Nothing to lose

Chapter 6: Mia

I haven't heard the sound of my mother's voice in over what? A couple of years?

"Mia? Mia? Are you still there?" she asked frantically.

"Yup," I replied in a quiet tone.

"Great. Great. I was hoping, I mean I thought, you would have hung up on me after I told you who I was." She laughed nervously.

"I'm considering it." The words slipped out of my mouth, but that doesn't mean they're not the truth.

Mom went silent for a few seconds. "I'm sure I deserved that."

That reply shouldn't have brought me satisfaction, but it did.

I went inside the tent, wanting some privacy. The interior was not as ordinary as the exterior led you to believe. Not only was this one of the biggest tents I'd ever seen, but the inside also had electric candles and lanterns, a portable speaker, a huge pile of pillows, and blankets that formed sort of made a bed. Then there was a little cooler left open with drinks and right next to it was a box of snacks. This was as good a setup as any. I took a seat on one of the chairs across from the "bed."

"Why are you calling me?" I got straight to the point.

"I, um, was hoping we could talk?" she said.

"Sure. But how about you talk, and I listen because you have a crap ton of explaining to do." I suggested, angrily nibbling on my bottom lip.

"I know. I know, and I'm sorry." Mom sighed. "Maybe we should meet in person? Are you busy this week?"

I shook my head. "No."

"That's great!" She missed my real meaning.

"No. I mean, I don't think I want to meet with you." My stubbornness, combined with my eight-year grudge, made me unreasonable.

How could I meet with her? My mom pulled one of those, "I'll be back soon, honey, love you!" and then abandoned me. The worst part was that it was right around my birthday. I didn't realize at the time that that would be one of many birthdays. That I would spend without her.

"Mia, everything I have to say would probably be better if I said it in person. I can't just blurt these things out over the phone."

I think I would prefer to hear it over the phone. That way, if she said something I didn't like, I could just hang up. Problem solved. "It's fine. Let's hear it." I leaned back in the chair.

"Okay. Well... um... I don't exactly know where to begin. It's a long story."

I rolled my eyes as if she could see me. "I'll take the cliff notes version. Thanks."

"I'm calling because I want to reconnect with my daughter. I was hoping we could spend the summer together. I've made plans to travel around Asia. I have a few cities I'll be visiting for business. But I loved to take time out to sightsee and explore. I think it would be a good family trip for us and..." She sighed harshly into the phone. "Your sister is dying to meet you."

I gasped. "I-I-I have a sister?" I could barely get the sentence out.

"Yes, Mia. Her name is-"

I interrupted her. "Unbelievable! Of course, you went off and started a new family. Dad said you were unhappy and wanted out. I guess he was right." My heart was broken when I realized she had left for good. Now it was hurting again for a whole other reason.

"No, no, no. It was nothing like that! I may have been unhappy at some point, but that's not why I left. Your sister was sick, and she needed a kidney transplant."