10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Meg
“ Y ou’re buying a house?” asked Elaine as we walked along Ninth Street toward Cass. It was a sultry mid-August Saturday and we’d both pulled a shift at the library. The sun was shining with cotton-ball clouds sailing overhead. But no matter how dreamy the weather had looked from indoors, as soon as we stepped outside, my clothes instantly stuck to my skin thanks to the sweltering humidity.
My skirt glued itself to my thighs. My shirt looked as if I’d peed out of my armpits. At least I was with Elaine who was as sweaty as me and couldn’t give a fig.
I stubbed my toe on the uneven sidewalk, ungracefully stumbling forward, recovering my balance before I ended up doing a face-plant. “Not me,” I replied. “I don’t quite have enough money saved for a down payment yet.”
She groaned. “I’ll never be able to afford a down payment because my student loans are akin to the national debt.”
I shouldn’t ever talk about money to Elaine because my mother had paid for both of my degrees and the only debt I had was for my car and my credit card which I paid off monthly.
My bestie wiped her brow with the back of her forearm. “So why are we going to see a house?”
I guess there was no use skirting around the truth because it was going to come out sooner or later. I’d asked her to come along as we were both walking out the library door and hadn’t explained anything. “My mother was fired from her job because of something she had no control over and now she wants to move to La Crosse.”
Mom had called me last night using a number I didn’t recognize and I hadn’t picked up. But once I listened to her voicemail, I called her right back, afraid she’d had a stroke because it didn’t even sound like her in the message. Well, it was her voice, but I’d never heard Jane Corley sound vulnerable or depressed.
Once I got her on the phone, I couldn’t believe she held it together while she explained about the horrid goose shit incident in Philly. And then her jerk ex-boss used my mother as a patsy, the bastard!
Elaine stopped and clapped her hands over her heart, her eyes enormous. “My God, Superwoman got fired? What the hell happened?”
“You don’t want to know. All I have to say is my mother was a victim of grandiose injustice and I’m glad she’s finally done with that place.”
“Seriously? From what you’ve told me, I thought your mom loved her job so much she wouldn’t retire until she was eighty.” Elaine led the way across the street. “So, how do you feel about her moving here?”
I plucked a leaf from the branch of an enormous hackberry tree shading the sidewalk. When I was growing up I always felt like Mom was judging me—as if my grades weren’t good enough, or I wasn’t polite enough, or skinny enough. I certainly was never fit enough. I settled in La Crosse to start my own life without her constant scrutiny. In my opinion, the distance between us was ideal. I had my space, she had hers and we got along really well as long as she showed up for our planned vacations. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being a little freaked out. I mean, I have no idea what she’ll be like without a job.”
“She’s intense, huh?”
“That’s an understatement. I just hope she doesn’t drive me crazy with her micromanaging tactics.” I stopped at the crosswalk on Cass Street and looked both ways. I always loved the Victorian mansions lining this street. Back in the late nineteenth century, this was where the “in” crowd lived—now, too, I suppose. My favorite looked like a gothic castle, complete with imported masonry and a conical turret. “And she’s bringing my grandmother who doesn’t recognize me anymore. I love her…I love them both, but what’s all this change going to do to my precious free time?”
“Kiss it goodbye, I guess.” Elaine gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat. “Is Granny going to live with her?”
“Oh, no. Mom already tried that and it was a disaster. The best thing is to set her up in an assisted living facility where she’ll receive the care she needs—three square meals every day and all that goes with it. In fact, I’ve already emailed Mom with some options.”
Once we reached Cameron Avenue, I spotted the real estate agent standing by a for sale sign, the dingy white house in back of her looking haunted. The lawn was brown and the bushes were overgrown. And as we approached, I could see the paint was chipped and peeling in places.
“That’s it?” Elaine whispered, wincing as if she just drank a glass of sour milk. “I thought your mom was loaded.”
“She’s not loaded, she’s comfortable.” But this place looked like something out of The Addams Family . My mother wouldn’t like this house at all. “She’ll probably find something else that better suits her even though she won’t be happy unless we go inside and take pictures.”
“Aren’t those on the realty website?”
“Of course they are, but my mother doesn’t trust them.”
