Silhouette of a Wilted Flower

I liked it

"Are you sure you don't want anything? I have more leftovers than I know what to do with."

Akiko forced another laugh, feeling more exhausted than ever trying to fight off Hero and Kel's overly chatty mom. The minute Hero offered her their bathroom to use, she should have known it was a trap. She had barely been able to use the bathroom like she intended before Lola intercepted her. The first time was the minute she entered the house, and the second time was when she came from the bathroom.

She had planned to be quick about it—say a polite word or two, but keep the small talk short—as it had always been for the past years. When Sunny and...still played with Hero and Kel, Lola had become a fellow mom friend.

Another mom to chat with during birthday parties and other things. Have a glass of wine with when the kids went to bed. That little friendship fizzled out when Ma-...when Sunny stopped going over, reduced to civil pleasantries. Customary hellos and small comments about the weather when they bumped into each other at the market.

"No, no...I'm still full from that..." What was that dish Kel brought over again? Akiko never looked. "...from what you already had Kel send. You've already been so generous by letting me use your bathroom."

"I mean it. You're going through a hard time right now. The least I can do is make sure you don't have to worry about food," Lola said.

Hero and Kel stood by the front door. Kel had his hand already on the doorknob, and he bounced in place, impatient like a dog wanting to be let outside. "Mom! She already said she doesn't want anything else. We really gotta get going-"

"Who taught you to interrupt adults talking like that? Shush!" Lola shot a glare Kel's way, hand shooting up to snap close, not subtly showing Kel a visible representation to shut his mouth.

Kel shrank back in a pouty sulk, looking at Hero, who could only shrug in return.

"Now, as I was saying, I have leftovers of turkey...cookies and at least a good 5 inches left of a hero sandwich. Would all that be okay? Or is it still not enough? I can cook you up a real good stew. That should keep you going for a week!"

"It honestly is okay, if...I'm going to find Sunny soon, and my car is already packed with so many things..."

It wasn't. The moving company would have brought all of their belongings into the new apartment. The original plan was for her and Sunny to be right behind the movers while they traveled to the city, but Sunny's disappearance delayed them. She had to settle for giving the movers the door code and hoping they wouldn't steal or wreck anything. She'd have to give everything a thorough search to make sure when she got there with Sunny...

"I'm not sure we'll be able to carry so much food to the city with us..." Akiko trailed off, hoping to sound adequately disappointed enough.

Hero joined in to help Akiko. "Mom...Mrs. S is right...I don't think she'd be able to carry that much. And we really should be going. Time is of the essence."

She almost expected Lola to shush Hero too, but she sighed in defeat instead.

"Make sure you boys don't stay out until 3 a.m. again, okay? Akiko, come by for dinner if you can." Akiko walked to the door where Hero and Kel stood, and Lola followed, clutching the door as they stepped out.

"I'll see if I'm able." Akiko smiled in agreement, even though she had no intention of doing so. It sounded cruel. Maybe it was. But those days of little mom friendships were gone. When she made her decision to move away with Sunny, she didn't want to keep any ties to this town. She didn't need those from the past to bring up what was already gone. If she wanted to bring Sunny out of the funk he'd been stuck in, he needed a completely new start.