I told her about Alavita Hodges and the makeover opportunity. A quick search while Mom was ladling stew into bowls showed that the cosmetics company appeared to be legitimate.
My fifteen minutes of fame weren’t up yet!
My earlier gloom melted into euphoria, and I danced around the house, even picking up Lucky and making her waltz with me until she’d had enough of my human foolishness.
“What’s gotten into you?” Mom asked suspiciously from where she stood in front of the stove.
“Rumors of the death of my YouTube career were greatly exaggerated. Also, you’re my favorite mother,” I sang, leaning over to kiss her cheek. My stomach growled in agreement.
“Vivian? Are you okay?”
“Mom, I am wonderful!”
“You just be careful,” my mother said as she grabbed a box of crackers from the pantry. “You’re on an emotional roller coaster right now, and you will come down from whatever it is you’re doing. Keep your wits about you.”
“Mom! Why are you harshing my mellow?”
“I’m serious, Vivian. You may think you’re happy enough to be over this divorce, but you’re not over the hump yet.”
“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine.”
“I am, at best, one of those lights for seasonal affective disorder, a stopgap measure until you can make your own sunshine.”
“Mom!”
She ignored me and began eating her vegetable-beef stew. Lucky wound around her feet. That cat had always been a sucker for anything that smelled of beef.
“Shoo, cat,” Mom said with a gentle nudge of her foot.
Lucky gave an indignant meow-growl and trotted off.
“Thanks for making lunch, Mom,” I said as I sat down.
“You’re welcome. I know I didn’t make your lunches a lot when you were little, but you didn’t need it then. Now you do, or you’ll forget to eat.”
“Forgetting to eat might not be that bad.”
“Hush, now.”
I paused, my spoon of stew midair. I’d never even asked Mom how long she could stay. What if I was keeping her away from things she needed to do?
“Mom? Are things okay in Florida? I didn’t call you here at a bad time, did I?”
She smiled. “Actually, you called me at a very good time. I was selling one condo and buying another.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t ask before,” I said in a small voice, ashamed that I hadn’t even considered what else was going on in her life. “I mean, you can leave if you need to.”
“Don’t worry. You can’t get rid of methatquickly,” she said with a wink.
She was trying to keep it light, but my gratitude threatened to bubble over and envelop me. “I’m glad you’re here. And I’m not just saying that because you keep feeding me.”
“Oh. If I’d known I could’ve bought you off with lunch, I would’ve tried that a lot sooner.”
My earlier elation ebbed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you’ve been distant for a while.”
“Mom, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.” Even as I said the words, I thought about past digs and jabs through texts and calls. All the times I’d said, “Sorry! Gotta go, Mitch is taking me out to dinner soon,” with the subtext that Mom had never had the kind of husband who bothered with date night. Or “I’d love to come down for a visit, but there’s just so much to do to keep up with Dylan and Mitch. You’d think you’d have more time as they get older, but you don’t,” as a way of saying,Look at me! Look how indispensable I’ve made myself to this family!
