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"No, but I'd die for some coffee if you want to make some." She smiles and nods, and I go and sit on the couch. I brush aside a stack of folded clothes and wince as they fall to the ground. "Elise is still not back, huh?"
"No, and we both know she won’t be back for hours. Do you know what time the kids will be back?"
"Probably around nine. What time are you meeting the theater folks today?" I ask her.
"Hank wants us all to meet at some breakfast place around eight. He said he should have an early copy of the New York Times Sunday review for our play."
"Oh, wow," I say, trying not to sound dismayed. "So it's definitely being reviewed?"
She nods. Her face has a happy and excited look, and my stomach curls. "Yeah, there's definitely a review. Hank says his cousin knows someone who works there and, well, I'm really excited. This could be it. This could be my big break. I mean, most probably, it's going to be Hank's big break more than mine, but it could be mine as well."
"Do you really think it's going to be Hank's big break?" I ask her, remembering how she joined me in making fun of Hank the previous evening.
"I know he's a jerk, and he's full of himself, but that's just because he's playing this role," she says as she boils some water. She looks at me and then laughs at the expression on my face. "Okay, so he's a jerk, period. But a lot of actors are. I think it just comes with the industry. I can't be rude to him because what if he does make it and then they ask him who he wants to star with in a big Hollywood feature?"
"You think he's going to ask you?" I say, knowing he would jump through hoops to act alongside Jennifer Lawrence or Angelina Jolie.
"I mean, you never know. I don't want to burn that bridge."
"Okay, I understand that," I say. I hear my phone ringing from inside my bag. "Hey, do you mind if I take this real quick?"
“Not at all.”
I pick it up. It's my mom. I stifle a groan. I love my mom, but she has a way of always irritating me. Maybe it’s because nothing I do is ever good enough for her. I feel like a constant disappointment, and I hate it.
"Hey, Mom."
"I didn't wake you up, did I. It’s seven a.m. here, and I wasn’t sure what time it was there?"
"It's seven a.m. here, Mom."
"Well, it's seven a.m. here in Florida, and I know New York is a big city and has all sorts of?—"
"Mom, New York and Florida are in the same time zone. Just because New York City is bigger than Port Charlotte doesn’t mean it has a different time."
"I know, dear. But I always get confused when the time goes forward, and then it goes back, and everything changes."
"Yeah, but it changes there, and it changes here. We're always at the same time." I try not to let the exasperation sound in my voice. My mom is not a dumb woman, but sometimes she makes the most inane comments.
"So, is your sister there? Your father and I…"
"She's not here, Mom."
"Oh, she's gone out running, has she?"
"What?" I ask. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, you said she's not there. I assume she's gone out running. Or has she taken the kids to the park?" Clueless. She's absolutely clueless. But I'm not about to tell her that her beloved youngest child is in bed with a stranger doing who knows what because, frankly, it's not like I'm any better. I also spent the night in bed with a stranger, doing things I would never tell my mother about.
"So, Papa and I were wondering when you're going to come to Florida. We haven't seen you in ages."
"Mom, we don't have the money right now to fly to Florida," I say, biting down on my lower lip. Frankly, Elise and I were glad to leave the state. We spent our entire lives there, and when it was time to go to college, all I knew was that I wanted to go somewhere other than Florida. That I'd gotten into Columbia had been the icing on the cake, and the fact that they'd given me a financial aid package also helped. Until it hadn’t. But then Lila had been there for me.
"I saw Sandra's mom at Publix yesterday," she says. "And…"
"Mom."
"She also wants to know if you're going to be visiting anytime soon. They really…"
