Page 29 of Forever Mine
“We're supposed to make a car that's for the future.”
“When is it due?” I pulled the curtain aside, and she handed me a towel from the rack. “Don't tell me it's this week.”
Her smile was sneaky, as if she knew what my reaction would be to whatever answer she gave me. “Don't worry, you have some time. It's Friday.”
“Make sure you leave the assignment sheet on my bed. I'll look at it when I come back, okay?”
She nodded and took a seat on my bed, kicking her feet back and forth and bouncing her heels off the mattress.
“Is Scott coming to pick you up?”
I paused with both hands in my hair and looked at her in the mirror. “No, he isn't. Why?”
Curiosity shone from her eyes. “Since you talked about him, I wanted to meet him.”
Technically, I hadn't been talking about him. Yesterday, I'd mentioned him at dinner after she asked me who I was texting. This, because she caught me laughing on the sofa with the phone in my hand just before we ate. She asked if she'd ever meet him, and I distracted her by telling her to pack her schoolbag. Thankfully, she ran off to do that.
Now, I realized she was waiting for a response, and I was stumped. “Not today, because I'm driving myself to meet him.”
She shook her head slowly side to side. “That's not how it goes on television. When people go out—”
I sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. “What you see on television is made-up stories. Mostly.”
She looked up at me, frowning. “Even Discovery?”
“No, baby, that’s the real deal, but—”
Mom’s voice interrupted my response. “Angel, time to bathe,” she called.
I squeezed Angel to my side. “You get what I'm saying, right?”
Her brow wrinkled as if she still had questions, but she only said, “Yeah.”
“So, you understand that ... ?”
“Real life is different from television. I get it, Mommy.”
“Good.” I kissed her cheek, then wrinkled my nose when her sweaty scent filled my nostrils. “Somebody needs a shower.”
She made a funny face, then bobbed her head. “Yep, Grandma's gonna supervise me.”
Mom would have to do more than watch her, but Angel had a mile-wide streak of independence, so I didn’t argue.
After smoothing my hair, I grabbed my dress off the bed and shimmied into it. I applied powder, eye-liner, some sugarplum lip crème, and I was ready to roll out. With my sandals on, I did a slow spin in the mirror. My smile reflected my satisfaction with my appearance. I picked up my purse and shawl, switched off the lights, and headed to the living room.
In the dining nook, Mom sat at the table with Angel. Her plate was untouched, and she was in the middle of a fervent prayer.
Mom and I kept quiet, and when Angel finished, I kissed her forehead and tugged her messy plait. “Don’t give Mom a headache about going to bed, Angelica.”
She nodded and looked up at me with sober eyes. Angel knew I meant business when I used her given name. Her gaze went to Mom and she smirked. “Mommy doesn’t want us to see her boyfriend, so she’s driving.”
Mom chuckled and cupped Angel’s cheek. “Eat your dinner. Your mommy just wants to be able to come home when she’s ready. She has work tomorrow.”
Angel’s gaze slid from Mom to me while she chewed a mouthful of pumpkin rice. “I want to meet Scott.”
“Why?” Mom asked.
“He texts Mommy a lot and she laughs when they message each other.”