AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What people?” she asked, frowning.
“Those I live with,” her mother said. “Can I get a drink?”
Her mother was taking her jacket off. Liz reached for it and put it over the railing. “Yes. Is coffee okay?”
“That’s fine,” her mother said. “It’s cold out.”
“It is.” She hadn’t seen a car out front. “How did you get here?”
“I got a ride,” her mother said. The answers were short and not making a lot of sense and she wondered if her mother was high.
“What if I wasn’t home?” she asked. She put a cup under the one-cup coffee maker. Just like her mother to do something like that. Be dropped off on a cold day with no way to get anywhere else if she wasn’t home.
Her mother shrugged. “I would have called someone to come get me.”
“Who?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” her mother said.
She put the mug in front of her mother and watched her take a sip of the black liquid, then cringe. “Do you have cream and sugar?”
She turned and got them both. “Do you want something to eat?”
Her mother looked as if a strong wind could knock her over. Not healthy at all.
“Don’t go out of your way,” her mother said.
“I haven’t eaten yet. I got out of work and went to bed. I can make some eggs and toast. Or since it’s close to lunch a sandwich. Tell me what you want.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” her mother asked. “Normally you start lecturing me and you’re not.”
She looked at her mother closer, noticed her eyes were clear and figured the short answers were more nerves and uncertainty than anything. At least she hoped.
“I’m sure I’ll get to that,” she said. “Or maybe not. For now, you’re here and I’m hoping you’ll tell me why. You’ve been reaching out to Abby and she isn’t sure of the reason. She said you haven’t gotten back to her lately.”
“I don’t know what to say,” her mother said. “And something warm to eat would be good.”
She got a pan out and the eggs, then put four pieces of bread in the toaster. Her mother looked as if she hadn’t had a good meal in ages.
Liz wondered if that was what people had thought when they looked at her during her marriage.
No, she couldn’t go there.
“Tell me why you’re here while I cook,” she said. “We haven’t had any real communication in over ten years.”
“I wanted to see you,” her mother said.
“Why?”
“A mother can’t want to see her daughter before the holidays?”
“So you’re going through some nostalgia?”
“Maybe,” her mother said.
“Where are you living right now?” she asked. “In a home or shelter? A supportive housing facility? Or are you on the streets?”
“I’m taking my meds,” her mother said quickly.
