Empathy

Chapter Fourteen

I stared at myself in the full-length bathroom mirror, my head tilted to the side in deep thought.

I wore a laced black blouse that Mom picked out for me about a week ago. A pre-Christmas present, she called it. Black, skin tight leggings hugged my legs, bringing out my figure and thighs. Gray converse shoes adorned my feet. My normally frizzy hair was tamed in elegant curls, coming to rest on my shoulders. I had on mascara, which brought out my eyes. Or so I've been told in the past.

"You look beautiful," Mom said. I saw her reflection in the mirror, a small smile was on her face. It was a smile that I inherited from her. "You really do." She had her hands crossed over each other over her chest.

"It's just me hanging out with Aiden," I said, glancing at her through the mirror.

Mom chuckled. "So? You like him. And you don't normally wear girly things so it's nice to see you look your age. This suits you."

I didn't like to bask in my femininity, I didn't like to be feminine. I enjoyed comfortable clothing over anything fashionable. I never tried to be beautiful, I just enjoyed being myself. I don't dress like a slob, but I certainly don't make an effort in my appearance. Why should I? I was unremarkable.

"Oh?" I asked, preparing myself to give my mother shit. "So you don't think I look beautiful on any other day of the year?"

"You are terrible." Mom smirked at me through the mirror. "How are you feeling right now?"

I shrugged, saying, "I feel like I normally do every day of the week." Like I'm completely numb inside with water rushing through me constantly.

"But it's a date to meet the family," Mom said.

I shook my head. "It's not a date. We're just friends. It's normal for friends to come over to each other's houses, right?" I asked, my eyebrow quirked at her. I turned around from the mirror.

"Okay, have it your way." Mom threw her hands up in the air. "I just wanted to give my daughter a compliment. This wasn't supposed to be some big ordeal," she said. Her exasperation ran through me. I shivered. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I tried to sound convincing. I think it worked. She didn't press me more on it. "Just a little cold."

"I know just what for you to wear," Mom said, walking away from the bathroom entrance. I looked at the place where she was before following her down to the coat closet. I walked over to the closet, seeing into it. My mom was in there, holding something in her arms like it was precious cargo, cradling it.

She turned to me, a sparkle in her eye. "Your father bought me this jacket during our first anniversary of dating." She looked down the the said jacket. "It's one of my most prized possessions." Mom laughed, a little wet in the back of her throat. "It doesn't really fit anymore because it was twenty years ago and I've since had two children."

The jacket wasn't anything special to most people. It was dark gray in color. It had faux beige fur around the hood and silken cuffs for the hands. The jacket length was close to the knees, if I had to guess. The item seemed to be made of a material I couldn't name, maybe cotton? Silk? Who knew, but it looked warm.

"I wanted this jacket for so long back then. I didn't have the money to even consider buying it. But when I met your father, he and I would always past the store where it resided. I told him I've wanted it forever. Lo and behold, our first anniversary rolled around and he surprised me by holding out the jacket to me," Mom said, lost in her memories. She sniffled. "I haven't looked at it in forever. It brings back too many memories that are painful at the moment." She looked at me a moment. "I think it's time to get over myself and finally look at the damn thing. By letting you wear it."