Page 23 of Love Marks
“Yeah, and she told me to tell you that you shouldn’t have.” His eyes flicker back to mine.
“They’re important for the baby’s health,” I say simply.
“Well, thanks for looking out, Mr. Marks.”
The rest of the ride we stay quiet. Pete’s been my driver for the past two years. He knows when I’m in the mood to talk and when we can sit in silence. I’m grateful for that.
We get to Prince Street and Pete pulls up to my mom’s building. As I make my way up the stairs to the top floor, I hear jazz music coming from inside the apartment. I let myself in with my key and slip inside.
“Darling!”
My mother throws her arms around me, squeezing tight. I return the hug and step backwards to look around. The place looks better than it did last night.
“How are you? Want something to drink?” She’s in caretaker mode, busying herself around the kitchen for something to do.
“Water’s fine.” I sit on the couch, and she brings over two glasses of water, sitting across from me.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Come to lecture again?”
“Do you need lecturing?”
She rolls her eyes and tucks her feet underneath her, wrapping the blanket from the chair over her shoulders. “I know you’re worried about me. I just get lonely. I don’t know what to do with myself these days.”
“I’m sure there’s a social club you could join.”
“Kicked out of all of them, thanks to your father.”
“How about a hobby? All the old women are knitting these days.”
She scowls at me. “I’m not old. Knitting, really? How utterly cliché,” she sighs. I’m grasping at straws here, trying to cheer her up.
“Think of this as an opportunity. You’ve been given all this time, free away from me and Ben and dad to do whatever you’d like. Why don’t you go on a trip somewhere?”
She sighs and looks out the window.
“I guess you’re right. I just didn’t expect my life to turn out this way. I look around and I don’t know where all the time went. Like my best years are behind me and I’m just staring into the abyss.”
My stomach lurches. I didn’t realize her thoughts had gotten so dark. She’s starting to sound like me.
“Hey, don’t talk like that. It’s going to be okay.”
She nods and it’s quiet. I don’t know what else to say. Luckily, my mom, like me, doesn’t like to dwell on tough conversations, so she changes the subject.
“How’s the new development coming? And the merger?”
I spend the rest of my visit filling her in on the construction delays and my new living arrangements. After a few hours, I call Pete to pick me up and kiss my mother on the cheek.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m meeting Tina at a gallery opening later and tomorrow I’m going to the spa. I’m keeping busy.”
We say our goodbyes and I wait for Pete out front. Wrapping my coat around myself, I try to rid my head of the image of my mother, staring out the window, trapped in the abyss.
Chapter 12
Quinn
It’s been a week since the Enchilada Incident, as I’ve been calling it. Thankfully, Wesley and I have managed to avoid each other almost entirely. He’s in his office all the time. We've interacted exactly twice since the Enchilada Incident. On Thursday, he nodded at me as we passed each other, and on Friday, he even managed a single Hello when I arrived.
Sheila has started packing her place up. It’s downright depressing and I’m in total denial about her departure. She’s leaving in two weeks. My mom keeps trying to talk to me about it, but she can tell that I’m not ready and she tries to respect it. The whole thing makes me feel very childish. I should be happy for Sheila. Getting out of that apartment will be good for her and she'll have someone to take care of her. I guess I thought we'd always take care of each other.