JAMES WALKED INTO the kitchen with an assortment of plastic bags. “Hey, Mom, I picked up your favorite.” He dug around in one bag and pulled out a chocolate lava cake.

His mother kissed him on the cheek. “What would I do without you?” She pulled away with a concerned look. “Honey, is something wrong?”

James collapsed into a chair. “I met a girl the other day. Actually, I met her twice. She was pretty amazing.”

His mother’s eyes lit up. “That’s great!”

“Not really.”

“What do you mean?”

James let out a loud sigh. “I didn’t get her number. She’s out here on business and she’s going back home, to New York.”

“Ohh.” His mom sat next to him. “And…there’s no possibility that—”

He shook his head. “I kind of missed the boat. I had a chance to get her number and didn’t. Chris thinks I should try to get in touch with her since I know where she works. I’m definitely intrigued but I also don’t want to look like a stalker.” He shrugged. “She really struck a chord with me. Can’t stop thinking about her. She’s the first one who makes me feel like I need get back in the game. But I’m still not sure I’m ready.”

His mother sighed and took his hand. “Jay, the past few months have been hard for both of us. You’ve been such a tremendous help and I’m so thrilled you’re home. But you made a lot of big changes in your life and I’m not sure that you’re really happy.” A concerned look came over her face. “Are you?”

James fiddled with the tablecloth. “I’m happy, Mom. I love you and I want to be here for you.”

“You need to live your own life, sweetie. I know you miss Dad a lot, and now you think you need to take care of me since he’s gone. But I’m doing okay. You can’t use that as an excuse to hide from life, and you can’t use LazerShark either. It isn’t healthy. I’m only telling you this because I’m worried. It’s a good sign that you met this girl and had some kind of connection, don’t you think?”

James ran his hand through his hair and leaned back. “Maybe.”

“Your Dad wouldn’t want you to become a monk.” She smiled. “He definitely wouldn’t want you to miss out on living because you were mourning him.”

“I hate myself for missing that last weekend with him. I let LazerShark take precedence and I lost the last opportunity to see him and tell him I love him.” James held his head in his hands. “I messed up and now he’s gone.”

“Jay, you cannot go on berating yourself for that. It was circumstantial and he understood. He knew how important that meeting was and he was so proud of your success.”

“But I—”

His mother held up a hand. “Stop. You need to move on. Life doesn’t always turn out the way we plan. There will always be scenarios we wish we’d handled differently. This won’t be the last for you, I’m sure. But don’t let it cloud everything. You have to come to terms with it. It’s what he would want for you.”

James nodded. He’d been so burdened with guilt over the past months. Such a useless emotion. Dad’s gone and nothing can bring him back. Mom’s right. I can’t keep hiding from life. It’s time to move on. Besides, I’m not doing myself any favors by wallowing in regret. He wouldn’t want that for me.