Silence falls over the room. I could strangle Kate right now. With my bare hands. Mom hides the smile on her face, Charlie turning around and pretending to make coffee.
“I think you forgot to take your crazy pills.” I laugh it off. “Hurry along, Kate, the bus to the mental facility will be here at any moment.”
“Ha-ha.” She smirks. “Should I hand you a collar now or later?”
The girls enter the room, distracting us all while Mom fusses over them. Charlie knew she was coming but kept it quiet to surprise me. Mom’s flown in for a few days for a potential job offer in LA. I have mixed feeling about her being here, mainly because I know it means she’ll have to meet Morgan.
When the kitchen becomes quiet, Mom asks to speak to me outside, alone. We sit on the porch, watching the girls play in the backyard.
“I like Kate,” she begins. “The two of you have some uncanny connection.”
“No connection, Mom.” I’m quick to shut down the concept. “Kate is Kate.”
“And what is that?”
“I don’t know,” I say, unsure. “Someone who I can be myself around without any judgment. She just gets me.”
“And this Morgan?”
I know why Charlie’s not outside watching the girls. She’s hiding because her big fat mouth can’t keep shut.
“Mom, I don’t want to talk about it.”
She appears offended. It’s not that I don’t trust Mom, it just seems like the more I talk about it, the more of a big deal everyone makes it out to be.
“Sorry, Mom,” I quickly say. “It’s complicated and I’m not sure what to say.”
Pursing her lips together, she remains quiet, not pushing me further. “I ran into Tom last week. He asked how you were.”
My ears perk up immediately. “And Benny?”
“Not sure, kid. Haven’t seen him around much. One of the ladies at the hairdresser’s said he was moving up north somewhere.”
“The ladies at your hairdresser also thought I had knocked up his girlfriend.”
She laughs and rests her hand on my arm. “I’m sure they both miss you. The three of you were inseparable.”
I don’t want to discuss them anymore either. They have moved on and so have I. I have a new life out here and new friends. What happened between us is a thing of the past. It’s time to forget about them and go on with life out here.
I excuse myself when Ava asks to play Barbies and hands me a boy Barbie, ducking to my room to give Morgan a call. “Hey, I’ve only got five minutes because I’ve got lawyers coming in. Some moron took pictures of Scarlett in an exclusive spa and wants to sell them to the press,” she answers all in one breath.
“Uh-oh. If it’s any consolation, she’s got a great body. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
She keeps quiet over the speaker, and perhaps my words weren’t the right choice. I don’t know how to save myself from here.
“So, this weekend, Lex and Charlie are having a barbecue. Are you free? I’d really love for you to meet them.”
“My dad is driving in for the weekend,” she says.
“That’s okay. I’m sure Charlie won’t mind.”
She remains quiet, then responds in a worried tone, “Uh… okay. So, I guess you’ll meet my dad.”
“Okay, and so for my next piece of news… my mom’s here,” I say slowly.
“Okay.” She follows with, “Is that good or bad?”
“Good, I guess, because I miss her. Bad, maybe, because she, uh—”