One Night with the Boss by Teresa Southwick

family dinner as much as usual, not only because of the conversation they would have but because family dinners would be few and far between.
    Her younger sister’s car was parked at the curb in front of her. Prudence had left room for her and that thought had the backs of her eyes stinging with tears.
    “Olivia Lawson, stop it right now,” she said to herself.
    In order to sell her move as a happy thing to her family, it would be helpful to actually look happy.
    She exited the car and dragged in a breath when the bitter cold hit her. Snow from a recent storm still lingered on the ground where shadows from the trees and house sheltered it. She moved up the sidewalk and knocked once on the door before letting herself inside. “Hello? Anyone home?”
    “In the kitchen.” That was her mother’s voice from the room where she could usually be found, except on weekdays, when she taught fourth grade at Blackwater Lake Elementary. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
    Tears welled, again because someday very soon no one would be waiting for her.
    Olivia looked around the living room she’d spent so much of the last twenty-seven years in—as an infant, toddler, child, young adult, college student. Pictures on the oak mantel above the fireplace told her story without words. She never thought she would leave the town where she’d been born. How would the pictures change?
    Footsteps sounded on the light-colored wood floor just before her mother walked into the room. “Hey, sweetie.”
    “Hi, Mom.” She hugged her mother more tightly than usual. “How are you?”
    “Doing great.” Ann Lawson was the same height as her daughter, a blue-eyed blonde with a pixie cut. After a breast cancer diagnosis five years ago, she’d had chemo and lost her hair. When it grew back, she’d decided to keep it short and easy. She pulled back and frowned. “How are you?”
    “Fine.”
    Her mother didn’t look convinced, but said nothing more. “Your father and sister are anxious to see you. We all want to hear about your exciting news.”
    Arm in arm they walked down the hall, past the formal dining room with its cherrywood table and matching china cabinet. Ahead was the kitchen/great room that was the command-and-control center of the home. Through the years this was where they gathered and it was a comfort that some things didn’t change.
    A leather corner group sat in front of a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall above a fireplace with a roaring fire going. Her father was director of the local power company and would be busy when the next snowstorm hit, but right now he was relaxing on the sofa, watching a football game with Prudence.
    They both looked up and smiled when she entered the room.
    “Hi, Livvie.” Ken Lawson was a still-handsome fifty-two-year-old man with silver streaking his dark hair and neatly trimmed mustache.
    “Good to see you, Dad.”
    “Hey, sis.” Prudence stood and walked over to hug her. She was quite simply gorgeous and had inherited their father’s dark hair and gray eyes.
    “Hi, Pru.” Olivia gave her an extra squeeze, then pulled back and pasted a smile on her face. “What’s going on?”
    Her dad joined them by the kitchen island and slung his arm across her shoulders, pulling her close. “You’re the one with the news. Tell your old man what you’re up to.”
    She rested her cheek against his solid shoulder for a moment, then met his gaze. “A friend of mine from college is starting a technology company and asked if I’d be interested in working with him.”
    “So you get in on the ground floor?”
    “That’s right, Dad. The only catch is that the job is in California.”
    “That makes commuting out of the question,” he said.
    How like her father to defuse a situation with humor. Unfortunately she didn’t feel much like smiling. “But when he mentioned that my title would be vice president, it got my attention.”
    “I guess so.” Her father looked down and there was pride in his