Everything was happening too fast for my comfort level, which wasn’t difficult to believe when it came to Jane Corley. After losing her job, my mother might have initially been depressed, but once she had a plan, the woman attacked it like I’d attack a new Jodi Picoult novel. Every time Mom had set her sights on something, it was always accomplished with speed and efficiency. Six weeks had passed since I looked at houses for her and today I’ve been cleaning my apartment like a fiend, shuffling around with Maya on my heels doing her best to get in my way. When one has a three-and-a-half pound Chihuahua, one learns to shuffle because a single misplaced step could result in a fatality.
I flushed the toilet and returned the scrub brush to the holder just as the doorbell rang. Maya shot through the apartment, her high-pitched barks verging on hysteria, her tail whipping like a windmill.
I pulled off my rubber gloves as I followed the dog, spotting Mom’s red Volvo SUV parked on the curb outside the bay window. Plucking Maya from the floor, I opened the door.
“Mom!” I said, unable to stifle my gasp. Holy crap, she’d aged five years since I’d seen her at Christmas. Sure, it had been nine months, but now she was grayer, frailer.
I don’t think I’d ever used the word frail to describe the female equivalent of a spark plug.
Her makeup was scant with a hint of blush and mascara. Mom’s hair was pulled back in its usual tidy bun, but I swear it was thinner, her face drawn and etched with lines .
I forced a smile. “Goodness, I didn’t expect you until dinnertime.”
She hugged us both while my Chihuahua squirmed and emitted a pathetic growl—it always took three days for Maya to remember she loved my mother. “You know those roadside hotels. No one can ever sleep in them.”
I led her inside. “Are you okay with the front bedroom?”
With one finger, Mom gave Maya a scratch under her chin. “Anywhere is fine, dear. It’s only for a few days.”
“Can I get your bag?”
“We can bring it in later.” She glanced toward the kitchen. “Do you mind if I make a cup of coffee?”
Mom made the best lattes I’d ever had. She’d even bought the outrageously expensive Breville machine sitting on my countertop, but for some reason she had the magic touch. My coffees were merely passable. “You’re on if you make one for me, too.”
She jumped right in, remembering where I kept everything, thank God. After seeing her at the door, for a second I was afraid she might be getting senile like Grandma.
I slid onto a seat at the breakfast bar. “I can’t believe your town house sold on the first day it was listed.”
“That’s what prime real estate in Denver will do. It’s also a seller’s market.” She grinned over her shoulder. “I’m meeting the realtor here and doing a walk-through of the house in a couple of hours. Want to come with?”
“Absolutely. Can you still get out of buying it?”
Mom worked the stainless steel pitcher up and down as the milk frother began to hiss. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because the place needs a ton of work.”
“And I need a project so I don’t drive you insane.” She measured the grounds and started the espresso. “Besides, I grew up in a Victorian. I’ve always wanted to live in one, and now I have my chance.”
“Yeah, but the basement floor is dirt. And some idiot built a plywood bar in the dining room. And the kitchen is a nightmare. It looks as if they tried to remodel it in the sixties and failed.”
As deftly as a barista, Mom filled two of my colorful “tequila sunrise” mugs with coffee and topped them off with frothy milk. She even made a heart in mine. “All of which can be fixed. It’s going to be magnificent.”
“If you say so.” I sipped, then licked the froth from my upper lip. “This is delicious. ”
Mom sat on a stool beside me. “How is that guy doing…the one from the cruise? Are you still in contact with him?”
I was glad she brought him up. “Lance.” I repressed my urge to shimmy my shoulders. After his Facebook phone call, we’d kept in touch on-and-off for about a month, then out of the blue, he called and said he had a few days off and wanted to visit me in La Crosse. “Actually, he’s coming for Octoberfest.”
“Oh, my. When is it, exactly?”
“It’s a week later than usual this year, so he won’t be here until October sixth.”
Mom sipped her coffee and emitted a blissful sigh. “Thank goodness my house will be closed by then.”
I savored another sip. “Yeah, but do you really want to move into that place right away?”
“I certainly do. If the bedrooms are anything like your pictures, they’re in decent shape. Besides, I’ve arranged for the moving truck to deliver my furniture the day after closing.”
