Teslyn closed her eyes and injected a saccharine tone into her voice. “Hello, Mother.”
“That’s better.”
An imagined bug crawled on Teslyn’s forearm, and she wiped at it absently. “What do you need?” She thought of her unusually flush bank account, the downpayment and closing costs for this condo suddenly as ethereal as ashes in the air. Marilyn never had enough money, and if she was contacting Teslyn now, that was bound to be the reason for it.
She thought of all the birthdays that had passed unnoticed, all the holidays, resentment bubbling through her as she conjured every reason a decent mother would have contacted her only daughter. Then again, Teslyn hadn’t wanted to speak to Marilyn any more than Marilyn had wanted to speak to her.
It was a truth she’d long ago accepted. Some people got mothers who baked cookies and braided their daughters’ hair. Teslyn had gotten an addict who would do anything to support her addictions, no matter the cost to her child.
She heard Marilyn take a drag of a cigarette and exhale loudly. “I’m in trouble, honey.”
Honey.Teslyn rolled her eyes.She’s pulling out all the stops now.
She ran her finger along the countertop once more, the joy that had coursed through her the first time she’d done so now failing to appear. Her voice was flat as she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I pissed off the wrong person. He’s threatening to hurt me and take your sister.”
Teslyn’s brow came down hard. “Sister?”
“Ivy. She’s five. You might know she existed, if you ever visited me.”
“How could you not tell me?” Panic flared to life in Teslyn’s abdomen, an image of herself at five years old appeared in her mind. The long hours spent alone. Watching TV late into the night, afraid of every bump and noise, hoping her mother would return before daybreak. She rubbed her temple. “It’s not like we haven’t spoken. You called me for money less than a year ago.”
“It wasn’t something I wanted to mention over the phone.”
Anger was quick. “I can’t believe you hadanother—.”
“Hey, I may not have been the best mom in the world, but I loved you.”
The Realtor reappeared, pointing to his watch and shrugging his shoulders, his meaning clear. Teslyn picked up her purse off the counter. There would be no offer written today, and fresh resentment packing on top of old, like one layer of snow over another.
Teslyn scooted by the Realtor as he held open the door, no longer caring what he heard. “Not the best mom? That’s the best you can do?”
“That’s neither here nor there. I need your help, goddamn it.”
“How much? Name the amount of money to set everything right with the world again, and get you your next fix.” The Realtor gave her an awkward wave before disappearing into the stairwell as fast as his feet would take him.
The familiar sound of Marilyn lighting another cigarette punctuated the brief silence. “It’s not like that this time. This is serious, Tessie.”
Don’t call me that.
She wanted to snap at her mother, wanted to push the other woman right out of her life, but the idea of a sister—a five-year-old little sister she’d never even met—gave her pause. She said nothing, waiting for Marilyn to fill in the details of her latest crisis. The elevator arrived and Teslyn stepped into it, thinking that she’d never step into it again. She wasn’t going to live here any more than she was able to change her DNA, and she wondered if stability would forever remain just out of reach.
“I made a mistake,” Marilyn hedged.
Teslyn looked at the ceiling. “Just tell me.”
“There’s a man. He’s not from around here. We went to high school together. We ran into each other, and, well—you get the picture.”
“You slept with him.”
“He’s Ivy’s father.”
“At least you have it narrowed down this time.”
“Damn it, Tessie, I don’t have time for your smart mouth.”
Teslyn crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped out of the elevator. Marilyn still had the power to make her feel contrite, and Teslyn hated herself for that. “Go on.”
