AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by that,” Mom says, waving it away like it’s nothing. And her commentwasnothing to me. I would have forgotten it immediately, but Allie’s refusal to agree with insulting me?That was something.
Leaning against a bland, gray cabinet along the far wall, I let them fall into easy conversation. Allie’s warm and inviting as she listens to Mom with genuine interest. I’ve seen her win over hundreds of customers in an instant, but this is different, more raw. She’s letting Mom in deeper than that.
For her part, Mom warms up to Allie immediately, smilingat me knowingly aftereverysentence out of my girl’s mouth.
I try to listen, wanting to know what they’re connecting about, but my mind keeps going back to that pink envelope. After looking through Mom’s desk, I found that it was one of many.She knows.She knows exactly what she stands to lose. Was she not going to ask me for money? Or is that why she keeps asking me to come home, so she could ask me in person?
We’ve spent hours upon hours together in this hospital room this week, and she never said a word about financial problems. Mom has never hesitated to ask me for help before.What’s different this time?
“How long will you be in town for Luke’s bar’s opening?” Allie’s question draws me back to their conversation. “I want to show you around. I can plan the perfect trip for you. There’s an aura photographer who comes through sometimes.”
Mom’s face lights up as Allie describes all the different things they should do together. I hadn’t realized Mom was committed to coming out to visit, but I’ve also buried my head in the sand about the bar. Skye’s been working hard to make sure things come together, and she’s forced me to make decisions. The menu is set. We picked the nameErnie’s, after Grandad. But it doesn’t feel right. None of it is worth what it’s costing Allie.
She told menowhen I asked her to stay, but it’s hard to believe that’s what she wants.How could her opinion have changed so drastically since that first day she found out I’d bought her building?
After a long conversation with Mom, Allie squeezes my hand and balances on her toes to kiss me on the cheek on the way out of the room to find us some food.
“She’s a very special woman,” Mom says, not waiting for her to be out of earshot.
“She is,” I say, moving forward to take the seat Allie just vacated.
“You know she’s all in, right? She’s yours?”
“I know that.” I nod.
“Forever. Have you figured that part out yet? You get to keep her. She’s your person. I could feel it the second she walked in this room.” I knew all of this, but it’s fun to watch Mom figure it out, too. “You know I have intuition about people.”
“I know, Mom. I love her. I’m keeping her.”
“I always knew you’d end up with someone magical and free.” She squeezes my hand tightly.
Mom gushes about Allie, repeating the conversation they just had while adding in her observations about Allie’s fiery spirit, powerful energy, and even calls her smile electric.
Running my fingers back through my hair, I interrupt her. “I wish we could talk about Allie all day, but I’ve got something else I have to ask you about.”
“What is it, little goat?” Mom tilts her head to the side, her dark brown ringlets even wilder than usual from days in a hospital bed. Her comforting smile, marred by a cut on her chin, her perceptive eyes, same as Skye’s and mine, edged with yellowing bruises. The car accident really fucked her up, but nothing could stop her spirit from shining through.
“The property tax on the house, Mom. How long do you have?”
Some people might be angry about me going through their mail, sticking my nose in their business, but not Mom. We’ve been a team for a long, long time. Her business is my business. “Until the end of the month.”
“That’s all they give you? That’s bullshit.”
“No, I’ve known for a long, long time, honey.”
Anger clenches my jaw, my hands flexing in and out of fists.I take a few deep breaths before asking, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She looks at me, for a long moment before she says, “You may not believe this, but I never liked taking money from you.” She takes three deep breaths, which she does when she needs to steady herself, before continuing. “I hated that my son was the only man who stayed. Hated myself for not being able to handle everything on my own, not being able to get out of bed some days. While at the same time, being grateful you were such a capable and hard-working young man.” Her voice cracks with the weight of long-held emotion. “I don’t know how we would’ve gotten through those years without you carrying us.”
We’ve never put a name to mom’sissues. Neighbors called her flighty and irresponsible. Grandad called her troubled. Skye has a whole list of diagnoses she thinks it could be, and has been pushing for her to get help, but to me, she’s Mom. That’s enough information. She’s strong in every way she can be, and I’m strong in all the others. It’s how it’s always worked. Or at least, I thought it was working until I moved away, and she’s had so much trouble with the change. And then I found those pink envelopes.
“You work so hard,” she continues, squeezing my hand again. “I kept trying to figure it out myself, the money for the taxes, but I just couldn’t come up with it. I’ve been working for Gabriel, doing service writing at his shop for a few weeks now. You remember him, right?”
I nod. Gabriel’s a good guy, a local who’s been around for decades. He was a regular at Grandad’s bar. If mom can hang on to that gig, she’ll be in good hands.
“But that’s the best thing I’ve had in years. There just isn’t enough money.” She pauses, tilting her head to the side. “I know this building, your motorcycle shop, the bar, they mean a lot toyou,” her voice trails off, almost dismissively.
“Yeah, they do, Mom. But if you would have told me this in the first place, I would never have bought that building. I would never have left.” Saying it out loud turns my stomach sour.If I’d never gone to Palm Springs, I wouldn’t have Allie.
