Taking advantage of this rare gift, I slip out of bed and pad down the hallway to the bathroom with my Earl’s T-shirt and clean jeans tucked under my arm. When I push the handle, however, it doesn’t budge.
“What the . . .”
I press my ear to the door and clearly hear water running. The television is murmuring from downstairs, and I can’t fathom my dad making miraculous overnight strides to the pointhe’s climbing stairs to use this shower rather than the one on the main floor.
“Hey, Dad?” I holler down the stairwell.
He coughs but doesn’t answer, so I step to the edge of the steps and lean around the corner to peer into the living room. My sister is sitting on the sofa, and my dad is in his recliner with a plate of what looks like egg whites propped on his chest.
“Hey, Linds?”
I get my sister’s attention, and she flips around to flash me a toothy grin that reads more like a warning. I’m doing my best to work through the clues when the nightmare she was trying to warn me about exits the bathroom door behind me.
“Looks like someone slept in today.”
My mother’s voice sends shivers down my spine, and I visibly shudder as I turn to face her. She purses her lips while leaning her head to one side and scrunching her wet hair withmytowel.
“Really, Renleigh? You’re not a teenager anymore. I figured you’d outgrown the wholemy mom is the bad guyphase.” She’s wearing one of her matching workout sets, lavender yoga pants with a white stripe on either leg with a matching sports bra-type top. My mom is in incredible shape. She still runs several miles a day. She gets up at four to get the miles in so she can spend the rest of her day ruling the business world on her computer or in boardrooms.
She’s a shark. Literally, that’s what the people who hire her call her. She’s both a legal expert and a master of crisis communications. And she’s obsessed with her work. So much so that the thought of slowing down and staying in Sweetwater when my father needed her was basically, well, unthinkable. The lure of a big oil company job was simply too strong.
“Nope. Still smack in the middle of that phase, it seems. Can I have my towel back so I can run it through the dryer before Ishower?” I hold my hand out, and she dumps the damp cloth in my palm.
“I didn’t want to disturb your dad’s space, and it is still my house, you know.” She nails me with her signature superior glare before heading down the stairs to join my sister and father.
My eyes widen with fury, but I bite my tongue instead of uttering, “Half of it.” I toss my wet towel in my hamper and pull a clean one from the folded laundry on my dresser. I lock the bathroom door behind me and pound out a message to my sister before starting the shower again. Who knows how much hot water my mom saved for me.
ME:When did she show up? Is she here for long? WTF!
I pace in the tight space while my sister types her response.
LINDSEY:She’s in town on business. I didn’t know. I’m sure Dad did, but you know how he is.
I stare at my sister’s words and sigh before texting back.
ME:Yeah. He’s a sucker.
I reflect on those last few words before hitting send, then delete them and send a simpleryeah.
My parents are divorced, but the hostility that usually resides between spouses is instead between my mother and me. Even Lindsey seems more willing to go with this strange arrangement my parents chose. Probably because she doesn’t like to look at things critically the way I do. I look at my parents’ situation and see a man so in love with a woman that he’s willing to accept whatever relationship he can have with her just so he has a piece of her in his life.
Lindsey once called it romantic, but I think it’s selfish. My mom is exploiting my dad’s soft heart so she can keep her toe in this life whenever she wants to pop in for a visit. She says she loves him, but I think if you love someone, you make sacrifices. Of course, I have yet to come across another person who iswilling to pick someone else over themselves, so I’m pretty sure love is a farce.
I can’t pretend I’m here to be noble. I’m here because of duty. And guilt. And because hiring a full-time caretaker in my place would require my dad to sell this house or accept financial help from my mom, which,I’mnot willing to let pass. She doesn’t get to ease her guilt by buying her way out of this situation. She should be here. And yeah, I’m petty enough to play martyr since she’s not. And I know deep down, that really eats at her.
The hot water runs out on my shower before I’m done having practice arguments with my mom in my head, and the unexpected start to my day leaves me feeling unsettled while I finish drying my hair and getting ready for my shift at Earl’s. By the time I get downstairs, there’s a plate of toast and cold egg whites waiting for me, and my sister is hovering around the kitchen, probably positioning herself to step between my mom and me if I decide to escalate things. Lindsey has never been a fan of conflict. Apparently, I am.
“Hey, Dad. I’m getting off at four today, so I can pick you up from physical therapy.” I make eyes at my sister as I slide the cold eggs into the trash and wrap the toast in a napkin to take with me.
“I’ll take him today. I’d like to see this progress he’s been bragging about,” my mom says.
I purse my lips and hold my sister’s gaze. She drove over today to take my dad to his appointment so I could get to work on time. I’m sure she rearranged her schedule to do so, planning care for the twins while she’s gone. This is what happens when my mom shows up on a whim. Plans go out the window.
“Right. Well, enjoy the show,” I huff, shaking my head as I snag my jacket and head out the door. My chest burns with a hint of guilt, but only because I don’t like being a brat with my father. My sister can handle me. I’m frustrated by the wholearrangement, and if I stick around, I’m going to level my mom with a lot of cruel stuff my father doesn’t deserve to hear.
My phone buzzes in my lap once I get in the Jeep. It’s a text from my sister. I sigh but read it, knowing she’s going to call me out for my behavior.
LINDSEY:You really need to get laid.
