Call Me Babe

Chapter 5

“FUCK,” Taylor’s voice echoed through her rental home, nestled safely inside a quiet LA neighborhood. Her heel kept slipping off her suitcase as she tried to somehow get it zipped shut. She cursed her tendency to overpack for any trip, even a whirlwind 3 night trip into her hometown to spend Thanksgiving with her parents like this one. She was sure this is precisely why she had yet to meet a handsome, well-travelled man at the airport, like her mom always told her she should. What guy would willingly sign up to wheel around her overstuffed luggage for the rest of his life?

Taylor knew how the weekend would unfold. Snide remarks from her mom about how she’d chosen to focus on her career rather than popping out grandchildren, and then Taylor would watch her mom get elbow nudges from her father when he sensed that she was becoming uncomfortable. He tried to keep the peace, she had to give him credit for that at least. It still couldn’t balance out how much her mom’s comments stung sometimes. 

She just wished her mom would acknowledge how hard she’s worked, and how much of a name she’s made for herself. While she can rationally understand how her mom always dreamed of her little girl getting married and settling down in town, she wishes her mom wasn’t so blinded by her own ideal scenario to see that Taylor had never shared those dreams. She’s damn proud of her agency and the PR campaigns they’ve managed recently, and it’s a damn shame that her own mother can’t bring herself to share that pride. 

Finally, Taylor got her luggage zipped up and she prayed she hadn’t left anything out. Rolling her eyes at herself, she realized she’d rather go without whatever she had forgotten than to wrestle her suitcase closed a second time. Taking one final glance at her pile of luggage, Taylor turned to prepare herself a quick dinner, planning to turn in for an early night before her flight in the morning.