forever. Even my father, Martin Grant, got a bone china tea set.

By the time it was my turn, the coffee table was empty.

Mom froze for a few seconds, then smacked her forehead. "Ah, my poor memory! I figured you don't need anything, so I didn't want to just buy you something random."

Lily hugged her bag, looking a little embarrassed. "Want to borrow my bag for a few days?"

"Don't be silly." Mom immediately stopped her. "Allie doesn't care for things like that. She's always been the easy one."

I looked down and took a bite of pumpkin tart. It was cloyingly sweet.

When I was little, money had been tight at home. Fred wanted sneakers, and Lily wanted piano lessons, so I learned early on to say I didn't need anything.

Later, once things got better, everyone simply got used to it.

If Fred wanted something, all he had to do was send a link. If Lily looked at something twice, it would show up in her room the next day.

Only when it came to me did Mom always give the same answer, "Allie's sensible. She's not picky."

So if you were sensible for long enough, people could even skip thinking of you.

At ten that night, I got ready to head back to my rented apartment.

Dad frowned at me. "Why are you running off on a holiday? It's not like there's nowhere to sleep here."

Mom waved me over too. "I just made up the bed in the guest room this afternoon. Stay the night."

I looked at the folding bed pushed up against the wall, the unopened moving boxes piled beside it. The closet was crammed with the out-of-season clothes that didn't fit in Lily's room. There wasn't even a nightstand.

Mom brought over a spare toiletry kit and laughed as she explained, "I was originally going to turn this into a storage room. Good thing I left a bed in here, or you'd have had nowhere to sleep tonight."

I took the toothbrush stamped with a hotel's name. "This is great."

Mom nodded, satisfied. "I knew you'd be the easiest one about it."

My phone lit up right then. It was HR at the Selth City headquarters again.

HR: [Allie, we can only hold the transfer spot for you until noon tomorrow. Have you made a decision?]

They'd asked me about this opportunity three times already. I'd turned it down the first two.

Mom had high blood pressure, and Dad had a bad back. I'd always felt that if I stayed in town, I'd be around to help if anything ever happened.

Now, suddenly, it seemed they didn't need me nearly that much.

I turned off my phone screen.

For the first time, I didn't say no right away.