I gasped in mock horror. “Don’t you dare insult my biology!”
“It’s true, Glory! If I had half as many guys hitting on me I’d be enjoying a constant buffet of love and action,” Yvonne said, folding her arms across her chest. “You don’t even give any of these guys a chance!”
“I don’t think that work is an appropriate place to pick up men.”
“Well, where else are you going to find them? At the museum? You’re an attractive young woman, Glory. You should be living it up, not drooling over new space exhibits.”
I sniffed. “I happen to think rockets and asteroids are sexy.”
Yvonne rolled her eyes. “At least you didn’t tell that guy you were a lesbian or that you were terminally ill.”
“Yeah, I guess I need to make up some better excuses.”
“Or you need to let yourself live a little. If you don’t start taking some chances you’re going to stagnate.”
“Okay, thanks for the life advice,” I retorted, turning away. I would never admit it to her, but her words stung. Here I was, making the same lame excuses, working at the same place, still living with my roommate from college. I should have been dating someone. But no one I met excited me. None of the men I met could quite convince me that they wouldn’t turn out to be a disappointment or a mistake.
I sighed. Yes, I was in a rut. But I tried not to think about it. I wiped down the counter and headed back to the art studio. I had a class to teach.
*****
“Hello? Mom? I brought you a sandwich!” I called, stepping into my mom’s apartment and shaking the sandwich bag as if I were trying to coax out a reluctant cat. I set the bag on the kitchen table just as my mother emerged from her room, looking disheveled and groggy.
“Oh no, did I wake you up?” I asked.
“Yeah, but it’s okay,” she replied, waving her hand. “I needed to get up. It’s just that this new shift they have me on at the hospital is brutal.” She collapsed in a chair at the kitchen table and looked up at me, smiling weakly.
I sat down next to her. “Mom, you need all the rest you can get. I’m sorry I woke you up.”
She shook her head. “When I get to the end of my life, I’m not going to look back and wish I had gotten a little more sleep. I’m going to be glad I savored every moment I got to spend with my beautiful, successful daughter.”
I snorted, a little uncomfortable with her sentimentality. “Successful? I’ve been working at the same dumb place for almost ten years.”
“Well, you must like it,” she replied. “And it’s clear that you have a talent for teaching, and for making delicioussandwiches,” she added, peeking into the bag and eagerly pulling out the sandwich I had brought.
“I just follow the recipes, mom.”
She took a bite, closed her eyes, and smiled contentedly. “Nope. The sandwiches always taste better when you make them,” she asserted. “I should know. I eat at Monet Cafe a lot.”
I shrugged. “Well, I added extra cheese and some Thai chili mayo.”
My mom pointed her finger at me. “See, you’re a genius.”
I rolled my eyes while she took another bite.
“By the way, your father is getting a divorce.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Really? From Sandra? Serves him right.”
My mom frowned. “Why would you say that?”
“Well, he was such a jerk to leave you and run off with her. So now he’s getting what he deserves.”
She put down her sandwich and leaned forward. “Glory, your dad made some poor decisions toward the end of our marriage, but I certainly wasn’t giving him many reasons to stay.”
I pursed my lips but didn’t say anything, so she continued.
“We had been having issues for a while, and we both kind of gave up. By the time he started seeing Sandra, I really didn’t care. After that, divorce was the obvious route to take. I have regrets, but I’m not bitter about what happened to us.”
