I had not found a cleaning lady yet because I still was enjoying the feeling of accomplishment when I cleaned my own house.

But with the kids back, I enjoyed it more, picking up rooms they’d made their own because they spent time in them.

Auden’s bed worked much better no longer against the side wall but the back wall and facing his windows to the sea. He had band posters up plus blood-guts-and-glory type inspirational posters, these he’d started putting up years ago, I suspected to psych him up constantly, if sometimes subconsciously, to be a good competitor.

He needed to tidy. He was like his dad dropping his clothes everywhere. And there was tons of stuff all over his dresser, his desk. This I never touched, thinking he probably knew how to find whatever he needed. But it was a sixteen-year-old boy’s room, lived in and Auden’s, even if it was that in a multi-million dollar show home.

I liked this.

But I was hesitant about the conversation we needed to have.

“Everything cool, Mom?” he asked, prompting me out of my study of his room, and I gave my attention to him.

He was across the room, standing in his pajamas but he had his tablet in his hand, and when I’d opened the door, he’d been sticking his headphones in it.

“Just wanted to bend your ear a second about something that’s troubling me,” I told him.

“What?” he asked.

I stepped in, shut the door and leaned into it. “What’s your read on Polly?”

His face went guarded.

“I’m not being—” I started to assure him quickly.

“She’s a phase,” he cut me off to say.

“I’m sorry?”

“For Pip. She’s not Pippa’s normal kind of friend. But Polly knows everybody. She’s real social. Big on that. And Pip coming to a new school, Polly latched on. Pip having money and nice clothes and being pretty and stuff…” he trailed off and shrugged, though he didn’t need to finish that, I knew what he was saying. Then he continued, “I think she’s a phase.”

“So you don’t care for her all that much,” I guessed.

“Won’t have to think anything once Pip finds her place in high school and Polly’s history.”

That was his hope.

He did not like Polly.

It was also my hope because as awful as it was to say, I didn’t either.

I nodded. “Okay, Auden. I didn’t want to put you on the spot but I also got the sense she wasn’t Pippa’s kind of friend. That said, it’s clear Pip likes spending time with her so I didn’t want to bring it up with your sister and upset her.”

He nodded too. “Yeah. But we’re just back at school, Mom. Freshmen settle in. She’ll find it.”

“Okay, kid,” I replied.