Kitchen Boss

“You sound disappointed.”

Of course she’d notice.

“What? Were you expecting a call from your boyfriend?”

I roll my eyes. What is it about moms and boyfriends? When you’re thirteen, they get mad if you have one. When you’re past twenty-five, they get mad at you if you don’t. Well, not mad exactly. Just bothered. Immensely.

“Not funny, Mom. You know I don’t have one.”

I’ve never had one, in fact. Between all the struggles of my personal life and trying to get an education, I’ve simply never had the time. Maybe that’s why my Mom is worried.

“Who knows? You might have been able to get one since the last time I called you.”

“Mom, you just called me yesterday,” I remind her as I set Molly down before I drop her or she jumps out of my arms.

“Who says you can’t meet a guy and fall in love with him in a span of 24 hours? That’s what happened with…”

“You and Hal.” I sit down. “I know.”

I’ve heard the story a dozen times before. My Mom’s car broke down after she dropped me off at daycare. Hal, who was new in town – he had just agreed to take over his uncle’s dental practice – drove by, stopped to help her and stayed with her until the tow truck came. Then he stayed with her some more while her car was at the garage. They talked. They ate snacks from the vending machine, shared a Snickers bar. By the end of the day, they were in love. They married a year later.

“You do know the chance of that happening is just one in a million, right? Besides, I have my hands full trying to get a job.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” I hear the concern in my mother’s voice. “Has no one called you back yet?”

“Nope,” I answer. “Not a single one.”

I can almost see her frowning.

“Sure you don’t want to come home? Maybe Hal or I can help you find a job here.”

“I’m fine, Mom,” I tell her.

If I go home now, I just know I’ll never be able to leave, especially not with the massive effort it took the first time around. Besides…

“Don’t you have other kids to worry about?”

Since I left, she and Hal have been taking in foster kids. They always wanted more kids, and they were already planning on doing it before I regressed into a baby and took up all their attention. Now, they have three.

“If you’re telling me to stop worrying about you, Cathy Josephine Jeffries, I won’t,” my Mom answers. “I never will.”

“And I wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do.”

“Though maybe if you got a husband and a job, I’d worry less,” she adds.

A couple of minutes ago, it was a boyfriend. Now, a husband?

I exhale. “Given the fact that both are so hard to find, I think I’ll only end up with one.”

“A husband?”

“A job. Hopefully, I’ll get one before the week ends.”

Which is what I said last week. Maybe this week, that hope will turn into reality.

“I’m sure you’ll get a good job soon,” my mother says. “Anyone would be a fool not to hire you after meeting you.”

The problem is I rarely even get to meet the people who have the power to hire me.

I tap my fingers on my lap. “Yes, the world is full of fools.”

“Well, don’t let them get the better of you. Just hang in there, and if you ever need anything, anything at all, you just have to call me, okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

“I love you.”

I smile. “I love you, too.”

The call ends. I set my phone down on the coffee table and stare at the screen until it turns dark.

True, I sometimes wish my mother didn’t check on me every day, but there’s a part of me that’s glad she does. She said she never intended to take Trisha’s place, and yet she has become my best friend. Without her, I don’t know what I’d do.

I’m about to sink into the cushions when I catch a glimpse of Molly going to the kitchen.

Right. I still have to get her back to my landlady.

I pick her up. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

~

“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Garland tells me as she presses the cat’s head against her cheek. “And I’m so sorry that Molly broke into your apartment again.”

I wave a hand. “Hardly. I left the window open and she came in. And she didn’t break anything, so…”

She jumps down from Mrs. Garland’s arms and struts off.

I take a step back. “I should go back to my apartment.”

“Wait.” Mrs. Garland touches my arm. “I actually have something to tell you.”

“Yes?”

“I just spoke with my son and he said he would like me to stay with him and his wife,” she tells me. “They’re expecting their first child.”

“How wonderful.” I give her a wide smile. “Congratulations.”