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Minty could sing! This was a revelation! I thought she’d be shy to perform, but she was not. Her voice was vibrant and warm, in total contrast to her usual cool exterior. In between songs, we ate dolmodakia, tiny cubes of feta cheese, rich kalamata olives, and dipped warmed pita bread into the melitzanosalata. When we were sure we couldn’t eat anymore, Mara produced cheesecake and brownies she and Bex picked up on the way from Bliss Kitchen and we polished those off as well. When the last crumb of cheesecake goodness was licked off the last finger, Minty and Junie decided to call it a night.
Mara and Bex stayed back to help me clean up. It was while we were gathering napkins and wiping off the coffee table, quietly chatting and laughing over some of the nights’ antics, that Mara noticed the light flashing on the old-fashioned answering machine.
“You get messages on this dinosaur, Willa?” She teased.
My gaze narrowed on the flashing red light. “Only from mom,” I answered, and Mara’s teasing smile slipped from her face to be replaced by anger.
“Why do you keep it on?” she asked.
“I keep it for Olivia. In case something happens when she’s here, so that she can call out,” I explained.
“How did mom get the number?” Mara pushed.
“Olivia calls her from here sometimes.”
Bex looked down at the floor, then continued to tidy.
“Zale has been bothering me to buy Olivia a cell phone,” Mara began, “I’ll pick one up tomorrow and start teaching her how to use it. It won’t take long. She’s good with technology.” Mara pointed to the machine. “Then you can get rid of that, and not have her messages coming through.”
I paused. “Are you sure, Merry?”
Mara nodded firmly. “Positive.” She bent over the machine. “There’s a delete button. May I push it?”
Everything in me wanted to listen to that message. What if something bad had happened? What if she had something positive to say? What if she said something so vile I could be free of hope forever?
Bex lay her small hand on my back. “What are you thinking, Willa?”
I looked at her. “I’m thinking this is the last tie I have with my mother. This is the last shred of hope for a relationship. This is our last point of contact.”
She rubbed a slow, firm, circle over my back, and asked, “Do you want to listen to it?”
“I want to make sure.”
Bex turned to Mara and said softly, “Press play.”
Mara’s pretty mouth tightened, but she pressed the button that brought my mother’s strident tones into our peaceful night.
Willa! Chantal told me she saw you at the Copper Kettle with a tattooed man! Honest to God, have you no sense of propriety? Who is-
Mara pressed pause on the machine, and looked at me, waiting.
Rage colored my vision.
“She insulted Barrett,” I hissed.
Bex threw an arm around my waist and twinkled at me. “She doesn’t like Rhys, either. I find that reassuring.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“She doesn’t like anybody who doesn’t fit her narrow views,” Mara said, then asked, “Are you ready to let her go?”
“I think I have to be,” I muttered.
Mara tilted her head to the side and began, slowly, to speak.
“The truth is, Willa, you’re hanging onto an idea only. She’s not yours. She’s not anybody’s. She answers only to herself.” She paused and pointed to my answering machine. “Do you really want to listen to this? Do you want your child’s mother to listen to this? Barrett’s wife?”
I smiled. “Wife?”
