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“Yes, I do. I promised I'd make sure it was taken care of and ready for you. Ms, Waters has been doing a great job handling things while you've been away.”
“You promised who? Who told you to keep it going on my behalf?”
“You. I promised you I take care of your business for you. The doctors said you needed time to recover.”
I remember the doctors telling me it was going to take some time to recover. Moving towards the bathroom, I think about what isn’t seen. Pulling up my pajama shirt, I look at my tattoos. Last month, I got tired of seeing the damaged skin on my neck, shoulders, and back. I decided to have it changed to something I could stand to look at when I’m in front of a mirror.
I have a gilded mirror with a reddish orange fox that has a forest background in it. The fox is a cunning and sly animal. It can also mean to baffle or deceive. I think I chose it because it looked good. Seeing it now, I see it’s a fitting choice. I’ve done my share of deceiving. I had to be cunning and sly in the past. If I weren’t, he never would’ve believed me. He wouldn’t be who he is.
I shake myself to veer from the path that train of thought would take me down. I got the animal figuring it would cover up the harsh red my skin had been. Again, I have to do a mental shift.
Focus.
Instead of seeing what was there before, I see what’s there now. From my lower left clavicle around to my left shoulder there’s a bouquet of my favorite flowers, pink hydrangeas. My grandmother had these all around her yard when I was younger. I’d later learn that we share a favorite flower.
“Brooklynn! Brooklynn Emory, are you listening to me? Did she end the call?”
My mother’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. For once, I’m grateful to hear her voice.
That’s a new one.
The snide thought makes me smile.
“What were you saying? I was ... never mind.”
“I’m not going to repeat all of what I just said. I will say that I tried to honor what I was tasked with. It’s been quite a daunting endeavor and I’d appreciate it if you would acknowledge that. I’ve had to ...”
There it is! The reason I have to limit my interactions with my mother. Everything is about her. All she does is for her sole benefit. Even when she’s supposedly doing something nice, there’s some angle in it for her, some way to lift her up. I’m so over the martyr act.
“Good. Night!” I pinch the bridge of my nose as I look at my reflection. The woman before me looks like she’s tired and is over all of this. “Thank you so much for EVERY LITTLE THING you’ve done!”
“Little things? Little? You just don’t know what all I’ve done. Changes that have happened. I’ve not been able to travel as I’ve wanted.”
“Ma? Mom? Mother!”
“What? Why do you insist on interrupting me?”
“The main reason is because I was told I have a meeting that’s supposed to happen in forty-seven minutes and I’m nowhere near dressed or prepared for it. I don’t even know what the meeting’s about.”
“Oh. Well, okay. That’s fair enough. Your meeting is about the finalization of procuring the final two floors of the building. The first two floors are yours. The previous tenants finally moved to their new space so you can do the additions you wanted.”
I want to ask more questions, but I don’t I’m not in the mood for another tangent and I don’t want to run the risk of being late for this expansion meeting.
“Thank you again, Mom. I need to go.” A thought pops in my head just as I’m getting ready to end the call. “Oh, have you seen my t-shirts and jacket with the letters M.S.O.F. on them?”
“Yes, they’re here. Hanging in the closet in your room. I needed to switch out the furniture in your room for ...”
“Nope. Sorry. I don’t have time to listen to whatever you were going to say next. Thank you. Will you ... have someone put that stuff into a box or suitcase and I’ll pick it up later?”
“Are you sure? You want to come by the house?”
Her question makes me stop what I’m doing to look at the phone. Why does she sound suddenly nervous? I don’t understand. At the same time, I don’t have the time to dissect that either.
“I’ll see you later.”
“All right. If you’re sure, I’ll see you then.”
Looking at my reflection as I end the call, again I wonder what that was about. I shake out my much shorter hair. I had so much of it cut off recently. I’d wanted to shake things up. I needed to be in control of something since the damn mental puzzle was besting me. Major inches were cut. The length of my hair went from almost touching my ass to barely touching my shoulders. The changes didn’t stop there. I had my hair colored to match the fox’s fur in my tattoo.
