Swimming Ducks

Part 16: Sunday Lunch

Little trigger warning! There will be homophobia on this chapter, I will put a TL;DR at the end.

TARYN'S POV:
My dad left on Saturday evening and hadn't returned by Sunday morning. I awoke to the sound of my mum crying in the next room, and I knew he hadn't come back. I wasn't surprised, really, but I still felt tears stinging in my eyes as I climbed out of bed and went to the mirror to adjust my braids. I played eight with a little, realising they'd probably need re-doing soon. They looked great, but I wanted a bit of a change soon. My hair was naturally gorgeous, perfect ringlets, and if I cut it it'd sit perfectly around my face. Maybe I'd ask my mum. I wondered for a moment how Alice would feel about it, and ended up deciding that she'd like them. By the time I snapped out of my sleepy trance, my mum appeared in my room, her eyes a little red, though I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't heard her crying.

"Morning, hun," she smiled, shaking her head at a couple of empty drink cans around my desk and picking them up hurriedly. I smiled back, forcing it a little, but honestly just happy we seemed to be talking normally. "I'll get those, don't worry," I said, moving to take the cans and a plate. She tried to shake her hand to wave me away, but I insisted, and after a moment of collection, we trod downstairs. She glanced for a moment into my dad's office, her eyes almost glazing over as she looked at the empty chair in front of his black computer screen. But she didn't show it, and I went to recycle the cans as she washed up the plate and put it back in the cupboard.

She seemed to want to treat me, as by the time I walked back into the kitchen she already had bacon and eggs on the side, ready to cook them. I felt my stomach rumble with a sound not unlike thunder, and I sat at the table and watched her cook. The smell was divine and I could hardly contain my excitement- bacon and eggs was my favourite. The last two days had been very turbulent, and it was nice to have this normal morning, watching her cook. Apart from the fact my dad wasn't in the room next door on his computer.

Wow, had it only been two days since I was sitting on my kitchen floor? Only two days ago, Alice and I weren't talking, and we'd kissed yesterday. Gosh, it felt like years ago. What a strange few days.

The sound of sizzling bacon snapped me out of my trance.

"Mum?" I asked, smiling at the smell of frying bacon and the sound of the eggs. She turned around and nodded at me to continue. "Do you think I'd look good with short hair?" She seemed to ponder this for a moment, turning around to turn the bacon, then turning back to examine me again. "Yeah, I really do." I smiled, weirdly happy and my mum's approval. She came over to seemingly examine me closer, but walked behind me and reached into a draw to pull out her hairdressing stuff. "Now?!" I asked, pretending to object but actually fairly keen on it. She laughed, then went over to serve the bacon and eggs with some toast. I tucked in as soon as she brought it over, and I could tell she wanted to lecture me on manners, but she bit her lip. I was glad, to- I wasn't in the mood to argue and I sure as hell wasn't going to stop stuffing this bacon and eggs into my mouth.

About ten minutes later, she was behind me and my hair was coming out of its braids. After that I was sent to wash it, and the feeling of singular strands of hair between my fingers felt strange. I walked back downstairs and immediately my mum was cutting large strands of hair off. She'd trained as a hairdresser but was fired from her last job. She never told me why, but I strongly suspected it was to do with an argument over the racism I'd heard in the salon- I couldn't blame her for not being able to take it any more. She had been so put down after that, and she hadn't been able to find a job since. But it did mean that I always had brilliant haircuts, for free.

My mum refused to let me see my hair until it was done, and went as far as covering the bathroom mirrors before we went in. She covered my hair in various curling products, all of which smelt amazing, and then dried my hair with a diffuser- I had no idea what this was until she explained. It was an attachment that went onto the hairdryer that diffused the hot air so it didn't blow the curls out of your hair. I obeyed her every order to rotate my head in various directions, and then she took me into the bathroom again for a "big reveal."