AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Taeli
Iwalk into the house, trying to be as quiet as possible. Sara-Beth’s car is in the drive, and I don’t want to face her and Mom and their questions about my sleepover with her son.
I tiptoe to the stairs when I hear the sound of music and high-pitched squealing coming from the back deck. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I follow the beat.
I find them on the screened porch, prancing around in leg warmers and headbands.
“Mom? Sara-Beth? What are you doing?” I ask.
“Dancing our way to a svelte figure,” Sara-Beth answers.
“Is that an old Richard Simmons video?” I ask as I enter the room and catch a glimpse of his shiny bootie shorts.
“Yes, it’s Sweatin’ to the Oldies. We love it,” Mom says as she pants.
“How are you playing that thing? It has to be ancient,” I ask as I search for the VCR.
“Morris took my VHS tape and loaded it onto one of those DVDs for us,” Sara-Beth says.
“And it’s not ancient. It’s a classic, and it’s fun!” Mom adds.
They continue to shake their booties.
“Are you wearing a leotard?” I ask Mom.
“What else should I work out in?”
I shake my head.
“You should join us,” Sara-Beth suggests.
“I can’t. I have to get to work. I don’t want to upset my boss by running late.”
Richard calls out for them to do a cooldown. Mom hands Sara-Beth a towel, and they dry off.
“Did you have fun last night?” Mom asks me.
“Yeah. I’m sorry about missing dinner,” I tell her.
She waves me off. “Don’t worry about it. I had a hot date myself,” she says.
She what?
“You had a date? With who?” I ask.
“My old beau, Ralph.”
“Mr. Gentry? The mayor?” I screech.
Mom and our town’s mayor dated when they were teenagers before she met my father and fell madly in love.
“That’s the one,” she confirms.
“What happened to Mrs. Gentry?”
“She died about five years ago. Heart attack,” Sara-Beth informs me.
“I can’t believe you’re dating,” I tell Mom.
“There hasn’t been a curtain call on my life yet. It’s in the third act. It’s my choice whether or not this act is going to be a grand finale or a tragic ending,” she says.
“But what about Daddy?”
“What about him?” she asks.
“I guess I just never thought about you ever being with someone else.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’ll always miss your father. He was the love of my life, but I didn’t stop living when he did. I had to figure out what my life would look like, going forward. Life after being Bernard Tilson’s wife,” she says.
“Life after wife. Sounds like the title to a cheesy self-help book,” I mumble.
“Or a second-chance romance,” Sara-Beth adds.
Mom walks over to me and places her hands on my cheeks. “It might sound cheesy, but it’s true, and the same goes for you. You don’t have to be a prisoner to who you were. It wasn’t a jail sentence; it was a marriage. You’re allowed to have a life after wife too, you know.”
“It feels weird,” I whisper.
“What does?” she asks.
“Being happy or excited when I should be upset,” I admit.
“Oh, Taeli, there is nothing wrong with moving on.”
“I feel like I don’t deserve to. I couldn’t keep my marriage together.”
“Don’t do that, Taeli. Don’t play the martyr. You’re not a puddle. People stomp through puddles. You, my dear, are a mighty river,” she scolds.
When did she become so inspirational?
“Play? You think I’m playing, Mom? This is my life.”
“Yeah, well, life happens to all of us. There isn’t a person alive who doesn’t have a sad story to tell. It’s up to each person to decide whether they’re going to be the hero or the victim of their own story. So, what are you going to be?” she asks.
I look between her and Sara-Beth, who is listening intently.
“You make it sound so simple with your dancing and yoga and remodeling. But I’m dealing with a lot of shit right now,” I tell her.
“So?”
“So?!”
