7 Weeks

Week 0

"Mommy?"

Rosie's presses pause on her work keyboard and turns to her daughter. "Yeah bub?"

"Can- can you help me out?" Ella awkwardly stood by her mother's oak door with her unicorn pj's and huge bunny fluffy slippers. "It's for school."

"Come here bub." She taps on the beat box right beside her where her daughter settles herself in. "What is this school problem all about?"

"It's my final paper for Literature; my teacher wants us to write something about love." Rosie chuckles at how Ella rolled her eyes as soon as the word left her mouth. "I swear Mrs. Thompson is such a hopeless romantic. I mean- why can't we write about our high school experience, social issues, political or how we can make the world a better place because if we don't do something about it in the next twelve years, might as well say good bye to our home!"

She looks at her daughter with a smile. "You sure got those mannerisms from me."

"Sorry about my rant I-" she sighs. "There are a lot of important topics to be discussed than love."

"You sound like you hate the word love."

"I don't hate it; I just don't know anything about it."

Rosie's eyebrows rise up. "Despite your age?"

"I'm eighteen mother what do I know about love?" Once again her mother finds herself chuckling. "But it's not like my rant can do anything right so what do you think I should do for my paper?"

"When is it due though?"

"A month from now."

"What would you like to know about love?"

"Mommy, when you were eighteen what did you know about love?"

"Hmmm..." She taps her fingers against the wooden table, trying to think of an answer to her daughter. "When I was your age, I was just eager to enter college. I've had casual flings before but it was nothing but- I like you, you're pretty, you're pretty too wanna hang out some time type of fling you know?" She says. "School was my number one priority because I get to spend four years doing the thing I love the most with the people who share the same passion as mine... love wasn't part of the equation back then."

"But then mæ̀ came." She smiles knowingly.

She lets out a short series of brief nods. "Then your mæ̀ came."

"So what made you include love in the equation?"

Rosie moves her lips animatedly while thinking back at the memory. "We were doing a department get together for the summer and your mæ̀'s course were one of the organizers. By the start of the night we had this huge bonfire event and just barbeque everywhere. It wasn't the first time I saw or heard about her but there was something about that night that when I look at her all I could think is wow- I have to make this work. I have to try it with her."

"And from there I made a list why she should go out with me and I hand it onto her the next day." Ella's laughter echoes through the entire room. "She was totally surprised but she was pretty famous in our batch and it would be dumb of me not to try right?"

"You seem to be pretty whipped back in college." She teases her mother and lets out a chuckle. "But thanks mommy, I think I know what I would write for my paper."

"Really? What is it?"

"That's a secret." Ella smirks and gives her a quick kiss. "Good night mommy."

"Bub I thought there's no secrets between us?"

Her teenage daughter smiles and goes back to hug her real tight. "Mommy this isn't a secret but a surprise. I promise you'd be the first one to read it when I am done."