Carson studied her face with those perceptive hazel eyes. “Does that mean we can go to New York now?”

Tina’s breath caught. They had been planning this move for months, but Carson’s direct question still surprised her. “Is that what you want? Really?”

“More than anything. I miss Bette. And I think you do too, even though you try to hide it.”

The kid was too smart for his own good. “I do miss her. Very much.”

“So when can we go?”

“Well, there are things we need to do first. I need to give notice at work, we need to find an apartment, I need to get my nursing license transferred…”

“How long will that take?”

Tina calculated quickly in her head. “If we really push it? Maybe six weeks.”

Carson’s face lit up like Christmas morning. “Six weeks until we see Bette?”

“Six weeks until we move to New York,” Tina corrected gently. “We still need to talk to Bette about everything.”

“She’ll be happy to see us,” Carson said with the confidence only children possess. “I know she will.”

That afternoon, Tina called her parents to share the news. Lauren cried with relief, and Edwin’s voice was thick with emotion when he told her how proud he was of her strength through everything.

“So you’re really doing this,” Lauren said after Tina explained the timeline for the move. “You’re really going to New York.”

“We are. Carson and I both.”

“And Bette? Have you talked to her about this plan?”

Tina hesitated. “Not exactly. I want to be settled first, to show her that we’re serious about building a life there. That we’re not just running to her in crisis.”

“Sweetheart, don’t you think she deserves to know you’re coming?”

“I will tell her. When the time is right.”

That evening, after Carson was in bed, Tina sat at her laptop and opened her resignation letter that she’d been drafting for weeks. Her hands trembled slightly as she typed the final paragraphs.

Please accept this as my formal notice of resignation from my position as Pediatric Nurse at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. My last day of employment will be March 15th, giving you the standard four weeks’ notice.*

This decision comes after careful consideration and represents a new chapter in my life and my son’s life. I am relocating to New York to pursue new opportunities and to be closer to… family.