It drove me crazy, but I also kind of loved that she forced me to Skype her at least once a week to make sure that my cheeks hadn’t thinned out. I hadn’t been back home in over a year, because the tickets were so expensive and I couldn’t afford to take any time off from the accounting office where I worked. I missed New York, though, and my aunt and uncle’s little apartment. I missed the smells and the sounds and the food and the family that was always around when I needed them.

I’d grown up in Missouri, and it wasn’t until my parents died in a car accident when I was fourteen that I moved to New York to live with my uncle and aunt. I’d expected the old familiar landmarks to feel like home when I came back to Missouri, but they hadn’t.

When I decided to return to Missouri for school, I’d been so confident. I’d rolled my eyes when family and friends had told me how homesick I’d feel. After all, I’d grown up in Missouri. It was as familiar to me as New York was. Sure, I’d miss the people I’d left in New York, but it was an adventure. I’d settle easily into my old hometown.

How wrong I’d been. I hated thinking of those first two years at school. The isolation I’d felt. The homesickness. It had only been pure stubbornness that had kept me there. Sheer force of will. Everything was so spread out. I had to drive if I wanted to go anywhere, and walking to the corner store was a thing of the past. Neighbors didn’t stop me to say hello and ask how my studies were going. No one cared what I was doing or where I was going. The very things I’d looked forward to when planning to move so far away were the things that depressed me.

Eventually, I’d grown comfortable again, but I still missed home, especially on days when my aunt was being nosy, and I could hear my uncle in the background telling her how I’d never call again if she kept asking me questions.

“I’m going to a party,” I told her when she grilled me about my plans for that weekend.

“What kind of party?”

“Housewarming. My friend is moving in with her boyfriend.”

My aunt made a noise in her throat. “Stupid. Moving in with a guy before marriage is a bad idea. You try to do that, I’ll come drag you home by your hair.”