Page 9 of Someone You Deserve
“I made you a quesadilla, Lilly Bear,” my mother croons, feeding into her demands. “But you know the rule. You must try at least one bite of what I made.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Lilly. That’s enough,” I scold, moving toward the table with plates full of food. “You’ll try a bite and that is that.”
I swear, I don’t know what I would do without my mother, especially during these past four years. Before Brandon died, I was basically running a household by myself anyway, but when I had to start working two jobs just so we could survive, she helped fill in where she could. As a recently retired nurse, she says she’s happy to spend the time with the kids and keep herself busy, but sometimes I wonder if I ask too much of her.
Still, when I told her I wanted to buy the bakery, she was the first person who encouraged me to do it.
“You deserve this, Astrid. As a mother, it’s important to have something just for you, something that feeds your soul separate from your children. They grow up to be their own human beings, and you need to have a life to live that’s outside of them when they do. I wish I could have done more of that when you and Grady were younger, but you have the chance now, so you’d better take it.”
“Fine,” Lilly relents as we all sit down and begin eating.
“You need to make sure that you eat a good dinner because Uncle Penn will be here soon for game night, and you know he always brings candy.”
That makes her eyes light up again. “Yay!”
“Aw, man. I was going to play my video game again after dinner,” Bentley whines.
“Well, your game can wait.”
My mother eyes me across the table. “Do you know what game you’ll be playing tonight?” she asks me.
“Uno!” Lilly shouts. “Can we please play Uno?”
“Ugh, that game is for babies.” Bentley drops his fork to his plate in protest.
“It is not! It’s fun!”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Please stop, you two. I just got home and the last thing I want to do is listen to the two of you fight.”
“I swear, they save it for you,” my mother says, grinning in her chair as she holds her glass of water in front of her.
“Of course they do.”
On the nights when I come home late from work, my mother picks up the kids from school and cooks dinner for us. She always eats with us before heading back to her quiet house. My father left when I was little, so it was just her, me, and Grady, my older brother, growing up. She’s dated here and there, but no man ever really stuck. I think she had a hard time letting another man in after my dad left her all alone with two small children.
But selfishly, I’m glad I have her to relate to all the tribulations of being a single mom because she knows what it’s like firsthand.
The doorbell rings, and Lilly bolts from her chair and runs to the door, swinging it open. “Uncle Penn!” She lunges for him as soon as he crosses the threshold.
“Hey, Lilly Bear.” He scoops her up in his arms, lifting her as if she weighs nothing. With the way his muscles bulge under the sleeves of his shirt, I can see why it’s so easy for him.
Ugh. Stop looking at his muscles, Astrid.
“You ready to play a game?”
“Can we play Uno? Please?”
He bops her on the nose before setting her back down. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Yay!” She runs back to the table and stands right next to Bentley, leaning into his space. “We’re gonna play Uno, Bentley. Ha, ha!”
“Lilly!” I admonish. “Don’t start trouble. Now go get in the shower first before we play the game. You know the rules.”
She races to the bathroom, granting me a moment to gather my sanity again before I stand and greet Penn. “Hey, there.”
One of his hands is holding a bag filled with something, but he shoves his free hand in his jeans. “Hey.”