Page 93 of Anything Goes

“That was then, this is now.”

My mother made her way towards my bedroom, and I quickly followed behind her.

“If that’s the case, then why hasn’t she picked up the damn phone?”

“Trust me, she wants to, but she feels bad about how she reacted.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t have time for all of that. I’ve got other things to deal with.”

Balancing the pile of clothes with her arms, she used her shoulder to nudge my bedroom door open. “Really? Like what? Is there something you need to tell me?”

“No.”

“Sounds like it is, and since it looks like I’m going to be stuck over here acting like the damn maid, that means you have time to tell me.”

I leaned against the edge of my dresser, watching as my mother walked into my closet and tossed my dirty clothes in the basket. From there, she went around the room straightening up any and everything that she felt was out of place. I should’ve been annoyed, but seeing as I was in no mood to clean, I was actually grateful for the intrusion.

“I won’t go into detail, but I’ll just say that it involves a woman.”

Her head spun around. “A woman? Is this the same woman that you conveniently haven’t told me about? Are the two of you in a relationship? Are you—”

“Relax, Mama. We’re not together anymore, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“Well, from the looks of things, you’re not too happy. What happened?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Didn’t I tell you that I wasn’t going to go into detail?”

“Yeah, but I’m sure you didn’t mean that.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Really, Law? You’re not going to tell me anything about this woman?”

“There’s no point. Things are over between us.”

Shaking her head, she took a seat on the bed, across from me. “I seriously doubt that. You’re too upset. Now, if you tell me what the hell happened, I might be able to help you fix it.”

“What makes you think I’m the reason that it’s over? Why does it have to be my fault?”

“That’s not what I meant. I was just saying—”

“You know what, thanks for the little spring cleaning,” I said, grabbing the hanger that she was holding in her hand. “I think I’m going to just chill by myself for a while.”

“Law?”

“Mama, please,” I pleaded. “I need to be alone.”

Lowering her head, a deep sigh escaped her lips.

I wasn’t trying to hurt my mother’s feelings, but the indication that I was in the wrong irritated the hell out of me, and I didn’t want to hear it anymore.

But the way I reacted didn’t sit right with me.

Taking a step forward, I said, “Mama, I’m—”

She lifted her hand as she stood. “It’s okay, son. I get it. You need some time to sort through your thoughts, and I’m going to give you the space to do that. Whenever you’re ready to talk, just know that I’m here.” She kissed my cheek and gave my arm a gentle squeeze.

For a split second, I reconsidered holding back what I was going through. But I quickly changed my mind. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to her about it, I just wasn’t ready yet. Everything was still fresh. Yesterday’s decision was still sitting at the forefront of my mind, and I was constantly trying to figure out if I was truly okay with it.