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“What about anything else? Work? Charities? Hobbies?”
She thought for a moment, chewing on the inside of her lip as she did so. It was a habit I had picked up from her. It was weird for me to sit across from her after all these years, especially since we weren’t fighting.
I would be lying if I said I never wondered what it would be like during our separation to talk to her and my brother again. I could see how much I had changed, and I had never been able to stop myself from wondering if they had also changed.
I threw a quick glance at my brother as my mother continued to think.
He was talking animatedly with Blake, his hands waving in the air frantically as he chatted away about whatever topic they had moved onto.
That was something else that tied me to my family. We were all hand talkers, always filled with wild gestures and easy-to-read expressions.
When I was younger, I hated all the ways that I was like them.
Our initials were all the same, J.E.A.
We talked with our hands and laughed loudly, even if some of us laughed more easily than others.
My mom and I chewed on our lips when we were deep in thought and twirled our hair when we were bored.
I used to ask my friends to call me out when they caught me doing those things, that way, I could try to break the habit.
But even after all these years, it didn’t work.
“I took up piano,” my mom’s voice brought me out of my thoughts and back to the present.
I shook my head as I tried to clear it before focusing back on her again.
“I’m not great at it yet, but I’m getting better. I volunteer at the New York Public Library, reading to children. And then I also go in to read to seniors at the local senior center.”
“That sounds like it could be interesting. What kind of books do you read at the senior center?”
My mom blushed, and she brought up a hand to cover her smile, her eyes sparkling.
“Well, the old women have started up a bit of a book club… and they… well… they…”
“Spit it out, Mom,” I goaded with a chuckle.
“They have me read themerotica,” she whispered the word like she was terrified of someone overhearing her, and I threw my head back and laughed.
That was not what I had been expecting.
“They have you read what?” I continued to chuckle and shake my head. “How is that even approved by the facility?”
“Well,” she blinked at me slowly, a sly grin tugging at her mouth as she got more confident talking about it. “It isn’t.”
I cocked my head at her in question, and she continued.
“When I first started there, I was reading just normal books. Historical fiction, historical romance, contemporary dramas, you name it. As the facility started trusting me more, they started leaving me alone in the rooms. There weren’t any aids or anything in there with us unless we called for one. That’s when the old ladies started conspiring.”
“They approached me one night and asked me to smuggle in some of the ‘good stuff’.” She did air quotes around the words. “And by good stuff, they basically meant porn. Apparently, one of them had been looking up titles on their iPad, and they gave me a list. Well, I couldn’t say no to them. They all seemed so excited. So, I went out, and I bought the books. Now we start off with the frilly stuff until the staff leads the room, and then we pick up with the smut.”
My mom came alive when she talked about it, her eyes shining as she mentioned her naughty nanny’s book club, and I couldn’t help but laugh in astonishment.
“You’re quite the criminal these days, sneaking in dirty books for old women.” I winked at her, and she blushed, waving off my words in embarrassment.
I didn’t know how to handle it, this was my first real interaction with my mother in six years.
I wasn’t really counting that day in my apartment since it had all but been an ambush, and I hadn’t been prepared for it.
