Easily Erased

Unexpected Guest

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Mary’s mom panicked the minute she saw her daughter and enveloped her in a hug.

“Yes, Mom. I’m fine.”

“Where have you been? I called your phone all day yesterday and this morning. Sometimes it would connect, but other times there was a network failure. Please tell me what happened. Were you kidnapped?”

“Jeez! No, Mom. How could you think that?” Mary questioned in surprise as she walked to the kitchen.

“Because you disappeared! I was beginning to think you ran away again.”

“Mom? How could you think I’d leave my baby and run away?”

“Forgive me, but after what happened last time, I wouldn’t know what to think anymore.”

Mary stared in disbelief and shook her head. She grabbed a mug and filled it with hot water. “I can’t blame you for that.”

“Honestly, we were worried about you. Your dad almost reported you missing when we didn’t hear from you. But because the policy says after 24 hours, he didn’t go ahead as planned. Tell me, honey, where were you?”

The question stopped Mary from adding the spoon of coffee to her mug. She thought of telling her mom all that went down with the father of her child, but she held back to avoid certain reactions from her mom she wasn’t ready to deal with.

“I went hiking,” she responded as she poured the coffee into her mug.

“Hiking?” her mom raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, hiking.”

“You were hiking until this morning?”

“Well, not really. I hiked and decided to camp.”

“Camping?”

“Mom, why are you acting like this is my first time going hiking?”

“Excuse me, but I’m a little bit surprised that you went not just hiking but camping. Wait, were you alone?”

Nervousness crept onto Mary’s face, and she dropped her gaze to her coffee. “Yes. Why, were you expecting me to have company?”

“Of course, honey! You don’t go camping all alone. It’s somewhat risky, especially for a lady.”

“Oh, Mother, relax. I’m fine. Besides, everything in life involves taking risks, and camping is one of them.”

“Honey, I understand everything requires risk, but not you going camping all alone. The first time I ever went camping was with your father—” Mary’s mom paused, and a big smile spread across her face.

Mary’s head snapped up from her coffee, and she stared at her mom in shock. “You camped with my dad?”

“Yes. It’s the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me. Letting your dad make love to me on a blanket inside a tent—gosh! I get chills whenever those memories pop into my head.” Soft giggles came from her mom, and Mary chuckled.

Mary couldn’t help but flash back to the memories of last night with Adimchi. The thoughts made her cheeks flush with a smile. She couldn’t believe history had repeated itself between Adimchi and her, just like her parents. She was caught in the act when her mom waved her hand in her face. “Mary?” she called her name.

Mary snapped out of her daze and sipped her coffee. “What was that?” her mom asked, shooting her a suspicious glare.

“What are you talking about, Mom?”

“You were lost in thought.”

“Me?” Mary tried to deny it.

“I saw you. You were in a daze.”