Mr.Cater's Maid

Awkward Encounters

The past three months flew by fast, and fall disappeared into winter. The snowy grounds outside my window and the help my parents provided were the stepping stones I used to move on. Slowly my mind cleared enough, and  I used this to focus on getting therapy and finding a job. In the meantime, I worked part-time during the morning shift at my father's factory. I mainly did data entry, but I liked having a purpose, a place to be every day, and it was also a suggestion my therapist made. She advised me not to stay at home and wallow, at least not until I felt a bit better. This job was also helping me not think about Adam too much. Though I keep analyzing our last meeting the day after the Gala when he came to my house to drop off my things. We didn't say much to each other, but I wanted to. I wanted to stop him from leaving or hurt him. I couldn't decide. But whatever, this was old news now. I was moving on.

The best way to do this was to keep busy. Along with working, I was also applying to a few programs for an event planning certification. My mother had taken up finding various programs that would fit my current schedule.

"I can quit work too if I need to," I suggested to her last week as we looked at a program that required me to travel into the city daily for three months.

"You can if it gets too much!" She hesitantly agreed. "Do you like this program? if so, let's apply!"

Today, as I walked into my house after work, my mother was waiting for me, remote in hand, sitting on the living room couch. She had been taking more days off of work. I think to show solidarity to me rather than Adam.

"Why are you home right now?" I asked.

"I took a half-day. The Carter's are busy planning the wedding any...." She stopped. "Doesn't matter. Did you get an email from the program? You were supposed to hear back today." ahh, my mother, she never strays from the goal at hand.

"I haven't had a chance to check yet," I said, joining her. I could tell she was not a fan of that answer as she exhaled and shifted in her seat. "Let me look now." I complied.

"Look whenever you can." She unconvincingly said.

I ignored her fake request and ruffled through my purse to find my wallet. The first notification was from "E.P. Planning in the City." I rushed to open my phone and clicked on my mail app. The screen took a while to comply with my request. Still, once the white screen filled with the black letter, I got my good news, "Congratulations! You have been accepted to the..." before I could finish reading, my mom was jumping for joy!

"When does it start?" She asked.

"January 3rd."

"So next month! Okay! You can take the month off from work to prepare...."

"No, I'll talk to dad. Maybe I can work the night shift after I start my classes?" I suggested. Half because I knew my mother wanted me to keep going, half because keeping busy was the only cure I had. Whenever I had time to myself, my mind wandered back to Adam, my loneliness and sadness. I knew this was a band-aid solution to all my problems, not too different from what Adam was, but at least with this, I felt in control of my issues.

"You sure?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, I can handle it!" I confirmed.

"Okay! Congrats, Beta, let's all go out to eat!" She slowly said.

"Dad won't be back till late!" I said.

"We wanted to start our weekend early, so he took a half-day. We figured today would be a celebration, or you might not want to be home alone, so we both decided not to leave you home alone!"

I reached over and gave my mother a tight hug. "You two really need to stop worrying! I  am okay now."

"That will never happen! Not even after you are married with kids!" She explained, not quite hugging me back. I let go because I knew she wasn't comfortable with this type of affection.