Since I will have a 3 day weekend, I'm hoping to write a lot. Not sure if I'll be able to do that but wishful thinking is fun.
Here's today's excerpt:
My mother of all people was sitting behind my desk when I
walked in. I looked over at Mrs. Alma.
“Don’t
say a word to her. If you had called and
said hey, kiss my ass or something, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Mom, I
have work to do.”
“You
always have work to do but I need to talk to you.”
I just stood there and sighed. Mrs. Alma said she had some errands
to run and left. My mom and I never had
the best of relationships because she sent me to live with my aunt when I was
very young and I never knew why. I wasn't the oldest or the youngest so I didn’t get it.
I always wanted to ask her but never wanted to open that can of
worms. We have at least been on speaking
terms a few times out of the year but I had been avoiding her for the last
year.
“Have
you talked to Carl?” Here we go.
“No ma’am
I haven’t and I don’t want to.”
“Why
not he’s a good man and he’s still in love with you?”
“Oh
yeah, I guess you would think a guy that likes to play ping pong with your face
a good man.”
“Girl,
grow up. Everyone gets into it
sometimes. That’s part of life. You’re not getting any younger, Sandra. You need a husband. What about kids?”
“I am
not in a hurry. I want what I want and
I will not settle for just any old dude.”
“Well
when you’re old and lonely you’re gonna wish you had listened to me.”
“Are
you done?”
“You
are the most spoiled, the most ungrateful…”
“Mom,
please. You said what you had to say, but I don’t have to do what you want and
I most certainly don’t have to agree with it.
I’m an adult. Why would you wait
over 30 years to be a mother to me?”
She leaned back in my chair like I had slapped her. “What are you trying to say? I’ve always been there for you.”
“Really
mom really? Last time I checked Aunt Essie was the one who read to me at
night. Aunt Essie was the one that fed
me. Aunt Essie was the one that talked to me about my period and boys and birth control and every single thing I learned
is because of Aunt Essie. Where were you
Mom?”
“I saw
something in you that I couldn’t nurture.
I didn’t have the book smarts and probably not enough common sense to
help you be who you were meant to be.”
I thought that was a bullshit answer but I didn’t say
anything. Mom couldn’t stand the
awkward silence so she got up and walked to me.
“I love
you Sandra. I know people are not
supposed to have favorite children but you are my favorite. If I had kept you, you would have ended up
like your other sisters. You and the
twins are the best kids I’ve ever had.”
Still not a great response but I guessed that was the best
she could do. So I hugged her and
thanked her for coming to see me.
After Mom left, I wanted to call Carl and give him a piece
of my mind but I didn’t feel like being bothered. I texted Jason instead. He responded back asking me what I was up
to. I told him that I needed a stress
reliever and he asked if I wanted to go to the gym. That wasn’t exactly the type of workout I had
in mind but I took him up on the offer.
2 comments:
I'm sooo proud of you Suzy Quzy!! I'll be reading this shortly.. but wanted you to know I find you such an inspiration!! You go gurl indeed!
Thanks Kelley, I really appreciate your comments and your support. Thanks so much.
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