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Stephanie Mason, the twins’ mom, loved having a scented candle always lit in each room of their home creating a wonderland of fragrances. Most people would probably get a migraine living like this but not Stephanie Mason, she was proud of her home smelling so vibrant.
Maybelle entered, peering into the compact front living space to find her mom in her favorite, blue armchair, next to the window reading a self-help book, diligently annotating the page.
Maybelle had a lot in common with her mom, especially in their love for books but while her genius, therapist mother read books on mental health and the meaning of life Maybelle would forever be drawn to her books of romance, other worlds, and fantasy.
“Hey Lovebug, how was the rally this morning?” Stephanie asked shutting the book and leaving her highlighter in between the pages to mark where she left off. The melodic greeting and lilting of Stephanie’s kind voice had Maybelle’s soul at peace. Her mom made everything better, everything feel safe and stable again.
“Hey Mom. It was alright. Lots of screaming but Liam seemed to really enjoy himself. Speaking of Liam, he wanted me to let you know that he and Trey went off to surf, I’m guessing he will be back later tonight.” Maybelle dropped her bag on thefloor and flopped onto the couch in front of her mom, sprawling across the the decorative pillows and cushions.
“Good to know, wish my sweet boy had the forethought to come in and tell me so himself but who am I but his dutiful mother who awaits on his every whim.” Stephanie said, punctuating the sarcasm of her statement with a wink, “Guess that just gives me more alone time with my favorite girl, so what arewegonna do in the meantime?” Maybelle’s mother asked, her countenance always, ever so bright.
“We could go get a treat, go for a beach walk, bike ride or oh! We could play Just Dance!” Stephanie pronounced the last option with a purposeful added amount of elation. Maybelle couldn’t stop the smile that her mother’s contagious energy always pulled from her. If anyone saw the real, unfiltered Maybelle it was her mom. The two were the best of friends, more sisters than mother and daughter really. Maybelle would want nothing more than to give into her mother’s obvious preference for their guilty pleasure and bonding game, Just Dance, the duo had all but worshipped over the years. But with the weight of today’s events dragging a little heavier than she let on, Maybelle opted for another option, “I would love to walk the beach with you, mom.”
“How was work today, mom?”
Stephanie and Maybelle strolled arm in arm in the glow of the afternoon sun near the beach walk. There were hordes of people laying out, playing volleyball, biking, running, working booths, or purchasing from them. Maybelle and her mom loved walking the beach together not only to catch up but to people watch. The beaches always brought out the most interesting sorts of people to play.
“Oh, it was amazing, hun. We did an activity with the women called ice bathing today. It taught them how to breathe,overcome their fight, flight, or freeze responses and they all did so well. I was so proud.”
Stephanie Mason was a very skilled and well-known Marriage and Family Therapist in the area that specialized in betrayal trauma healing for women. She held groups where women came together to learn about their trauma, how to live with it and heal with a gained support system in the process. Maybelle’s mom was a hero, a saint, someone she was proud to call her best friend.
“That’s amazing mom, you will have to teach me a bit about that.” Maybelle remarked as her thoughts slithered back to her own personal dilemma with freezing and the disgusting touch of Clayton’s hand. A slight shiver ran down her whole body with the reminder.
“I would love to, Lovebug.” Smiling, Stephanie pulled Maybelle closer against her as they continued their walk down the beach.
“How are you feeling about high school ending? It’s so crazy you’re already here.” Stephanie noted.
Maybelle nodded her head and willed her train of thought not to be distracted by the incredible smell of churros being sold by a vendor they passed, “Yeah, crazy. I’m fine, I don’t exactly have a plan for what I am going to do but it will be good to move onto the next thing life has to offer.”
Maybelle had been accepted to a few colleges, including UCLA with her twin which was her first choice in schools, but she didn’t see a reason to rush into college if she still had no idea what she wanted to do. Seemed like a waste of time and money not to have a plan or goal in mind.
A sharp tug on one of Maybelle’s stray curls had her whirling to find Stephanie trying and failing to be discreet as she pointed to a street corner.
“Your team.” Stephanie snickered.
Another one of their games, a favorite especially in a scene such as this. The game was only playable in a setting where they could easily see and examine large amounts of various individuals. As they watched and studied their surroundings the two women would point out only the most obscenely odd people, forcing their opponent to accept the individual as ‘their team’. Whoever had the team stacked with the most outrageously bizarre people, lost.
Maybelle followed Stephanie’s pointing to a woman who sat waiting at an intersection for the walk sign to permit her forward onto the crosswalk. The gal was nearly two knuckles deep searching for the forbidden gold up her own nostrils. Maybelle grimaced and shot a speculative look to her mother, “Your sixth sense for finding strange people is almost impressive.”
Stephanie snorted, her gaze still eating up the sight, “Takes a weirdo to know a weirdo.”
Stephanie tugged Maybelle along their path, picking up the conversation where they had left off, “I was going to say, there’s no rush, hun. If you’re not sure what you want to do yet, that is ok. You will figure it out. I am just so proud of you; I hope you know that. You amaze me.”
Stephanie Mason only stood an inch shorter than her daughter but short enough to comfortably lean her head of blonde wavy hair onto Maybelle’s shoulder as they continued arm in arm.
“I know it mom. I am proud of you too.”
3 Tone Deaf and Dancing
Tuesday and its own horrors came and went.
Maybelle and Liam, thank the lord, had their turn with the family car, and drove themselves to and from school but they were not spared from the numerous amounts of corny, boring and awkward games the teachers had lined out for them.
On a more positive note, Trey wasn’t in any of her classes, so Maybelle got through the day without embarrassing herself in front of him further.
Maybelle slowly woke up the next morning to sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. It was Wednesday, the long-awaited graduation day. Seniors weren’t expected at the school until later that evening for the actual event, but Liam, not to Maybelle’s surprise but far from her delight, signed them both up to help set up for the ceremony. Thus, requiring them to show up at least couple hours earlier than the rest of the student body.
Maybelle drowsily glanced over at her constant, pink alarm clock to see the time read seven in the morning. With so much spare time before her mom would have her paste on makeup and get all gussied up for the ceremony, Maybelle decided to go on a run.
