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“Tomorrow,” she cheered. “We will drink some champagne. Oh, no wait. I forgot mom was an alcoholic. No drinking… Nails? Maybe some facial…”
“Are you out of your mind?” I hissed.
“She wants to talk to you,” Maddie shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“Do you want to get kicked out of the hotel? Imagine me and mom in a closed space for the first time since I ran away.”
Madison thought about it for a moment.
“I don’t see a problem. You are coming,” she started collecting her phone and purse.
“No, I’m not,” I tried to get her attention.
“Tomorrow,” she said already at my door. “After work. We’ll be waiting,” she shut the door behind her before I had a chance to say anything else.
The next evening, I was sitting on a chair in Madison’s room, and I kept my mouth firmly shut. Her boss made her go to a boutique and scream at someone who apparently stood them up waiting earlier today and didn’t send the wedding dresses they were supposed to.
Mom was looking at me grimly from the other side of the room. I had the sudden urge to say something. Madison’s job was a safe subject.
“When is she coming back exactly?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” mom said with a soothing voice. Her eyes were still scanning my face. “She left a couple of hours ago, so probably soon.”
“Would you please stop?” I asked with a sharp voice.
“Stop what?”, she cocked her head.
“Looking at me like you’re about to dissect me.”
Sylvia chuckled.
“Is that how I look at you?” she asked. “That must be unpleasant.”
I couldn’t read her expression or her tone, so I had to ask.
“Are you making fun of me?”
She scowled.
“No. Not at all.”
I saw it for a moment only; she covered it up so fast. But it was there. The awkwardness between us. It was a mutual feeling and it made my throat unclench a little. I took a deep breath.
“How is the therapy going?”
It was a stupid question, but I honestly had no idea what to talk about with my mother. Madison should have been here as a buffer between us. She always had some chitchat ready on the tip of her tongue.
“You should ask my therapist about that,” she joked. “Good. I think. It opened my eyes on some difficult topics.”
I couldn’t help it. I had to ask.
“Like what?”
“Marriage. Parenting,” she sighed. “You.”
I crossed my legs and tried to find a more comfortable position on that freaking chair. There was none. I stood up and started walking around the room.
“Why are you here? If you want to make me come back with you, you’re wasting your time. It’s not happening.”
