The Bounty Hunter's Trilogy: Chosen By Fate

Chapter 2. Hey Mom

Mom was surprised to see me home so early. Normally, I stay out until my curfew of ten o'clock at night, which is when dad will drive me home. When I found her, she was in the kitchen, her curly brown hair was currently back in a bandana just touching her shoulders, some of her bangs hanging in her eyes. A bit of grey showed through her undyed roots. She was short, about seven inches shorter than me, which is why there was a stool in almost every room in the house. And she would strangle me for saying this, but when she was twenty, she got a nose job so it looks like she has a smaller nose when really, I got my nose from her. And my nose is anything but small thanks to our Italian heritage.

She was a vegetarian, so she was pretty slight. She had smile wrinkles on her cheeks and eyes because she never wanted to be the reason somebody was sad. She had a smaller jaw, and if she hugged you just right, it kind of tickled your neck. She loved giving hugs if you were sad, let's just say that.

My mom had found out, as a teen, that she would likely never have her own baby. When she and my dad met, she kept this a secret seeing as it drove away so many past boyfriends. After they got serious, she finally broke the news. Apparently he shrugged it off and they forgot about it. They got married and settled down in a decent home, big enough for them and a guest, if need be. Well, after being married for about ten years, mom went to her doctor and found out that she was going to have a baby. (Me, I'm baby.) When she first told dad the news, he apparently passed out, but they were happy, none the less. After I was born, I was dubbed "miracle" and it stuck.

She was kneeling up on the counter and putting something in one of the dish cabinets which I took from her when she almost dropped it. "Oh, hey Daniel. You're home early." She got down and I noticed the flour on the front of her shirt and pants. The obvious signs of a good meal. She wiped her hands on her shirt. "What happened at your dads?" I put away the platter in my hands in the cabinet where it belonged.

"You tell me." I showed her the box and she gasped.

"Did the girls do this?"

I closed the box, "No, Darla did it."

"Oh, that brat." Mom shook her head as she dug through the pieces, looking for any hope of piecing it back together. "I'm so sorry, sweet heart."

I sat down on our couch and set the box at my feet, sighing. Mom sat down next to me, kicking the box underneath the coffee table. "She was born in the same decade that you and dad got married. I don't see how she thinks she has any authority over me."

"She's can't see past her ways. Most adults can't. She's still a spoiled little girl who never matured, just like her daughters are becoming. Conner only has you, you know."

I took off my shoes, tossing them over by the front door. "I know. That's basically all I go over there for. Just to make sure he's alright."

Mom sighed. "I can get you a new gaming system."

"No. Either Darla or Dad gets me a new one. I'm not making you pay another five hundred for a new one. Not to mention, she even broke the game."

Mom sat beside me on the couch, putting her arm around my shoulders. "Will my homemade pizza make it better?"

I shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." She got up and went into the kitchen where she began to dig around in the fridge and took out a plate covered in foil, pizza stacked high underneath it. "You are the best mom ever." I got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, taking a bite out of the first piece I grabbed.

"Three more months and school is over. How will I ever manage to keep you fed?"

"We could live at the grocery store." We both laughed and I put the rest of the pizza back into the fridge where it came from. "Speaking of food, is there anything ready in the garden?"