Page 75 of See You Again
“In the kitchen,” Irene called back.
The kitchen was in slightly better condition than the rest of the house. The dishes were done, and the surfaces were clean, but the room hadn’t completely escaped her mother’s hoarding tendencies. The corners and floor of the room were slowly being encroached on by piles of papers and recycling.
Her mother sat at a small table sipping a cup of tea. Cami pasted a smile on her face and placed the bags in front of her mom.
Irene sniffed. “Did you get the cold medicine? I think I’m getting sick. I told you I shouldn’t have gone out,” Irene scolded. “Look what happened. Germs everywhere.”
“I think it’s more likely you’re having a reaction to the dust and mold,” Cami said in a pleasant voice. Her teeth ground together as her mother waved her hand.
“It’s because I had to go into the office for that meeting.”
Her mother had been an executive assistant for as long as Cami could remember. Slowly over the years, her mother’s resistance to leave the house had caused her to lose job after job. Now, Irene did remote administrative work. She earned enough to pay her bills, and it also eliminated any genuine need for her to leave the house regularly. Without that, her mother’s illness had grown worse.
“Teresa and I did some more internet research on your new boyfriend. When do I get to meet him?”
Cami struggled to keep the smile on her face. Was she serious? She wanted Cami to introduce her to James? Only Madison knew about her mother’s issues, and Cami hadn’t even been completely honest with her!
Cami pushed away the shame that blossomed. “I’m not sure. We both have very busy schedules.”
“I listened to your podcast this morning.”
“Did you?” Her mother had never been a fan of the show. Irene thought dwelling on true crime was morbid.
“I’m going to be doing the majority of talking on this case.”
“That must make you happy.”
Cami tried to analyze her mother’s tone. Was she angry? Unhappy?
“We’re trying something new.” Cami wasn’t about to add to her mother’s anxiety by sharing Madison’s concerns about becoming a target for Matt Crawford.
Her phone pinged. A text from Justin.
She ignored it
“I’m sorry if I pulled you away from your exciting life.” Irene wiped at her nose with a tissue.
“You didn’t.” Cami tucked her phone in her pocket. “Tell me, what’s new with you?”
Cami listened as her mother chattered about various perceived insults she’d received from her online colleagues, and then proceeded through the predictable path of what was wrong with the government, society, and the world in general.
“I’m glad you don’t work in a big office, Cami. The world is a dangerous place. Crazy people everywhere! It’s not safe.” Her forehead puckered. “This rich boyfriend of yours. He probably wants you to go to lots of crowded events, doesn’t he?”
“We haven’t been to any yet,” Cami kept her voice even.
How was she going to keep her mother from seeing pictures from the restaurant opening? Kip was famous. This event was guaranteed to be splashed across every gossip blog Irene adored.
“But he will. You need to be careful. Not just about the germs, but… You know how those people are.” Tears suddenly filled her mother’s eyes. “I don’t want them to make you feel less than. You are a beautiful, smart girl. Just because you don’t have their background doesn’t mean they’re better than you are. You shouldn’t doubt yourself.”
Pain twisted in Cami’s chest, and she bit her tongue to keep the words burning on the tip of her tongue inside. The only person who ever harped on the fact that Cami wasn’t good enough was her mother.
“Don’t give me that look.” Irene’s face sharpened. “You don’t know what it’s like. I’m trying to prepare you. If I’d been warned, maybe I wouldn’t have been so broken when your father left me for that rich bitch.”
“It wasn’t just you he left,” Cami wanted to scream. When she was in seventh grade, her father walked out on his family, with barely a goodbye, to marry one of his coworkers. One day, Cami had a family, the next she didn’t.
At first, her father would come by to pick Cami up and take her out places, but over time it grew less and less frequent. His new wife already had a young son, and soon the couple had two children together. Cami knew she hadn’t made it easy. The poison her mother poured into her ear on a daily basis about her father and that woman took its toll.
In hindsight, Cami could admit she had been a terror to the woman. Part of her didn’t blame her father’s new wife for not wanting Edgar’s angry daughter to be a part of their life together.