AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Noah
I couldn’t even bring myself to text or call. I had Brazen do it. Yet, here I sit, waiting for my mother to arrive. Brazen’s hand rests on my leg. He’s been worried, but he’s given me time to make my own decision on this.
“She looks like you. Did you know?” Brazen makes an attempt to distract me.
The woman who gave birth to me is late for the meeting he said she’d all but begged for, which is more than a little annoying. Still, a small piece of me hopes that everything will click into place when she arrives. She’s my mom. The six-year-old inside me feels like she’s finally getting something she’s been waiting years for.
“I probably knew at some point in my life, but it’s hard for me to picture her appearance.” I close my eyes and try to imagine her, but it’s nothing but darkness.
“Do you want me to leave you alone when she gets here?”
“We might not have to worry about that if she doesn’t show.”
“She’ll show.” He sounds so sure.
“How do you know?” I’m not sure she’ll show, and frankly, I’m not even positive I want her to. Things might be so much easier if she just left me hanging today.
The little girl of years ago fights with the abandoned adult inside me.
Do I want her to show, or do I want her to stand me up?
“Because she’s here.” He motions toward the door with the angle of his face.
“Don’t leave me, Brazen. I don’t want to be alone with her.” I quickly spill out the words as the host leads my mother to our table. I’m clutching his arm so tightly, I might even be pulling out a few of his hairs.
“I won’t go anywhere, baby. Just breathe. I’m here.”
Brazen is right. She does look like me.
I hold all the air in my lungs and count her steps as she nears.
“Noah, darling.” Her voice is formal and measured, and she makes no attempt at physical contact with me, not a hug or even a handshake. “Thank you for meeting me.”
She sits without acknowledging Brazen next to me, which makes me bristle a bit. He’s unaffected by her rudeness, and he simply sits by my side. I keep silent and wait for her to say more.
“It’s so good to see you.” She sets her purse on her lap and fidgets with the silverware, as if inspecting it.
I don’t know what I expected, but she’s not it.
“It’s good to see you, too, Catherine.” I didn’t know I was going to call her that, but it’s what came out.
She flinches, and her left eye twitches.
“I’d prefer it if you called me Mom, Noah. It’s disrespectful not to do so,” she scolds me and speaks as if I’m the six-year-old that she left behind.
Anger swarms inside me.
She can’t reprimand me, not after what she did.
The little girl inside me turns, glares at Catherine, and sidles up next to the abandoned adult—a united front.
“Respect, huh?” That’s rich. “I’m sorry, but I’m not comfortable calling a stranger Mom.” I don’t feel bad for how I feel.
Catherine looks down at the table and unfolds her napkin to put on her lap. “There’s no reason for you to be catty. I’m here to see you.” She calmly looks back up.
“There’s no reason for me to be upset, right? You’re here after abandoning me completely. You didn’t even say a real good-bye or explain that you were leaving. It’s all water under the bridge? It’s been twelve years! I have news for you. Time hasn’t been standing still while you’ve been living in wedded bliss with your husband.” The anger and hurt and resentment are unstoppable. There is over a decade’s worth of things I could never say that are spilling out.
“Wedded bliss.” She pauses, and her lip trembles. “Huh. That’s how you think things ended for me? Why would I be here if everything had worked out the way I planned?”
