Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 152064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 760(@200wpm)___ 608(@250wpm)___ 507(@300wpm)
A knock on the door startles me. Maybe he came back. Maybe he wants another kiss. Or more than another kiss.
I throw the door open without checking the peephole first. “Mom? What are you doing here?”
She looks…sad and determined. I’m the spitting image of my mother. We have the same narrow frame, same hair, same eyes. “I wanted to see you.” She holds out a cardboard box. “And bring you a care package.”
I step aside to let her in, flummoxed and still reeling from the kiss and now my mother’s surprise arrival. Parsnip rushes by and slips out the door.
“Fuck! We can’t let him make it to the elevator.”
“I’m so sorry. I forgot how wily he is.” Mom uses the box to prop open the door and I grab his kitty treats.
He’s already at the other end of the hall. I shake the treats and call his name, sprinting after him. “You guard the elevators, I’ll try to corral him!” When I lived at home, Parsnip believed all doors led to happiness. Usually he didn’t make it very far, the gardens too alluring for a house kitty, but here it’s just door after door, new smells, and lots of potential new friends who want to give him pets.
“Parsnip! Come back, buddy! I have treats for you!” I shake the container.
The elevator dings. Parsnip’s ears perk up.
I glance over my shoulder and hope like hell it isn’t Flip coming back and that my mom can prevent my escape artist of a cat from going for a ride. It’s happened before. It was a harrowing, endless hour of searching.
I drop the container of treats, which spill out onto the carpet. I narrowly miss grabbing Parsnip around the middle as he darts past me, heading toward my mom. Cammie’s apartment door opens and Parsnip corrects course, launching himself through the opening.
“Got ’em!” Fee exclaims.
“Oh, thank God,” I heave a sigh of relief and quickly sweep the treats back into the container.
My mom hugs Cammie, who looks over her shoulder with questions in her eyes, which I will have to answer later. After my visit with my mom. I’m sure my friends are dying to find out what’s going on.
Mom takes Parsnip, who snuggles into her and starts purring up a storm.
Such a traitor.
“I’ll text in a bit,” I mutter to Fee and Cammie.
They give me the thumbs-up.
Mom and I return to my apartment with Parsnip. “Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Soda? Water? A cooler?”
“Tea would be nice.”
I set water to boil and pull out two mugs.
“Did Dad text you or something?”
“He did, and I’m sorry he didn’t prioritize you over work, but that’s not the main reason I’m here.” She leans against the counter. “We need to talk.”
I sigh. I should have expected this. “I’m mad at you.”
She nods and her eyes turn glassy. “I know.”
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner? Why didn’t you tell me first?” That hurts the most.
The kettle boils and Mom steps in to pour water into our mugs. “Because I didn’t want to put that on you.”
I voice the question that’s been plaguing me. “Is it my fault you’re splitting up? Is it because I moved out for university?”
She sets the kettle down and turns to me. “No, honey. You and your brother and sister aren’t the problem. My relationship with your dad is the problem, and I didn’t want to make it yours, because for the majority of your life, I did.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“We have always been close, Tallulah, and you have always been the kind of person who steps in to help and take care of people. You’re a lot like me, but I should never have relied on you the way I did. It wasn’t fair to you, or your brother or sister, or even your dad. My inability to tell him what I needed and why is the reason our marriage failed. He is a great guy and an amazing friend, but he’s not a good partner for me.”
“He should have fought for us, he should have put us first.”
“I made it easy for him to shirk his parental and fatherly duties by letting you be my coparent. You moving out has been good for our relationship because it allowed you a reprieve from the responsibility that was forced on you. We needed a little space from each other, and Ties and Fenna needed to see you as a sister and not another mom.”
“I’m really fucking mad at Dad.” My chin wobbles, and tears spill over.
“I know, give yourself time to feel all the feelings. He really fucked it up today. He should have said no to whatever work call came in.”
“He was ready to blow me off for Flip Madden before he even took the call. Maybe that meeting would have taken five minutes, but still.”