Standing in your way

Chapter 32

I arrived at my mother's house yesterday, today is December 24th which means there is only one day left until Christmas!

This morning I decided to go out for a walk, even though the weather isn't the best as it's cloudy and the temperatures are low, but I decided to go anyway to see my neighborhood again.
I also brought my mother's little dog, Hachi, with me

"Come on Hachi, come here" I pull the leash slightly to make him come closer to me.
As I walk I stop every now and then to talk to some old neighbour, tomorrow evening I will meet up with my friends. After a while I decide to turn around and head home.

"I'm back" I announce to my mother as I return and close the door behind me, Hachi wags his tail between my legs waiting for me to take his leash off. I notice that there is a particular aroma in the air, and in fact my mother emerges from the kitchen

"Oh here you are, I made a pie, do you want to try it?" she smiles at me as she unties the kitchen apron she has on, I nod and both the dog and I follow her into the kitchen

"What pie did you make?" I ask her, sitting down on a chair at the table, she grabs her gloves and puts them on, then opens the oven letting out a breath of hot air, she fans herself with her face in front of her hand

"Blueberry pie" she tells me cheerfully as she closes the oven with her foot and places the pie on the counter

"I also have some fresh cream if you want" she says to me almost whispering and winking at me, I burst out laughing with her

"Mhh it looks really good" I tell her, I take a deep, silent breath

"I hope it is, can I get you a slice?" she asks as she grabs the knife, I swallow

"Yes, but small please" I warn her, she nods and starts cutting it.
I feel Hachi rubbing against my legs, I look at him and caress him, then I get up and go towards the counter where he keeps the food for him

"Here little one" I give him a dog treat, he eats it wagging his tail at my feet

"So, what can you tell me?" she says to me while I continue to stand still and look at the dog

"Well, nothing much happened" I put the package in the cabinet and sat down at the table, a plate of blueberry pie was waiting for me

"If you want there's cream here" I nod and grab the fork, slowly cutting the cake, my mother does the same, taking a bite too

"How's work going?" I take a bite of the cake and nod at how good it is

"Normal I would say, the director is very grumpy" I tell her as I roll my eyes at her, she smiles

"Does she gives you any problems? I heard that she's a bit of a bitch" I give a shrug

"I mean yes, she always acts like a bitch towards me and then she tells me that I have talent that shouldn't be wasted, I swear I don't understand her" I tell her as I shake my head, she sighs

"I'm sorry to hear that" she tells me, I laugh

"I'm used to it by now" I grab another bite, she puts down her fork

"But isn't there a way to change that?" hearing the question brings to mind the very short period in which we had sex, yes she treated me well.
 I blink to snap out of my thoughts

"Um no, I don't think so" I tell her, she hums. My gaze remains fixed on the plate in front of me

"And what does she look like, do you have a photo of her?" she asks, I frown

"Why do you want to see her? You will never meet her except at concerts" I tell her, taking the phone from my pocket anyway, she smiles slightly

"Well because when I asked you that question earlier you blushed" her smile brightens, I widen my eyes, I feel my face turn red with shame

"What? You must have seen wrong" I tell her mockingly as I search for her name on Google.
As soon as her photos come out I feel a sinking heart

"You are my daughter, I know you like the back of my hand, do you think you can fool me?" she asks me raising her eyebrows, I roll my eyes, then stare at her hesitantly.
She waits for an explanation from me, well

"Okay, we had something" I tell her, moving my gaze behind her

"Something what?" I lick my lips and look down at my hands

"We had sex, a couple of times" her eyes widen in amazement

"I knew there was something!" she tells me, banging her hand on the table, I get a little sad talking about her, my mother notices it

"But what about now? Why does she treat you badly?" after a while she asks me I exhale

"We stopped badly, that's all" I tell her as I put the fork on the plate, she nods looking down at my plate, silence falls between us

"You know, I also suffered a lot of disappointments when I was young, guys who just wanted to play with me and nothing more. I was very sad about it, but I never gave up on finding the right one" she tells me, stretching her hand over my mine and caressing it

"And when I found it I understood it immediately, so work on that, don't let anyone bring you down" she tells me smiling and caressing my cheek, but I frown

"And how did you figure that out?" I ask, staring into her eyes, I'm afraid of the answer

"For having found the right one? For the fact that I never gave up on making things work between us. Forgiving in arguments and understanding points of view, having the will to go against everything and everyone in order to cultivate our love" she nods and we continue to look each other in the eyes, a strange feeling forms in my stomach