Cheshire Girl

Ch. 32

Sunday was the lazy day for me and Mom again, which was nice.

                I told her that Charlie would probably come over to the house.  She said that would be nice.  Mom planned to stay in the house today and tomorrow, and if I wanted to go anywhere, I could just take the car.

                I didn't let the guilt show until she'd already shut herself in her room with her laptop.  I made myself a small brunch and went to my room as well.

                I didn't feel guilty about hiding things from Mom until Ethan kept pointing it out… like it was a bad thing.   I was just trying to protect her.  Was that so wrong?

                I didn't tell any of the counselors this, but if one of the women hadn't took it upon herself to call my mother and tell her what was going on… I wouldn't have said anything.

                Dad had asked that I not tell Mom.

                And I wouldn't have.

                He'd asked that I keep it a secret.

                And I would have.

                He'd asked for some time to sort everything out.

                And I would have given him time.

                He'd asked if I wanted to hurt Mom.

                And I said no.

                Forgetting the situation she was in, the woman with the baby suddenly fixed her moral compass and called my mother.  It was a good move, just bad timing. 

                The meeting Mom had been in during the call went south when she decided to put everything on hold.  She didn't write a thing during the entire divorce process, which was a problem because that was how she dealt with any frustration.

                She shut down instead, the idea of dating… or moving on, never coming to mind.

                Feeling sick just thinking about it, I put on It Happened One Night, and then Singin' In The Rain.

*

I woke up 'late' Monday morning.

                The house phone rang, and Mom was probably already up, so she answered.

                I'd jumped up when I remembered Ethan wanted to call me, and maybe he had.  Mom never said she'd plugged the phone back in, and I didn't remember doing it yesterday either.

                But Mom never came up to my room, so the phone call had probably been for her.  I breathed a sigh of relief.

                I took the time to clean up my room, glad that I wasn't so tired for Charlie's visit.  Maybe Beatrice decided to give me the night off.  And while I appreciated it greatly… it still unnerved me.

                Wasn't there New Girl to worry about?

                There was a knock on my door.  It was too early for Charlie, so it was Mom, with the house phone in her hand.

                "That was Celia Jones on the phone," she said, smiling at how I was cleaning my room without being asked.   "She and Charlie are coming over in two hours."