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I took a deep breath and went inside. The chirpy sound of the bell that announced a new customer didn’t impress anyone. No one looked my way, not even my mom, now busy admonishing the new girl in a hushed tone.
“You always ask them if they want extra sauce. Always.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll remember.”
I stepped up to the bar and removed my hood.
“Mom?”
She turned to me, and her blue eyes filled with tears. She was naturally pale, and her skin still managed to turn even paler. She rounded the bar quickly, smashed her hip in one of the bar stools, cursed under her breath, and threw the thing aside.
“My baby! Oh God, thank you for bringing my baby home.”
She wrapped me in a warm embrace, and I resisted her for a second. Just a second. Then I let out a deep sigh I didn’t know had accumulated in my chest, and hugged her back, relaxing as I inhaled her familiar scent.
“My baby. Where have you been? Why did you do this to me?” She was crying now. “Why would you ever do this to me?”
The whole diner was staring at us. I felt uneasy, so I pushed her away gently, and looked into her beautiful blue eyes.
“Mom, we need to talk.”
She cupped my cheeks with her trembling hands, pushed my blue hair away from my forehead, took a step back to look at me better.
“You’ve grown.”
“Mom, come on. I look exactly the same. Let’s go to your office.”
More tears streamed down her wrinkled cheeks.
“Why did you leave, baby? Why did you leave me? Was I so bad to you?”
I forced a smile. “N-no. Come on, everyone is looking.”
“I looked for you everywhere. I went to the police. I… I did my best. They said…” She shook her head and sniffed loudly. “Because you’d packed some of your things and we couldn’t find the suitcase, they said they couldn’t do anything. That you just ran away, and it wasn’t a missing person case. They refused to help me.”
“Yeah, Mom, because they have better things to do than to look for someone who doesn’t want to be found.”
“It doesn’t matter now. It doesn’t matter.” She hugged me again. “You’re back.”
“Mom.” I struggled to push her away, and it wasn’t easy. “Mom, please. Come on. Mom, I’m not staying. We need to talk.”
She furrowed her brows. I tipped my chin toward the customers at the tables, and she finally understood we were putting on quite a show, and it was all in bad taste. She took my hand and pulled me behind the bar, in the cramped room she called her office, and closed the door.
“What do you mean you’re not staying? Mila, you broke our heart! You left without a word, without a note… Your father and I have been worried sick!”
I laughed bitterly. “Dad. Yeah, I bet.”
“Mila, don’t be so disrespectful. He has his flaws, but he cares. You’re our baby. Our only child.”
I dropped my backpack in a chair and ran my hands through my long, blue hair. I hadn’t trimmed it in a while, and it was driving me crazy. Having long hair in summer was such a bad idea. I shrugged off my tattered hoodie, too, and remained in an old tank top and my new wristbands. Yes, I’d finally bought new ones.
“Mom, I know everything. I know you and Dad are not my real parents.”
That took her completely aback. As if her knees had suddenly turned to jelly, she sat down behind her desk.
“Baby, I don’t know…”
“Stop calling me baby! I know, okay? I know everything!”
