$ugga Momma (Old Version)

[8]

Brooke watched her father load up his suitcase into the black rental car. Both him and Jerry laughed together as they slammed the trunk shut. "That should be everything!" Jerry proudly exclaimed dusting his hands off.

Looking over at the blonde woman who stood directly beside her Brooke examined her clothes. Even on a day such as this, she dressed like a woman of importance. Her tightfitting blue jeans complemented her white blouse while being shuttled enough to let her diamond jewelry sparkle in the sun. Yet all that was muted by her emotionless face. Every once in a while she would reciprocate a fake smile but behind her eyes were nothing.

"You keep the house in order while I'm gone. I would list all the other things you need to do but I have complete faith in you. "Brooke's dad smiled at his brown haired daughter. She had the exact same hair as her mother. "I love you."

"I love you too." Hugging him tightly Brooke held back her concerns as he jumped into the passenger seat. She hated changing.

Waving at the men who drove away Brooke sighed and looked around at what felt like an empty neighborhood.

"Looks like it's just you and me now." Mrs. Davidson commented.

Glancing up at her Brooke caught the woman turn her head and smile. Not with dead eyes but with lines that showed her age. Turning away she crossed her arms, "You don't have work to do?"

"Not on Labor Day." The blonde woman took the sunglasses from her back pockets and slid them onto her face. She let the slight breeze help her brush her hair back before she took a deep breath in. "What do you usually do on a beautiful day off like this Brooke?"

The younger girl shrugged. What did the schedule matter anymore. She would have to create a new one anyways. Her father was gone for who knows how long which basically changes everything. Rubbing the bridge of her nose Brooke counted to ten slowly in her head. She was trying so hard to stay positive and be happy for her father but she was fighting within herself. She didn't want him to leave, and she didn't want things to change. Not again.

Feeling her teachers hand touch her shoulder she immediately moved away. She didn't need comforting.

"What's wrong Brooke?"

She examined Mrs. Davidson's confused expression. Her eyes were hidden behind her shaded glasses but her face still seemed genuine. Where does she go with that, though? "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude."

Clasping her hands behind her back and tilting her head Mrs. Davidson studied her distressed face. "Do you like apple pie?"

She nodded.

"I made some fresh morning." Taking her sunglasses off the blonde held her hand out to the younger girl, "There's no need to be alone on a beautiful day like this."

Looking down at the hand Brooke studied it debating within her own head. Her heart sped up as she took the hand delicately so she started counting her steps as the two walked hand in hand to her teachers car. A luxury Mercedes model that blended in normally with other cars.

Opening the door for the girl, she bowed, "After you princess."

Putting her seatbelt on when she closed the door behind her Brooke ran her fingertips over the leather interior. It was a fitting car for the odd woman. She didn't mean odd in a bad way, but it did feel odd to have her teacher call her princess. Maybe it was another category of humor that she just didn't understand. Realizing they had been driving for a few minutes now Brooke sat up straighter and watched the deers fly past them. They were leaving the city limits altogether but didn't go out to far. Mrs. Davidson turned onto a dirt road only five minutes out of town and took her time getting past the holes that had developed.

Swallowing the knot in her throat Brooke opened her mouth slightly to take in the house in front of her. It was a beautiful Victorian home with a large plot of land that had green grass growing as far as she could see. It was breathtaking.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts when her door opened Brooke unbuckled her seatbelt and followed the woman inside her home. Every detail from the dark wood flooring the light crown molding shocked her.

"You like it?"

"I do." Brooke answered letting her wide eyes scan each room.

"Jerry thought it was weird of me to get a house like this but I think this what I've secretly always wanted." Taking the steaming pie out of the oven, the blonde woman started cutting into the perfect dessert with ease. "To not be seen and have a place that is my own."

"You didn't say Bye to him." Brooke responded pulling out a bar stool and sitting herself down.

Putting a slice of a plate Mrs. Davidson thought about her options. Lying seemed to be the best way to get her from point A to point B so she would worry about the consequences later. From what she's noticed about Brooke, she would never do anything with a married person, so she would just have to make the situation seem more available for her. "We aren't really together right now."

"I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Don't be sorry, he's been moved out for a while and honestly I'm so happy he's gone." Walking around the counter Mrs. Davidson placed the food in front of her. "It just gets lonely out here all alone."

"Why don't you adopt a dog?" Cutting a big bite Brooke stuffed her mouth and muffled a sigh. "This is really good."

Squinting her eyes Mrs. Davidson tapped her nails on the marble countertop. This was going to be harder than she thought. Slicing her own piece, she wondered why she was even attempting to woo a girl like Brooke. She was a high-maintenance regular girl with too much on her mind but somehow she fascinated her. The way she worked extra hard to do everything right, the way you could tell normal things were not on her mind. She was mature and sweet. How could you not want to have some fun with that? She knew for sure she was probably a very innocent girl with innocent values, so to change all that excited her.

Taking a small bite and leaning on the cabinet she watched Brooke take another bite. She knew if she was going to make her trust her she needed to make her open up. She could tell it would do nothing to tell her things about herself. "Have you talked to your mother?"

Brooke shook her head while eating the crumbs that were left on her plate.

"Do you miss her?"

"No."

Running her tongue over her teeth Mrs. Davidson thought whether bringing up the money situation would go over well. "Can I ask you a series question?"

Putting her fork down Brooke nodded.

"Do you like to garden?"

"I've never done it." She scrunched her nose and looked around the kitchen. "I'm not sure I would like all the dirt."

Putting her head in her hands Mrs. Davidson let her lip curl up, "It's soothing to grow something from the earth. Place it in a way that's peaceful to you and nurture it until it's a beautiful sight for sore eyes. Everything is so chaotic it's nice to have something you can have complete rule of."

"It sounds like you have control issues." Brooke laughed at her own joke and jumped down from the stool.

You have no idea Mrs. Davidson thought walking around the island. "Let me teach you."

"Fine but I'm not touching and worms."

The blonde woman took her hand and led her to the backward. She was going to make her comfortable with physically contact one way or another.