Mom. You totally want Clary and me to make you cute grandbabies.”
Mom chose to ignore my comment. “Your dress was beautiful, Clary. I’m glad you got a chance to wear it. You really looked gorgeous.”
“Thanks, Jade,” Clary murmured, her cheeks flushing at the compliment. “Are you working today?”
Mom let out a relieved sigh. “No, not today. I’ve got a million different other things to do though. I’m hoping I can tick a few things off my to-do list this morning and spend some of the afternoon relaxing in bed. It’s been a crazy week.”
Crazy seemed like an understatement. Mom had barely been home over the last few days. Her skin was pale, and there were tired bags under her eyes. She was working herself into the ground at the hospital, but I couldn’t seem to convince her to take it easy.
I was just relieved she was finally taking a day to rest. I’d been growing increasingly worried about her. I knew she was taking precautions so she didn’t catch the virus, but working this hard wasn’t good for her health. I was legitimately concerned she’d collapse from exhaustion if she kept up at this rate.
“Your to-do list better not have anything too taxing on it,” I said.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she replied.
“And you’re going to make sure you rest.”
She chuckled under her breath. “Yes, I promise I’m going to rest.”
“Good.”
“Since you’ll be home tonight, I was wondering if I could make you all something for dinner?” Clary asked.
“That sounds lovely.” Mom smiled warmly, admiring Clary like she was the daughter she always wanted. As much as she might have laughed it off, my comment about marriage and babies with Clary had probably made my mom’s day.
She took a sip of her coffee before glancing at her watch, and her eyes widened when she saw the time. “Is that the time already? I better get started for the day.”
Mom didn’t wait for a response before she left the room. That was typical of my mother though. Even when she was exhausted and it was her day off, she still wanted to make the most of her time.
“Um, Aiden…”
I turned to Clary. She had one hip rested against the kitchen counter just next to me, a coffee cup already clasped in her hand. If there was one thing I’d learned about Clary in our short time living together, it was that she lived on caffeine. There was pretty much always a coffee in her hand.
“What’s up?”
“I was hoping you could take me to the supermarket to pick up a few ingredients for dinner.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
A slight frown creased her brow at my response. “That simple, huh? No demand for a favor in return? I don’t have to wear my prom dress again?”
“I mean, you can wear your prom dress again if you want…”
She shook her head at me, but a small smile cracked her lips. “I’d rather not. If I go get changed, can you take me now? I’m hoping it will be a little quieter at the supermarket at this time of day, and I want to avoid people as much as possible.”
“Sure.”
“Oh, and maybe check if your mom and brother need us to pick anything up for them too.”
The words were barely out of her mouth before she scurried from the room. I stared after her, feeling slightly disappointed. I was somewhat hoping she’d bring up last night. It had felt like things between us had started shifting when we’d danced at our iso-prom, but there was no hint Clary felt that way today. Disappointingly, it seemed nothing had changed.
I started up the stairs to my room to grab a pair of shoes and socks when my phone started to ring. A picture of Seth and I celebrating one of his big basketball wins last year popped up on the screen. I entered my bedroom and answered as I closed the door behind me.
“Hey, man,” I said in greeting.
“Dude, how did it go after the call ended last night?”
I immediately knew he was referring to Clary. I’d messaged him the moment I came up with the iso-prom idea, and he’d texted right back asking if I was setting it up for Clary. It seemed like he knew what I was thinking better than I did sometimes. Admittedly, it was hardly a subtle attempt.
“It went…” I scrunched up my face as I tried to find the right word, but I struggled to describe what was going on between Clary and me.