“Beatrice. You used to play with her all the time as a child, Macey. You and Melanie both.” Her voice cracked when she said Mel’s name, just slightly, but it always did. And then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and her composure was regained in an instant.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Bitchy B.”
“Macey Kate Britton.”
“Sorry, Mom.” With a small groan I flopped onto my back on the bed, staring up at the dark ceiling with tired, puffy eyes. “When is this wedding?”
“Next month.”
“Next month?” I sat up abruptly, sending my head into a spinning whirlwind. “Mom, you do realize I’m in school, right?”
“Yes, Macey, I’m aware.”
“Okay then, you know I have classes to go to. I can’t just take a week off.”
“It doesn’t have to be for a week,” Mom huffed. “It’s over the weekend and it’s not until next month. The fifteenth of April. You can fly in on a Friday, attend the wedding on Saturday, and fly home Sunday.”
“Does Bit—Beatrice even care if I come? We haven’t really seen each other since we were, like, four.”
“She’s family, Macey,” my mom said, but her tone held that steely ice cold I was all too familiar with. “You could at least try to pretend like family means something to you.”
A migraine began to tug at my temples as a dooming sense of dread overcame me. That was her favorite line, ever since Melanie passed away. A storm cloud hovered above the relationship my mother and I had, ready to burst at any tiny moment and drown us into oblivion.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said. “That’s all. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Please, try.”
“I will, Mom. I have to go to bed, I have school in the morning. I love you. Tell dad I send my love.”
“I will, Macey.”
The line went silent, but I kept the phone to my ear for a moment longer, waiting to hear the words she hadn’t spoken to me since Melanie’s funeral.
I love you, too.
~~
IAGREED TO MEET JAYCEon the quad the next morning for coffee and a bagel before class, knowing that if anything could help me get through this day, it was seeing him. Sure enough, as soon as I saw Jayce walking towards me with a latte in each hand and a bag of bagels tucked between his fingers, I could feel my own face light up. I hadn’t slept well last night, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I hadn’t been with Jayce, or if it had been the conversation with my mother. Maybe both. Probably both.
“Iced Chai Latte,” he said, handing the cup to me before leaning in for a kiss. “And a pumpkin chocolate chip bagel with cinnamon cream cheese.”
“Oooh, yum,” I squealed, reaching for the bagel. “Has anyone ever told you that you are the best?”
“Once or twice,” said Jayce with a shrug. “I do what I can.” We sat down together at the edge of the fountain that sat in the middle of the quad. It was a lovely spring morning, chilly, but with the shining sun bearing down on us. It was late March, and the things in Colorado were starting to wake up, unfreeze.
“What’s the matter, baby? You seem kind of...forlorn?” Jayce said, pulling me into his side from where we sat on the edge of the marble. “I don’t know if that’s the word for it. Deep in thought, maybe? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Smiling, I leaned over to kiss him, but Jayce wasn’t about to let up.
“Did something happen last night after your shift?”
“No. I mean, I talked to my mom,” I said with a shrug. “That’s almost always going to put me in a pissy mood just because it’s my mom.”
“How is your mother?” Jayce asked politely, and I laughed.
“Same as always. Disappointed in me and wishing she had her favorite daughter back.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jayce scolded.
