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"Goooooooo, Chloeeeeee," her voice could be heard from the bleachers cheering me on.
I tried to hold back the laughter as I glanced in her direction. Dad and Sophie also cheered for me but Mom made their voices pale in comparison. Her actions seemed to start a competition with the other mothers cheering for their children.
She always did things like this. Her presence was enough to get people in motion. Just the way she added motion to Dad's and my life years ago.
"Is that your mom in the stands, Sullivan?" Abby, one of my classmates who considers herself better than me, asked.
"Yes, the one and only," I replied with a smile.
"I hear she's not really your mom," she continued.
"My stepmom, really," I corrected.
Abby was upset as her taunts didn't work.
"Don't forget to taste!" Mom yelled.
I tasted the mix.
"She must love her real daughter more than you," she continued.
Normally, that would be the case. But Mom doted and scolded us equally such that it was hard to tell if she was partial or playing favorites.
"I don't think so," I shrugged.
I was forgetting something. I tasted it again but couldn't tell what it was.
Think….think…
"Vanilla! Tumeric?" Mom asked.
Other mothers joined in too. It was vanilla, obviously. After the baking was over, I was slated to win first place but got disqualified because Mom had helped.
"Serves you right," Abby said as she showed off her medal.
I wasn't bothered. I had fourteen more at home.
"I'm so sorry, baby. You looked so confused," Mom apologized.
"You don't need to apologize; they already said I was the best," I said to appease her.
"You also have fourteen medals," Dad reminded me as he played with my hair.
"Yeah, you're both right," Mom said with a weak smile. "I'll go get the drinks."
She left us and headed for the car.
"I'll go get her," I said to Dad and handed him the cake.
"Thank you," he said.
Mom knew how to carry a lot of weight on her own. Dad had talked about it a lot but she didn't seem to listen.
"Did you hear that Sullivan girl lost?"
"Yeah, her stepmother helped her."
"Who does she think she is? At the end of the day, she's not even her real mother."
