Mom closes the magazine and takes a sip of her coffee. “I’m well. Your dad bought a new grill. I’m afraid he’s going to burn the house down. Had to have him move it far away from the back porch.”
She finishes her drink and tosses it in the trash as we leave the bookstore and enter the mall. For a while we walk side by side in silence. It’s nice and peaceful. She motions to a clothing store and we duck inside.
“What do you think of this dress? It would be lovely to interview in. Cute but professional.” She lifts a black and white dress with a sweetheart neckline that’s knee length.
“It’s cute. But I don’t need anything to interview in.” I sift through a rack of jeans, waiting for her to blow up again over my terrible life choices.
She sighs, hanging the dress back up. “Oh, Ronnie. I wish you’d expand your horizons. You can do your mermaid hobby on the weekends, but you really should get serious and—”
“Mom. I told you, mermaiding isn’t a hobby. It’s a career.” I grab my phone and type in my website to show her it’s more than a silly waste of time. “Let me show you my website.”
She shakes her head and grabs a shirt, pressing it against her chest and checking it out in the mirror. “That’s fine, dear. I believe you.” Her flat tone clearly saying the opposite.
A little while later, we grab pepperoni pretzel bites and continue to walk around the mall. She stops by a jewelry store looking at diamond rings in the case.
I eye the salesman warily, hoping he doesn’t come over thinking we’re going to buy something.
“Do you remember Stacy?” Mom asks, still studying each ring.
“Yeah.” How can I forget Mom’s best friend’s daughter? She’s the same age as me but does everything better. Rode her bike without training wheels first. Won the spelling bee in high school. Went off to law school and graduated top of her class. She doesn’t do it on purpose, but I’ve always lived in Stacy’s shadow.
“She’s getting married next spring to a partner in her law firm.”
“Glad she found someone.” I don’t know what else to say. I haven’t physically seen Stacy since high school, but Mom always shows me pictures.
“He proposed in Hawaii at sunset. Very romantic.” Sure enough, she’s searching for photos on her phone and shoving it under my nose.
There’s Stacy, beautiful, successful, and now with a giant rock on her finger. Then there’s me, a silly mermaid who’s single and slumming it in LA, according to my mother.
“Where are they getting married if he proposed in Hawaii? Already made the stakes quite high,” I joke, turning to look at a pearl necklace to avoid my mother’s hate-filled glare.
“Veronica, honestly.” She tucks her phone away. Thank God. “You need to settle down soon too. I know you were with…what’s his name?”
I flinch. My ex only met my parents twice. He didn’t like family gatherings. Mom tolerated him because his grandparents went to Harvard and are successful doctors. Sadly, he fell far from that tree. But naturally I’m attracted to rotten apples, hence why I’m not dating anymore. Just laser focused on my mermaiding.
“Not important. I’m happily single.”
“But you live with a roommate.” Her nose scrunches with disgust.
“So do most people in LA. Actually, I’m lucky to live with just one roommate and not five.”
“Sweetie, I’m just looking out for you. Don’t you want to have kids?”
Here we go.
“No.” I sigh and tug her away from the jewelry counter as the salesman wanders over. “I don’t want kids. I don’t need a man. I’m perfectly happy with my life.”
“As a mermaid,” she says in a huff, tossing her pretzel bites away half-eaten.
“Yes.”
She checks her smart watch. “I should go home and take Bishop out on a walk. You need to come over for dinner sometime. Your dad misses you.”
“I’ll check my calendar and get back to you.”
She kisses my cheek. “Love you.”
As she walks away, a weight yanks me down. It’s exhausting being around her. If only she could take the time to understand the mermaiding industry, she wouldn’t think of me as a joke anymore. But she hears that word, and it triggers her.
