The Beacon [h.s]

11

Nyla West

The drive back home took longer than usual. It had to have been my subconscious mind making me drive slower on purpose. My nerves only grew the closer I got to my house and the anxiety rolled in knowing I have to tell Mother that I'm going to be living somewhere else during the week.

As soon as I left Harry's penthouse, I drove back to work. I stayed there until 4:00 pm with Sabrina assisting and guiding me through all the programs I will be using. I'm grateful to have someone at work who is pleasant to talk to. Every other employee just gave me weird looks, I know it has to do with me working with Harry, they all seem to be scared of him.

After I left work, I took my sweet time driving home, leading me up to now, slowly pushing my door open to get inside. It's not that late, only around 6:00 pm. I have it in the front of my mind to confront Mother about how I left so abruptly this morning, and then
about my living situation at Harry's place. I'm hoping she'll understand and realize that I'm an adult now and can make my own decisions.

I slip off my shoes near the front door after I set my keys down, glancing around the living room but I don't see her laying on the couch like she usually is.

"Mom?" I call out.

"Kitchen."

I walk over to the kitchen after a deep breath in preparation for this chat. She's sitting at the kitchen table which is surprisingly cleaned of all beer bottles for once.

"Hi." I make myself present as I walk closer to her. I notice she's eating something when I look over her shoulder, which is shocking because she usually just snacks on things and fills up with beer.

Mother sits with her legs crossed, her brown hair tied up into a bun and she wears a pink fluffy robe. I walk around the table to sit across from her. "What are you eating?" I try to make conversation.

"Chicken noodle soup." She looks across the table at me. Her blue eyes meet mine, they have a different look to them, but I can't seem to figure out what it is.

"Are you sick?" I ask, referring to the choice of soup, and subtly her choice to eating anything at all.

"Nope, not sick."

"Oh, okay." I nod, tapping my fingers anxiously on the table. "Do you want me to get you anything? Beer?" I ask, seeing that there surprisingly isn't a bottle already on the table.

"No, I'm good." Mother replies casually and continues to eat her soup.

Did she just say no?

"You don't want a beer?" My eyes slightly widening but I try to push my initial shock down so I don't make it into a big deal.

"No, I don't. Cutting it out from now on." She shrugs, sipping her soup.

I need to make sure that I'm hearing her correctly. Cautiously I ask. "So you aren't drinking anymore? Why the sudden change?"

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to focus more on my life as well as yours and beer was getting in the way of that."

If I could drop my jaw, I would. Her words continue to surprise me. "Wow, I appreciate that. Thank you mom," my eyes meet hers. But my mind bugs me as I have to ruin our civil conversation and tell her about my temporary living situation.

"I have to tell you something." I blurt out before I can back out from telling her.

"What is it?"

"Well I told you this morning about the new job I got. The place is called Capital Finance Company. My position is the receptionist on one of the levels. I get a great pay and benefits and all that, but the thing is it's an hour and a half away from here." I start off slowly.