Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Your dad is an interesting man,” Mom says. She sounds like she means it too. She’s not the slightest bit bitter, that I can tell. She just looks so happy to be sitting across from me. Like she’s looking at her own personal unicorn the same way I’m looking at mine. I love that we can sit here and unicorn out together. “I wasn’t entirely surprised that he did what he did. But it’s a small area, and everyone knows everyone. I tried to reach out and get messages to you, but John refused, and the few other people I asked refused too, and that was it. I didn’t know anyone well enough to ask. Whatever your dad told them about what happened with us was enough to make them change their minds about helping me contact you.”
“Oh, Mom, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” she says soothingly.
“I’m sorry that for years, we’ve both felt this hurt. I’m sorry Dad made those choices. I’m trying to forgive him for that and for other things, but it’s going to be a long road.”
Mom sets her hand on my shoulder, and her chin wobbles again. She blinks hard. Her eyes are lighter than mine, and they’re already red-rimmed from all the crying earlier. “I’m so glad you’re choosing forgiveness because bitterness is a terrible thing to carry around with you.”
Yes, I carried it around for too many years.
I don’t want to sit here and cry all day, so I stand up instead. “I’d like to show you my room. It’s a theme room, and it’s super cool. Plus, I make dolls. Creepy dolls. I think you’ll like them.”
And she does. She loves them. Upstairs, she holds one up and turns it around, studying it from every angle. “This is great. They all are. I would love to take one back to New York with me if that’s okay. I have a whole bunch of clients who I think would be happy to purchase your dolls. If you want to sell it, that is. I could just use it as a demo model. They could place orders if you do custom work, or they could place an order for whatever you’re willing to make.”
I’m holding another doll right now, and I stroke her lovely, horrifically horrifying hair. “I don’t know. I’m not sure these are good enough to sell.”
“They’re more than good enough. There’s such a good market for unique things.”
The first conversation we had on the phone—where Mom told me where she was living and asked me how I was doing and where I was, and we both bawled—she told me she was a photographer. That’s what she does in New York. I haven’t even asked her about Will yet.
I set the doll down. “How did you and Will meet?”
She suddenly blushes, and she looks so young and pretty. I could look at her all day. I’m probably crap with a camera, but I’d really like to take her picture. More for the album that I’ll never give up. It’s sitting packed away in one of the boxes of things Apollo had shipped out here from Dad’s house. My mom is one of those older women who is always going to be stunning, no matter what age they are.
“After I left, I made my way here and there and ended up in New York. I was taking evening classes for business because I wanted to finish my degree since I’d need something to get a good job to live off. I should have gone somewhere cheaper, but having a lot of roommates is okay too. It was never lonely, and goodness knows I needed the company.”
My throat gets tight. “I’m glad you weren’t alone.”
“I never was. I was hurting, and I missed you like crazy, but I threw myself into my classes. I did finish, but I found working in an office so stifling. Except, I met William there. He wasn’t my boss, but he was one of the bosses. I was an admin assistant, and then I worked my way up to an executive assistant position for someone else. One day, Will’s assistant got sick, and they needed someone to sit in and take minutes for him in his meeting. I’d never even seen him before that day, and I’d worked at that company for nearly eight months. I think it was pretty much one of those love-at-first-sight things…if that even exists.” Her blush gets blushier and redder, and it’s so freaking cute on her. She strokes my doll’s hair, thumbing the bright red curls over and over. “Or at least attraction at first sight. He’d never been married, but he was ten years older than me. He didn’t think he was looking for someone, and I certainly wasn’t, but we found we had things in common. He’d made a good living working there over the years, and his job was important to him. He really loved what he did. We could have kept it a secret, but I really wasn’t happy working in an office. I wanted more freedom.