“Are you sure the roof doesn’t leak?”
“Positive. I paid for an inspection. I might have wanted a project, but I wasn’t about to buy a house that was on the verge of being condemned. The people who foreclosed were only in the house for a few years, thank goodness. Before those yahoos moved in, it was owned by a responsible couple. The roof was replaced five years ago, the foundation is sound, and the electricity is up to code. Even the boiler is fairly new. Everything else is cosmetic.”
I picked up Maya and put her on my lap, the three-and-a-half-pound princess turning in a circle and curling up. “I have no idea where you get your energy.”
Mom slumped a little. “I wish I had more.”
Robo-mom was slumping? This was so not like her. I wondered if she even realized how much the disaster with Hydroade had taken its toll. Nonetheless, buying a house to tackle an enormous renovation project wasn’t far off the mark for the human spark plug, but was Mom’s energy really starting to wane? She had to still be reeling from being fired. “Um…you haven’t said anything about karate lately. Did you make it to the test for your second-degree?”
She sighed, her focus shifting to the window. “I’ve put it on hold for now—well, most likely forever. The FMD website lists karate as taboo and, to be honest, the physical requirements push me to my limits. I sure as heck don’t want to cause a dissection just by doing pushups.”
“You actually chose not to push yourself?” I snorted, my sarcasm showing. How many fifty-nine-year-old women did thirty pushups on a daily basis? “Wow, that must have been hard.”
Mom’s face pinched with her sniff. “Don’t get cheeky with me. It was a tough decision to make, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to work out. I’ve already signed up at the Y, mind you.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I smoothed my hand along the curve of Maya’s back. “But I know exactly what you mean. I never want to have a dissection again, either. In fact, I’ve been walking a whole lot more just so I don’t have to ride in a car.”
“Good for you. One of the reasons I chose the house on Cameron is because it’s close to town and I can walk almost everywhere.”
“Are you going to get a dog?”
Mom used her spoon to scoop the dregs of the froth at the bottom of her cup. “I’ve always wanted one, but I think I’ll hold off.”
“You? Wait?” Now I had absolute proof. Hydroade had majorly messed with my mom.
“Yes.” She collected both of our cups and headed for the sink. “I’m waiting. Life isn’t a race, you know.”
As she dropped dollops of dish soap into each cup, from behind, she looked far too thin, her leggings baggy. Knowing Mom, she probably lost weight from all the stress. I wish I had her genes. The more stress I was under, the more I ate.
I hardly remember the divorce, but I do recall her losing weight then, too. Even at the age of seven, I’d worried about her. Now, my parents rarely spoke. Mom never talked about it, but I know Dad didn’t let her off easy. She wasn’t hostile toward him, but cold was an understatement.
And no matter how much both of them denied it, I had always been the one stuck in the middle. Until I was eighteen, I was the kid who had to travel to Australia for my summer break every year, which meant I had to endure two winters. I guess with my lily white, freckly skin, it was probably best that I stayed out of the sun. But who wants to put up with winter all year long even if they have red hair?
My childhood monumentally sucked. Sure, I love my mother fiercely. And I don’t deny that she is the rock forming the foundation of my character, but that never made her leaving my dad any easier .
To be honest, I had no idea why they hooked up in the first place. He drank too much (though he tried to hide it from me whenever I visited) and was laid back—the complete opposite of my overachieving mother. The only thing my parents ever had in common was me.
It was still hard for me to forgive and forget all the winters as well as all the moving around we did as Mom climbed the corporate ladder. I came back to Wisconsin for college because that’s where I’d spent high school—all but the end of my senior year when she moved to Denver. Yep, I graduated with a bunch of kids who were basically strangers.
Mom was disappointed that I hadn’t returned to Colorado, but after she finally landed her dream job, she was almost never home. Yet another reason for me to establish my life in a small town that I could call my own—a place I’d come to love. La Crosse on the Mississippi River with idyllic snowy winters and quintessential summers.
I wasn’t joking when I’d told my mother to quit her job. I hated Bethany Plastics almost more than I’d hated being a pawn in my parents’ divorce.
Mom turned from the sink. “So, can I take you out for dinner?”
Popping back to the present, I grinned and nodded. “That sounds wonderful.”