in high school. Her short blonde hair and blue eyes are such a contrast to my own dark appearance.
“Thought I’d drop in and surprise you all. I haven’t seen Emily in a few weeks and something must be wrong with your phone because I haven’t heard from you in a while either.” Her eyes widen accusingly and I have to chuckle at her attempt to guilt trip me.
“Sorry, I’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, he’s got a girlfriend, Mrs. Walker.”
I shoot Emily a look, warning her to zip it, but she smiles back at me with a big toothy grin.
“Really? Tell me all about her. And Emily please call me Carol, sweetie.” My mom isn’t even talking to me. She’s sitting next to Emily’s bedside trying to get the juicy scoop from her. It’s ridiculous.
“And he’s bringing her down to Venice?” My mom’s eyes pop up to mine asking for confirmation and I give her nothing. “Well let’s hope he’s smart enough to bring her by to meet the family.” She sits back and begins rummaging through her purse. “Now, enough about Damian, I brought you the first book in the Harry Potter series. Do you want me to read it to you?”
Emily’s eyes sparkle as she nods and lies back down.
“Thanks, Mom. I’m going to let you two catch up. Call me and we can have dinner when you’re done.”
I give them both a kiss on the head and head out. I love my mom. She’s probably the best mom in the world, and when all is said and done, I can only hope Emily finds a mom just like her.
“So tell me about Addison Peacock?”
My mom stayed with Emily for a few hours until she fell asleep. Meeting me at one of the Mexican restaurants on State Street, she’s put her menu down and is staring at me with pure curiosity in her eyes.
“She’s my neighbor and no, she’s not my girlfriend.”
Nodding she takes a sip of the blended strawberry margarita in front of her.
“But she must mean something to you.”
Placing my menu on the table, I look my mom right in the eye. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Uh oh. This doesn’t sound good.” She slowly puts her drink back down.
I don’t really want to talk about my love life with my mom. Especially when at the moment there isn’t much to tell. But she is my mom, and I don’t want to shut her out either. Huffing out a frustrated sigh, I throw my menu on the table.
“Okay, I’m only going to say this once, so listen up.”
She stays silent, her soft eyes silently telling me to continue.
“Addison means a lot to me. I don’t want to mess it up. So, I’m taking it slow until she’s ready. She’s had a rough few years and needs some time, but yeah, there’s something there.”
Smiling she focuses her attention back on the menu until the server appears to take our order. And that right there is why I love my mom so much. She doesn’t ask me another question about Addison, doesn’t pry, doesn’t question my decisions or my thought process, she got what she wanted, confirmation that there is a woman in my life and that I’m working on it. She knows if I need advice, I’ll ask. My mom is fucking perfect.
We spend the next few hours catching up on Emily and how her treatment is going, how Thomas is trying to keep me at a distance, and how my own attorney is working on getting me some sort of temporary guardianship so that I can have a say in what happens to her. Although none of it looks good from my standpoint.
“That poor little girl. There has to be something else we can do.”
When I learned Megan had a daughter, I kept that information between Reed and me. When she ended up sick two years later, I called my mom, pushing the guilt and shame to the side I knew I needed her advice in figuring out the best way to help Emily. My mom lives in Malibu with my stepfather and I still have two brothers in high school that need her, but when she can drive up and visit, let Emily know she’s cared for, she makes the effort.
“Well, when you come up with a brilliant plan, let me know.”
We eat dinner, and she’s able to get a few more details about Addison out of me. My mom has always had a sixth sense of knowing