Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
“That sounds like a fun time. How long will you guys be gone?” I’m happy that my parents are still in love, still affectionate, and still enjoy spending time together, but of all the weeks to leave, this is the one I want them to stay.
“Oh I guess about a week. You know how these things go. Lots of presentations and pitches, negotiations, and huge sums of money. Your father might convince them in a day or two, or not until the end of the week.” She leans in with a conspiratorial smile. “Truth is, I’m hoping it takes the entire week. I need a vacation.”
I give her a huge smile for purely selfish reasons. If they’re gone, maybe Shades will come see me.
“I hope that means I’ll be the recipient of a fabulous gift like a new bag or maybe a stunning pair of shoes?”
She laughs. “I’ll see what I can do. Now back to packing. How many dresses should I take?”
I smile and sit on the plush ottoman on Dad’s side of the massive closet. “I say take three or four and buy more as needed.”
“What a wonderful idea!” I watch her busy herself with packing items carefully as if this is the most important job in the world, and I realize that for her, it is.
Mom’s an intelligent woman, college-educated in her own right, but she chose to give up whatever career ambitions she had to raise a family and keep our home. This is her job, and she’s very good at it, taking care of me, Dad, and the house. No one I know does a better job.
That’s why she’s so hard on me, I realize in that moment. She wants me to have the life I want, the one I deserve, whether that means a career-woman or a homemaker.
“Mother, what would you have done if you weren’t the world’s best homemaker?”
She smiles. “You’re buttering me up, Loretta, for what purpose? You’re a little old to throw a party when your parents are out of town.”
I laugh because even now, that’s not who I am. “I’m not buttering you up, Mother. I just realized why you take such pride in everything you do.”
She looks up at me curiously. “And what reason is that?”
“Because it’s your job. Your calling. That’s why I’m curious what you would have done professionally.”
“I had dreams of becoming a fashion designer, attending runway shows, and designing new clothing lines, that sort of thing.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes, I was quite the fashionista in my day.”
“You still are,” I tell her honestly. She possesses a better sense of style than me. Always has. Then again, she has the body to pull off the latest fashion trends, while I do not.
She stops folding and refolding a set of pajamas and eyes me curiously. “What’s going on with you, Loretta? You’re…I don’t know, contemplative today.”
I shrug. “Just thinking about the sermon. Pastor Braden’s words really resonated with me today. Forgiving perceived slights and accepting people for who they are.”
“And you forgive me for being so hard on you?”
I nod. “Honestly, I never held it against you. I mean, you are my mother. Although, I did think you were trying to make me into the woman you are, with all that talk of finding a husband and criticizing my clothes.”
“I do think it’s important to find a good man, Loretta. Marriage is eternal, and that is a really long time. When I met your father…well, I just knew I wanted to spend my life with him. And your clothes never bothered me, honey,” she says when I scoff in disbelief. “You’re a brilliant young woman, and I worry that with your fuller curves, men might not take you seriously if you highlight them.”
“That’s why?” I shake my head and laugh. “That makes sense, but times are different, Mother. I can dress to accentuate my body and be brilliant as well.”
“I see that, and that’s why I’m trying to be better.”
“Thank you, Mother. I really appreciate you saying that. I hope you have fun on your trip.”
“I fully plan to,” she says and returns to packing. “How about we make dinner together tonight like we used to when you were a girl?”
“I’m still a girl, Mother, and I’d like that,” I tell her and finally make my way to my room and collapse on the bed.
My mind wanders to Shades and the guys he works with. I’m not completely naïve or an idiot, or whatever they all think of me. I knew that man was threatening me even though he never said so directly. Just as I knew that coming to me to relay a message was a threat to Shades, but I don’t want any bloodshed, and definitely not in my name.
But here I am, caught in the middle of something I know nothing about. Shades, the beautiful frustrating man he is, refuses to tell me more about what’s going on. I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t trust me or if it’s because it’s illegal, and that’s what worries me.