The Boy She Illegally Brought To The Lavender Field (bwwm)

Page 65

Annie woke up the next morning and didn't feel like getting out of bed.

Her laziness was successful until her mama walked into her room wondering what was taking her so long to get ready for breakfast.

"You alright up in here?" Diana asked.
Annie had to think of an answer. "I don't feel good." Was a truthful sentence. She felt fine, health wise. But on the inside her stomach sank and her heart was sad when she remembered she'd gone another night without speaking to her favorite person.

Diana walked in further and sat on Annie's bed.

"Think ya sick?" She pressed the back of her hand to her daughter's forehead. "You ain't warm or nothin'."
"My head and throat hurt." Annie stated.
Diana took a deep breath. "You want me to make you some soup?"
She wasn't truly sick but Annie thought hot soup with the cold weather sounded nice anyway. So she nodded.
"Alright. I'll call the Ross house and let 'em know I'm runnin' late 'cause my baby feel like bein' babied." Diana snickered and kissed Annie's forehead.
"Thank you, mama." Annie replied.
"It's no problem, baby." Diana got up and left her daughter's room.

Annie turned to stare out her window as she laid on her side.

•~~~•

Daniel walked into the kitchen with a pounding headache expecting to be able to find Diana so she can give him something for a hangover.

"No work today?" Stephen asked his son but with eyes on his newspaper.
Daniel squinted through the brightly lit kitchen and closed the window curtains. "No. The one day I'm off completely."

He scratched through his messy hair and looked around the kitchen.
"Where's nanny?" he asked.
It caught Stephen by surprise. He was shocked how insistent Daniel was on refusing his mother's wishes and still calling Diana his nanny. Until that recent night, he hadn't heard his son call Diana 'nanny' since the boy was 13. An entire decade ago.
"DIANA..." Nancy corrected as she entered.
Daniel held his head and groaned in pain from her yelling.
"Was given the day off by your father." she continued and glared through Stephen.
He sighed. "I did not give her the day off. She called in and said that Annie was sick and she'd be in a little late because she wanted to make the girl some soup."
"Don't they come out the womb cookin'? Why the hell does she need to make her soup?"
"To say you don't like the woman, you sure do want her to be here a lot." Stephen claimed and flipped a page in his paper.
"I do not WANT her here..."
"Shhhh!" Daniel exclaimed.
"Well no one told you to get drunk off your ass last night!" Nancy argued.

Daniel ignored her.

"When nanny gets here can you ask her to give me somethin' for my hangover? I'm goin' back to bed." Daniel began walking off.
"Her NAME is Diana!" Nancy yelled.
"Shut up, Nancy." Daniel argued and kept walking.

Nancy looked towards her husband who was still reading his paper.
"Stop letting your son talk to me like that!" she commanded.
"Would you prefer I whoop the boy?"
"I prefer you tell him to show me respect."
"DANIEL!" Stephen called nonchalantly as he read.
"WHAAATT?" Daniel groaned up the stairs.
"YOUR MOTHER ASKS THAT YOU SHOW HER RESPECT."
All they heard back was Daniel's maniacal laughing and a shut of his door.

Nancy was close to tears while Stephen flipped his page.
"I've done all I can do, dear." he sighed and read.

•~~~•

"I just don't understand why they treat me like this..." Nancy complained into the phone.
She blotted her tears as she sat in bed.
"I've done nothing wrong and they both just choose to tear me down. Even when I try to be kind and I try to be a part of Daniel's life. I even asked him about his girlfriend. They just mock me. I don't understand. I thought being a wife and mother would be the dream life but I'm just the villain in this house." she sniffed.
"Aww, Nance, I'm sorry. But you know, boys will be boys." her older sister Misty replied.
Nancy sniffed and dabbed her nose.
"Maybe they don't think you really care. You are constantly with the book club. You and Daniel haven't had any mother/son time in a while. Try showing him that you really want to be closer. He might just be lashing out because he doesn't think you care." Misty explained.
"I think it's because of that black bitch Stephen keeps letting into our home."
"She still works there?"
"Yes." Nancy cried.
Misty sighed. "I'll continue to pray for Stephen and hope he finds God. It must be the stress of being mayor that makes him make such poor decisions. I pray that God snaps him back to the correct ways."
Nancy nodded as if her sister could see her.
"Until then, you just continue to do your job as a wife and mother. You've been doing great at both, Nancy. A wonderful mother and a dutiful wife. Soon they'll realize and thank you for your patience. Just keep tryin'."
"I will. Thank you, Misty."
"Of course, little sister. God bless you."
"You too."
The sisters hung up.

Nancy stood and continued blotting her eyes until they felt dry again.

She left her bedroom and found Daniel's.

He laid in bed half asleep.

"Daniel?" Nancy called.
"Hm?"
Nancy walked over and sat next to him.
Daniel felt his bed shift and opened one eye only to see his mother uninvitedly sitting down comfortably.

Nancy took a deep breath then turned to face her son better.
"Daniel, I would like for us to get along better."
He stared at her with the one eye in utter confusion.
"Like real mothers and sons should." she smiled.
"And you thought right now was the time to do that?" Daniel questioned.
"Well...better sooner than later isn't it?"
He opened both eyes just to glare at her.
"Go on then. Tell me about yourself." She pat his leg. "What have you been up to? I know you've been working more. Your father told me. What about friends? I haven't heard you talk about Scotty or Paul in a while, are they okay?"

Daniel turned his head to face the other direction.
"No clue. Don't talk to 'em." he answered.

"Why not? Scotty's a real nice boy, I thought you two would always be good friends..."
Daniel didn't respond.
Nancy thought of what to say next. "Well, you have a girlfriend, right? How's that going?"
"Fine."

This wasn't going as Nancy planned.

She tried to think of something funny to lighten the mood.

"I heard the last march got hosed down pretty good." she snickered.
"Get out of my room." Daniel commanded.
"Wha-...Why?"

"DANIEL, DIANA'S HERE!" Stephen shouted.
"Never mind. I'll leave." Daniel got up and slid on his shoes before heading downstairs.

Nancy watched him leave and wondered why nothing was working.