There was a knock on the door.

"Mom? Someone is here." I called out, as my mom was in her bedroom.

"Can you get it? It should be Callie!" She yelled back.

I got up, looking out the window first. It was Callie. I bit my cheek and opened the door.

"Olivia! Hi!" Callie had a smile on her face- like she always did. She was always so happy. She was in scrubs.

"Hi." I stepped out of the way so she could come in, confused as to why she was in work clothes.

"Hold on! I'm coming I'm coming!" My mom called out.

I laughed, closing and locking the door behind Callie.

She laughed as well, taking off her shoes and setting her things down.

"Ok. Hi!!" Mom suddenly appeared, rushing over and hugging Callie. "I'm glad you haven't been called in... yet." She smiled as they pulled away, and then looked at me. "Callie's on call." She provided, as if I knew what that meant.

"On call?" I questioned. I knew it had to be some medical talk, but what?

"Like... technically I am working, but only if they need me to come in. So if someone needs emergency surgery, they call me." Callie explained.

"So you just have to drop everything and go?" That sounded insane.

"Pretty much, yeah." Callie laughed.

"So that's why you're in work clothes?"

"Yup. Shortens the time to get to the hospital."

I nodded slowly, looking at my mom. "I can't believe you wanted to be a surgeon, that sounds crazy."

Mom laughed, "It's not all the time, honey. Just certain shifts."

"Yeah, but still." I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she could be called into work at any moment and just... have to go. "That's crazy."

"You wanted to be a surgeon, Arizona?" Callie asked, tilting her head.

I looked between Mom and Callie.

"I did. When I was a kid, though." Mom laughed. "I always knew I wanted to be in the medical field, I guess. Surgery is far too much schooling for me, though." Mom barely made it through high school. My doing, technically.

Callie looked so interested when Mom spoke. Even about something as simple as her dream job as a kid. I liked that. Mom deserved that kind of interest.

"That's sweet. It is a lot of school.. trust me" Callie laughed at her own joke. "What about you, Olivia? Any dream job ideas? Surgeon?" She turned her attention to me. That same kind of interest.

It made me smile. She actually wanted to hear what I had to say. Usually I would get annoyed when people asked me about something so cliché, but Callie seemed to care. She actually wanted to know.

"Never a surgeon... sorry." I giggled. "Um. I don't know, really."

"I told her she should do something in art. She could make a lot of money, she is so talented." My mom piped in, and I shook my head in amusement.

"Oh yeah! When do I get to see the famous artwork?" Callie asked eagerly.

I smiled more.

"Olive, you should show her!!" Mom suggested, looking at me from her spot on the couch, closer to me than she was Callie. I think it was a protective thing. I still wasn't sure. She always stuck closer to me. Some motherly thing I would assume.

"Really?" I asked. To me, it wasn't that grand. It was just a hobby. My mom exaggerated. Every Mother loves to brag about their kid, I presumed.

"Yes! I would love to see it!!" Callie encouraged.

"Ok, ok. I'll be right back." I got up, the smile not leaving my face. I was starting to understand why Mom was always so happy. Callie was so sweet. She really cared about my mom, and she seemed to care about me. She was interested.

In my room, I picked out my best pieces. Most of which were hanging up on the wall above my desk. When I came back out, both my mom and Callie were laughing.

"Oh! Yay I'm so excited" Callie said immediately, clasping her hands together.

I smiled more, taking the papers and sitting down next to her, as opposed to my old spot, next to Mom.

"This is the one Mom was talking about a while ago. The eye with the ocean scene..." I reminded, handing her the paper.

She immediately gasped. "This is amazing, Olivia!" She tilted the paper at different angles. "Wow... it's so realistic, too."

"Isn't it?!" My mom piped in.

I giggled, "Thank you. I think that is one of my favorites. My other favorite is this one... I drew a portrait of Mom the other day." I handed her another piece of paper.

"Woah!" She took it, her smile never fading. She held the page up, as if she was looking between Mom and the drawing, which made me laugh. "It's like... really accurate. That's outstanding."

"Thanks..." I glanced over at Mom, who was smiling brightly. "And then this is one of Mom's favorites."

"They're all my favorite!" Mom said, making both Callie and I laugh.

"It's just a sunset... Mom loves sunsets."

"Ooh yeah you just finished this one yesterday! It's beautiful." Mom recalled.

Callie took the last paper from my hand, "You're like... amazing. You have such a talent, really." She said.

"Thank you." I didn't really know what else to say. But, it made me feel good to have someone being so sweet and interested. It meant a lot.

"Of course." She handed them back to me, and I set them on the coffee table for now. "You should consider a career in art, if it's something you enjoy. Your Mom is right. But... you also have a lot of time." Callie said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm not too sure yet. I guess it would be fun, though."

"Totally! And your talent is unmatched!" Callie nodded as well.

I looked up at Mom and smiled. She smiled back.

I opened my mouth to speak, but a beeping sound filled the room. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"That would be my pager. Damn." She reached for something in her pocket, pulling it out and clicking some buttons. "Yeah. Duty calls." She laughed.

"A surgery?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah... someone came into the ER." She nodded, "I gotta head out."

Mom and Callie both stood up, and I followed.

"It was so nice to see you guys for a little bit, sorry it was cut so short." Callie apologized as she walked to the door.

Mom and I followed. "Cal, it's fine. It was nice to have you over!" Mom reassured.

"Yeah, it was good to see you." I agreed.

She paused and smiled at me. "Your art is amazing, I'd love to see more some time. It was good to see you too."

"Thanks." I smiled back.

She turned to Mom. "I'll call you later?" Mom nodded her response.

"Okay, talk to you!" She gave Mom a quick hug and off she went.

When the door closed, I looked at Mom. "I really like her." I said.

"Yeah?" Mom tilted her head.

I nodded as I flopped back on the couch. "When you were talking about how you used to want to be a surgeon, she was so interested. She cares about you. And I like that."

"Aw honey." Mom sat down, pulling a pillow into her lap.

"You deserve that. And, she was really nice to me, too." It felt like she was so interested in my art, and it was nice. Of course, Mom was always beyond interested, but it was nice for someone else to care so much, too.

"I like that." Mom said, and we both giggled.

"She's... good. I'm happy for you, Mom." I said after a few moments of quiet.

"Thank you baby." Mom smiled softly.