This Hard Life

Chapter 9: Before Date Night

Chapter 9

Friday afternoon went swimmingly. Scott went home, while I took Grace to the hospital to visit Mom. There, Mom and I told her about her illness and everything that happened with our father. Surprisingly, she took it pretty well. I drew the conclusion that she either understood that our mother was dying, and that our father left us for some hoe; or she had no clue about what was truly happening.

Grace and I left my Mom’s room at about 8:30 that night. Once we returned home, I called Lorna and told her that my mom and I told Grace everything. Lorna expressed that she will always be there for Gracie and I. I, of course, thanked her very, very much.

When I hung up the phone with Lorna, I noticed that Grace got one of her coloring books out and started coloring. I smiled at her innocence.

I felt my cell phone buzzing in my hand. Scott was calling, so I flipped it open and answered.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey, how did Gracie take it today?”

“I think she took it pretty well. But, I’m not sure if she really understands.”

“Oh, so about last night; I mentioned about going out on a date.”

I smiled as I replied, “I do recall something like that was said.”

“Well,” he paused. “I heard that there’s this party tomorrow night. If you could figure something out for Grace, do you want to come with me?”

Blech parties, I thought. That would include a bunch of people in close quarters while they grind each other, and somehow that can be considered dancing.

“Um, sure?” I hesitantly replied.

“Sure? What do you mean?”

“Parties aren’t really my scene. But, I’ll still go.”

“Oh, are you sure? If you want to go somewhere we can.”

“Nah, we can go. If nothing else we can go there to make an appearance. If that party’s a dud, then we can go somewhere else for a date. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah, only if you’re sure about this.”

“I am, don’t worry.”

“Okay, so should I plan to pick you up at about seven?”

“Sounds like a plan!”

“Cool. So I have a question; what are you going to do about Claire?”

“I don’t know. I’ll probably just ignore her. Whatever, ya know?”

“Oh really? That’s not what you were saying earlier.”

“I know, and I’m sorry about freaking out in the hall.”

“That’s okay, besides that sort of crossed my mind too. We just met, I know that, but we just clicked.”

“Oh, I know.”

“I don’t really expect other people to understand that. It’s something that rarely happens.”

“Yeah, so I gotta go. Gracie’s asking for me.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and the phone went dead.

“What’s up, Gracie?”

“Can I go to Bonnie’s tonight?”

“Oh, honey not tonight. But I was going to see if you could go over there tomorrow for a sleepover. Is that okay,” I asked and she nodded.

Next, I called Bonnie’s mom and told her what was going on. She said that Bonnie couldn’t wait to see Grace, and that Bonnie was going to invite a few other girls over for the night.

Soon after talking to Bonnie’s mom, Grace and I went to bed early. I was a very eventful day. Tomorrow night would also be eventful, and I couldn’t wait for it either.

Saturday afternoon also went by quickly. Gracie was so excited about going to see her friends that I took her over there early. Once I dropped her off I went to see my mom.

“So, how was Gracie last night,” my mom asked.

“She seemed fine. She was so excited about going for a sleepover, it was crazy.”

Mom nodded, listening to every word I was saying. “So, baby, how are you doing?”

“I’m okay. I’m dealing, ya know?”

“Have you been staying in touch with your friends?”

“Claire and I got into a fight yesterday in school.”

“Oh, really. What was it about?”

“Nothing majorly earth shattering.”

“Was it about a boy?” I must have blushed because Mom started smiling. “Oh, it was about a boy! Tell me, tell me!” She seemed to have so much energy talking about this stuff that I had to tell her the details.

“Yes, it was. His name’s Scott and we met yesterday….

I told her everything about Scott and my fight with Claire. She just listened without interrupting. Only when I was done talking she expressed her feelings:

“I think that Claire was just trying to protect you. She was right to say that you really didn’t know him because you just met him. I know that you said that you two clicked upon meeting, but she didn’t know it. Cut her a little slack, okay?

“And this Scott, I would like to meet him sometime. If this young man has won a place in your heart, I want to meet him before I die. I would like to see if he’s suitable for my baby girl.”

I smiled at Mom. It was times like this where I seemed to forget that she was sick or that she went into a major depression that jeopardized her health after my dad left. At this moment, she was like any other mother talking to her eldest daughter about boys. I always cherished these moments, and they were so rare. I would miss them when she would finally be gone.

“Oh, sweetie. You’re going to have to get back to the apartment to get ready for your date! It’s almost 5:30.”

I looked up at the clock that my mom had in her hospital room. She was right; it was almost 5:30. I still had to go home and get ready for the party. I couldn’t believe that time was flying by so fast!

I said my goodbyes to Mom and left the hospital. I quickly drove back to the apartment building and went inside just as fast. I took a shower, got dressed, straightened my hair, and then put on makeup.

Once I was finished getting ready, it was just before seven o’clock. I waited patiently for Scott to pick me up, but I didn’t have to wait very long. I was waiting for a few minutes before I heard a knock at my door.

I opened the door and kissed Scott right away. It wasn’t a very long kiss, but it was full of intense passion.

“Mmm, it’s good to see you too,” Scott said after I pulled away from him.

“Good, are you ready to go?”

“Yes, you lead the way,” he said and I did as I was told.

I then walked out of my building.