Lilacs Forever

Chapter 3: Mom

Delilah jolted awake as her phone alarm went off. 5:30 am. She didn't want to be late for her second day of work. It was a good thing that she was a morning person. She looked into the cupboards only to find it empty. Right, I didn't even do any groceries...

She was going to do that later anyway, she thought to herself as she went to the bathroom and undressed. She turned the faucet on. The water started out cold and she yelped as the frigid water hit her head and back. She stepped out for a moment leaving her foot in as she felt the water slowly getting warmer and warmer. She stepped in, feeling the warm water cascade over her bare skin. She looked down at her body, she was probably as big as Clarice said. She sighed looking at her belly, she was always insecure about it, not to mention her larger than average breasts. And the lack of the gap between her thighs. She couldn't help but think that everything about her seemed heavy.

Her heart churned as she stepped out of the shower, drying herself off. The towel was fresh from the suitcase and was dry and comfy. After toweling herself dry, she began to blow dry her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror. Surprisingly enough, she never had a problem with her hair, it was long and straight and easier to manage. Her eyes met those in the reflection, they were a chocolate brown. She and her grandmother were the only ones who paid attention to that, it wasn't like a man would make that remark anytime soon.

As she dressed she kept an eye on her muffin top and love handles. She remembered the girls in ponytails and pencil skirts. They were skinny, and beautiful, and they knew it. Of course they can pull off their look. But Delilah couldn't. All her life she was the fat girl. Well, she wasn't that fat But she's had her fair share of being called "chunky" or "hippo" and all that.

Delilah figured she can't spend her morning moping about her appearance, so she fixed her long, dark brown hair and grabbed her purse. Walking to the bus stop, she looked at the sky. It was cloudy like the day before, but a few bits of blue sky sprinkled here and there. She boarded the bus when it arrived and found the nearest empty seat. She remembered home and her high school. She remembered painting her nails with her friends and the book club that met after school. It seemed like only yesterday that she was a teenager. Now she was working and living far away from home. I really am an adult now, am I...

—-

"I'm Alyce Miller, but you can just call me Alyce," the lady in front of her greeted. She was tall with dirty blonde hair held in a bun. Delilah noted how tall she was. Alyce looked to be around 5'6, taller than Delilah will ever be since she was only 4'11. She was basically tiny compared to her. Delilah also noted the very light wrinkles on Alyce's face. Despite that, she looked a lot younger than a lot of people at work. It's probably because she smiled a lot. Delilah shook her hand. It was warm and welcoming.

"I'll be your new mentor. Feel free to ask me any questions."

"T-thank you," Delilah answered.

—-

Alyce dropped by Delilah's desk from time to time. She was still training, so she was given easier jobs at first, just so she could get used to how things there worked. Delilah went about her job diligently, she was always the girl that took school seriously as well as when she would volunteer at the animal shelter in highschool and college. This job was no different, she betted her life in it.

The time for lunch break came when people started to get up and chatter among themselves. Delilah had been to the cafeteria earlier, but she was still contemplating on what she should eat there.

"Hey, Delilah," it was Alyce. "Let's go for coffee at the cafe."

"Um, sure!" She smiled. It was safe to say that it felt nice being invited for coffee.

They arrived at the cafe down the street. As they ate their food and sipped on their cappuccinos, Delilah could see that the sky was starting to clear up. It was a beautiful light blue that peeked from the gray clouds. She felt some tiny bits of sunlight warm her back.

"So, Delilah," Alyce started, "how is New England?"

"W-well, it's very different to say the least. It's not like home in California at all..."

"Is there anybody you know here?"

"Nobody I know lives on this side of the country. And I haven't made any friends yet."

"Did you at least talk to someone?"

It took Delilah a minute to think because she wasn't very good at interaction. "Well there was Dan, he was very nice and—" she paused when she remembered Clarice. "But I think I've made a bad first impression on some people".

"Really? What happened" Alyce said as she leaned over intently.

"Um, I accidentally spilled water on Clarice and she got pretty mad..." Delilah looked down, clearly embarrassed. Did Alyce find out? Was she going to laugh at her or shake her head in disappointment?

"It must've been a rough first day, but I promise you it gets better.Some people at work are tricky to deal with but they'll warm up to you eventually." She gave Delilah a smile. Her words were very comforting. "Is there anybody outside of work you met?"

"Not really, I bumped into a guy at my apartment earlier, he seemed nice from a glance."

"That's good, did you meet anyone else there?"

"Nobody else..."

Alyce thought for a moment. "Have you considered inviting your neighbors to your place and getting to know them? It'll be like a housewarming party."

Delilah's face lit up. "Maybe that can work. But I don't know where to start..." she laughed nervously. "I mean, I haven't even unpacked everything or even done groceries yet..."

"I'll help you," Alyce smiled, "okay, by tomorrow night unpack everything you need and I can go get groceries with you on Thursday."

"R-really? You don't have to"

"Don't worry about it, I'm your friend, okay?"

—-

Alyce's kind gesture made Delilah's day. She spent the rest of the work day smiling. She finally made her first friend since moving. She and Alyce had agreed to set the event on Friday. It was only Tuesday so they had a little less than a week to prepare.

She got straight to unpacking with a new motivation in mind. Delilah was always the shy girl, so it took her a while to make friends. But this time she was determined to get to know people, despite being more introverted.

She heard a buzzing and the unmistakable ringtone.

"Hi mom," she started.

"Delilah!" her mom gushed. "How's New England? How's work?"

"It's kinda cold here and I still miss home but I made a friend. She's my mentor at work."

"That's so nice but we miss you so much. I'm glad my baby girl is doing fine-" her mom's voice faltered.

"M-mom, don't cry!"