ALONE AT LAST

Chapter 4

I stood at my mom's front door and rang the bell for the second time. I had a couple of grocery bags in each hand and I didn't want to put them all down, only to have to gather them up again when she let me in. I knew she was at home because her white Mazda was parked in the driveway, but I had a suspicion that she hadn't made it out of bed yet today.

I lifted my hand to ring the bell again just as the door inched open to reveal one of my mother's red rimmed eyes.

"Oh Ceci," she said with a faint note of relief. I felt a puzzled frown form as I wondered who else she might be expecting at 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon.

"Come in, my girl. You're up early, aren't you?"

"Hmmm." I hummed noncommittally, not wanting to make an issue out of the fact that I had clearly just woken her up. I squeezed in, ducking under her arm and making my way to the kitchen so I could unpack the groceries I'd bought for her.

"How are you doing today Mum? Did you sleep well?" I asked, heaving the bags onto the kitchen counter. I opened the fridge, almost empty again, and started unpacking the food.

"I'm okay, my darling, I don't want to talk about myself today. Let me hear how you are doing! How did it go with the estate agent? Did you get that apartment you liked?"

I sighed inwardly. I could tell she had been crying recently, and heaven only knows what medication she had taken last night that had left her sleeping until late afternoon. I moved on though, hoping to bring it up gently during the course of my visit.

"I did, Mum, it all went smoothly. I moved in a few days ago. I'm still going to have to get some new furniture, but they kindly left a few of the essentials. I won't have to get a bed and a lounge suite at least."

"Anything you'd like from here? You must take whatever you need, my darling." She told me with a smile. My mother would unflinchingly offer me her kidney if she thought it would help.

I couldn't help giving a gentle laugh. I could only imagine my stepfather's facial expression on hearing this offer.

"What would Peter say if he came home and found his grandmother's dining suite missing?" I asked with a cheeky wink.

A shadow crossed her makeup-stained face, but she quickly went on, obviously hoping that I didn't notice.

"Oh, you know we're not attached to any of this stuff. Whatever will make you feel a little more at home. I still don't know why you didn't want to come stay with me again, instead of paying a fortune in rent, just a few houses up the street."

"I was joking about the table, Mum." I told her, a little exasperated. "I have everything I need for now and I'll pop into the shops if I notice anything missing. I have some savings to get me through while my new practice gets off the ground."

I decided to ignore her comment about moving back into my family home. We had already discussed this at length and I didn't think that explaining my reasoning to her again would make a difference. When she had heard that I was moving back into town, she had begged me to move back into my old bedroom. I'd considered staying with her while I found feet, but my discomfort around Peter had played a big role in my decision to respect their space.

"I worry about you, my darling. Is this really the right place for you? I would hate to think of you making a decision that would impact your career in any way. I know you were enjoying the hospital based post you had last year, is this not something you're going to miss?"

"Mum, I don't want to discuss my decision to move any more." I said with a sigh. "You know that my biggest pull is that I want to be close to you, and help you a little where I can."