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“I have Wi-Fi, you know. I can look things up.” She says it a little quickly, but it’s not sharp. It doesn’t sting. And if it doesn’t sting, it’s because it’s not meant to. I cautiously pick up a skein of mustard Angora wool and sit down, running my fingers over the soft fluff.
“Yeah, it’s for the yarn business.”
“How’s that going?”
I frown. If there’s an angle here, I have yet to see it. And I don’t like the way that feels. But it’s also been ages since she asked about me. Wanted to know more. It’s hard not to want to give in to that.
“It’s going well. Enough to keep me busy, anyway.”
“Good, sweet girl. That’s good. And how’s that baby of yours? She doing good?”
“I don’t know the sex yet, Momma.”
“You don’t? Oh, I could’ve sworn it was a girl. Grandmother’s instinct, maybe?”
I don’t think so, but I don’t say it out loud.
“We’ve decided to wait to find out.”
“Oh, doing it the old-fashioned way. May as well, right? What’s your gut say though? Are you craving more salty or more sweet?”
“Um, a little bit of both,” I say, suppressing a smile, thinking about the strawberry balsamic vinegar ice cream Derek’s been keeping stocked for me.
“Hmm… sounds like a girl to me. You know, when you were in my belly, I couldn’t get enough melon.”
“Melon?”
“You bet. Cantaloupe, honeydew, even musk melon. Even though I don’t think it’s the easiest to find. Your daddy used to drive to fruit stands all over the valley looking for the stuff.”
“He did?” My voice is a little too soft, but she seems to hear me just fine. I can count on one hand the number of times she’s talked about my father.
“He sure did. Right up until you were born, he would go get me all the melons I could eat. I half thought you’d come out orange as a cantaloupe!”
I laugh, as does she, and my heart squeezes just a bit.
“Derek found me this ice cream place that makes strawberry balsamic vinegar ice cream. I can’t get enough of it.”
She lets out a deep belly laugh that gets caught in her throat and turns into a cough. When she recovers, I can still hear the smile in her voice.
“That sounds like a good man there. I don’t think I’d want to try that flavor, but whatever makes you happy, sweet girl.”
“That’s what he says,” I say with a smile. Even if he did taste it once in a very naughty way.
“Well, I’m just so glad everything’s going well for you, Megsy.”
“Thanks, Momma,” I say. And I really do mean it.
“I was just calling because, well, I hate to ask it, but I need a little favor.”
Just like that, the floor falls out beneath my feet.
“Oh?”
“Well, I’m in a little bit of a situation. And I’m a little short on cash. Not much. Just had some unexpected expenses come up.”
I flash back to when I called to tell her I was pregnant, and the first thing she said was that she wouldn’t give me any money. Maybe I should feel some sort of sick satisfaction over her calling me for money. But I just feel numb.
“What kind of expenses?” I ask.
