“I’m starving, that airline food isn’t fit for a dog.” I knew she was lying because she flew first class and had already told me how great the food was on her trip out.
“Annabelle why don’t you help me in the kitchen? We’ll put together something for this horde.” The poor girl looked trapped as she followed the harridan from the room. I almost felt sorry for her, but she deserved it
If her ass wasn’t so stubborn I wouldn’t have to sic the bloodhound on her. That didn’t stop me from being nervous the whole time they were out of my sight though.
Annabelle
What does this woman want with me? It was obvious she was on a mission. I’m not that dumb not to have picked up on that, but what? I’d got the feeling that she and her son were close.
Maybe she was here to check out the girl who had moved into her son’s home. To make sure I was worthy or something along those lines.
She was a bit confusing. One minute I got the sense of a sweet motherly type, and the next it was like sitting under a heated lamp being grilled by an expert.
She kept flitting from topic to topic until I could barely keep up. “That boy never knew how to stock a kitchen. It’s a wonder he didn’t starve to death while I was away. As old as he is, I worried about
him every day while I was away.”
“So you love to dance huh.” She switched up so fast I almost missed it. She was still rummaging through the freezer as she asked so I couldn’t see her face.
“Yes, I always have.” I got nervous at the look she gave me when she finally lifted her head with what looked like steaks in her hands. She just nodded and went to the microwave to defrost the meat.
“I heard you go to Juilliard, that’s the best isn’t it?” I gave her a rundown of the school and some of its past alumni, people whose names she would know since they were famous.
“That must be something, I have two left feet, so does Max. I used to break out in a cold sweat every time I watched him run with a ball in his hand. I always just knew he was going to topple over and break his fool head.”
“But put a ball in his hand and he becomes a different person. For as long as I can remember that boy always had one dream, to play professional football. I’m glad he got the chance even if it didn’t last that long.”
“For those years that he played he was the happiest I’d ever seen him.” She took the meat from the microwave and moved to the sink to wash it before grabbing seasonings from the rack.
“It’s every parents’ dream to see their child excel at something they love, and my boy was good. I’m so proud of him, proud of the man he’s become.” I could almost believe that there was no rhyme or reason to the conversation, but somehow I didn’t think so.
“And your parents? Are they in the city?” I swallowed hard not sure where to begin. Her stare had me opening my mouth and everything came spilling out. Why did I have the feeling that she already knew?
That didn’t make sense since I hadn’t shared any of my past with her son. She nodded as I spoke and before I knew it, the steaks were on the indoor grill and we were sitting at the table with my hand in hers.
“You’ve had a rough few years haven’t you? I don’t agree with what your mother did, but I can understand. That kind of betrayal, it takes a lot of inner strength to withstand.” She patted my hand.
“She didn’t do it because she didn’t love you and your brother. She probably thought she had no other way out poor thing. That kind of heartache is hard to overcome for some.”
She spoke as if she knew the feeling firsthand. I didn’t realize I was crying until she wiped my face with her fingertips. It had been so long since there was anyone to wipe my tears that I cried even harder.
“I bet you had to grow up pretty fast didn’t you. I know the feeling.” She went on to tell me about her teenage pregnancy and the hardships that followed.
As the story unfolded I realized that Max and I had more in common than I thought. I don’t know where I got the idea that his life was always as it is now. That he’d always lived a life of luxury and ease.
I listened in near shock as she told the story of their near poverty or as she put it, living paycheck to paycheck. Of how hard he’d worked to get the scholarship that changed their lives.