3. Clara #2
“I mean we’re getting rid of the deer heads and the boring brown, and we’re turning it into a room for me.”
Both of them widened their eyes at me. “And we get to help you?” Bailey asked excitedly. “What are you going to do with the space?”
“Well, I’m going to paint it, get rid of the furniture, and then I’m going to turn it into a crafting space for me.”
“Crafting?” Krista grimaced. “Is this like when you wanted to sew all our costumes for Halloween? Because you weren’t very good at that.”
“No, I want a place to paint. And I want to get a desk with a new computer.”
“For what?”
I looked at my daughter-in-law and grinned. “I’m going to write a book.”
It went deadly silent around the whole mountain. You couldn’t hear the stream or the falls in the distance. No birds tweeted and the wind stopped blowing as my girls stared at me in stunned silence.
“You’re—” Krista glanced at Bailey, then back to me. “A book! Well, that’s…interesting and so—”
“Amazing,” Bailey finished with a nod.
They were both terrible liars, but I really didn’t care what they thought. I was going to do this for me, and it was going to be amazing.
“Well, as your father says, we’re burning daylight!”
I rushed around them to the car, pulling out my keys as both of them groaned. Nobody liked driving with me, mostly because I drove so slowly, but that was just too bad. I was obeying the speed limit, and there was nothing wrong with that.
“You know, I really think I should drive,” Krista said, rushing around me. “That’ll give you a chance to find things on the way to the city. You’ll need ideas.”
“Yeah, and I can help you look,” Bailey added. “We can make a Pinterest board!”
I knew what they were doing, and any other day, it might have bothered me. But today was a new day. I was starting fresh and becoming a new person.
“Fine, you can drive,” I said, tossing Krista the keys. “But keep it at the speed limit.”
She rolled her eyes at me as she jerked open the driver’s side door. Meanwhile, I sat in back with Bailey, talking the whole way about what I wanted for my new room.
“Does Dad know you’re getting rid of all his stuff?”
“No, but he will,” I grinned.
“So, what brought about this change?” Bailey asked as she continued to slide through images, adding things to my board.
“Well, I can’t really explain it. Maybe it was being poisoned. Or maybe it was just listening to Ben gripe too much about how upset he is. I just…found myself staring at the suds in the sink and I thought, what the hell am I doing with my life?”
“You found that in the suds?” Krista grinned.
“Don’t laugh at me. You’ll understand one day. You’ll be doing the dishes or vacuuming the carpet, and you’ll suddenly realize that you’ve done the same thing every day of your life.”
“You don’t really vacuum every day, do you?” Bailey asked.
“Like clockwork.” It was pathetic now that I thought about it. “See, I get through my day by doing the same thing every day. Once one thing is done, I move on to the next.”
“So, maybe you don’t need to redecorate the den, but find a new routine,” Bailey suggested.
“Shut your mouth!” Krista hissed. “If Mom wants to get rid of that horrible brown color, I’m all for it. And those deer heads are creepy.”
“Trust me, I’ve wanted to get rid of them for a long time. But your grandmother decorated the house, and your father didn’t want to insult her by changing anything. I just went with it all these years.”
“Oh, thank God!” Krista sighed. “I thought you just had really bad taste, and I worried I was going to end up just like you when I got older.”
“I have impeccable taste, thank you very much.”
She cringed as she looked at me in the rearview mirror. “Have you seen those shoes?”
“They’re orthopedic!”
“They’re old lady shoes!”
Glancing at them again, I kind of saw her point. They did look like something Mrs. Abernathy would wear. But they were comfortable, and I was on my feet all day.
“Well, we’re not looking at shoes today.”
“What kind of computer do you want to get?” Bailey asked excitedly.
“Oh, I was thinking of one of those fun colored computers.”
“A colored computer?” Krista snorted. “Do you even know how to use a computer?”
“I used to,” I snapped. “But my children kept taking over until I had no time on the computer at all. It’ll be fine.”
“Maybe you should start with something cheaper until you learn how to use it,” Bailey said gently. “You know, just in case you decide it’s too…complicated.”
“Bailey Bennet Parker, are you telling me that I’m too old to figure out how to use a computer?”
Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “No, not at all.”
“Good, because I’m getting the one I want, and I’m getting a new desk as well. Maybe even a cool lamp for the corner.” I beamed as I imagined my new workspace. “And I want a new CD player.”
Krista stifled a snort from the front seat. “Mom, you can just get a speaker.”
I bristled at her tone. “What good does a speaker do if I don’t have music to play from it?”
“It plays from Bluetooth. That way, you can just listen to a streaming service and play whatever you want.”
“Can I still listen to the radio?”
“Of course.”
“So…I don’t need my CDs?”
“Nope. That’s a thing of the past,” Bailey grinned. “Well, they are starting to make a comeback, but this saves on space. You just scroll through your phone and find the music you want.”
I pulled out my flip phone and handed it to her. “Show me.”
Chuckling, she handed it back. “I think we’re going to have to do a little bit more shopping before we get her a speaker.”