I'm not seeing a point when she will calm down. “You really think it will work?” I ask apprehensively.
“Yes. She'll listen. She always listened. Did I ever tell you about the time when I was working at St. Jude’s?”
“No.”
“Back then, you were a baby, barely a couple months old. I was working sixty hours a week. I was away from home far more than I liked. Your mom didn’t think it would be practical for me to quit that job. It paid well, and as a young family with a brand new house, we needed the money. Since I was working so much and she was raising you by herself, it ended up bringing about a compromise. If I would take on a different job, I could spend more time with both of you. It would also open up the opportunity for her to go back to work part-time.”
I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for him to convince her of this. “Did it work out?” I ask.
“It was rough working out the new routine at first, but it didn’t take long for us to get accustomed. The change of pace and lighter load made everything easier.” He is silent for a moment. “She may seem unyielding, but she is willing to meet you halfway if it makes sense.”
If she could find middle ground with my dad, I'm sure she and I can eventually. It feels nice to have an open dialogue going with somebody about this. “Thanks, Dad,” I say.
“You’re welcome, Adrienne.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Monday, August 6th
I head out as usual to go to Lyndsay’s on Monday. Only this time instead of staying the day over there, I load up my car with all my supplies—the sewing machine, the books, the material, and the thread. Why waste fuel and time to travel over there now that there's no need to hide it?
Lyndsay squeezes me tight before I leave. “It’s going to be weird not seeing you this week.”
“You barely saw me during the week anyway.”
“You know what I mean, dork.”
“Yes, I do.” I rest the side of my head against the door. “Am I kidding myself?”
“About what?”
“About this,” I say, holding up a bag of remnants. “I have barely gotten anywhere with this. How am I going to meet my mom halfway?”
She taps my chin with her fingertips. “Give it a little more time.”
“How much more time? I mean, how long will it take me to exhaust all my resources? What if this doesn’t work out?”
“What if it does?”
“No, what if it doesn’t? Look, I want to be optimistic but I also need to be realistic.”
She thinks for a few seconds before saying, “If it doesn’t, who cares?”
My eyes open wider. “‘Who cares?’” I repeat slowly.
She shrugs. “Yeah, who cares? You just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and do something else. I still don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring for me. Sure, I want to be a nurse but maybe ten years from now I’ll prefer to be behind a desk. At the very least, this is going to teach me a lot about the medical field, and those skills can help launch me into a number of other careers.”
I stare at her in disbelief. “Wow.”
“I know, right?” she says with a grin. “Mom and I were talking about my future and she started talking about her work experience. I pretty much knew the whole story already but I looked at it with new eyes and realized that the same applies to me. I’m just like her in many ways, and despite my worries, I can be just as strong as her and handle whatever life decides to hand me.” She appears relaxed as she tells me this. Like the weight of the world was lifted off her from one simple epiphany. It doesn’t mean everything is going to be perfect, it just means that her view of it is balanced.
It is truly inspirational.
I breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s a great way to view it.”
And that is exactly what I needed to hear.
I spend the rest of the day reorganizing my room. I rearrange the books on my shelves to move all the papers from my desk over. I find Coventry hiding behind where the papers were. I smile as I pick him up, then place the little kitty plush on my shelf next to my DVDs. I set the sewing machine on my desk and hook it up. After moving a few more things around, I have a nice little craft nook going in one corner of my room. I stand back and take it in for a moment.
“Whoa,” says a voice behind me. I turn and find Kaitlin standing in my doorway.
“Hey,” I say cheerfully. “I thought I’d bring it all back home instead of hiding out at Lyndsay’s again.”
She bounds to my bed and jumps on it. “What’s your next project going to be?”
“I won’t have enough money for what I need until next week.” There is an exquisite fabric I would like but it's quite expensive. The money from last week’s chores won't be enough. “But, I do have some bits and pieces I can use for something smaller. Like maybe…headbands.”
Kaitlin claps her hands together. “Cool.”
I grin. Her enthusiasm is contagious. “My thoughts exactly.” Just then, my phone rings. I glance down and see that it is Chevy. I flip it open. “Hey!”
“Hey! I just wanted to see how things were going.”
“It’s…okay. Mom’s still not talking to me.” My mom actually left the chore money on the counter in an envelope instead of handing it to me. It's the first time she has done that.
“That’s too bad. It is fresh though.”
“That’s what I keep reminding myself. How is your family?”
“All right. My dad is doing better but I have a feeling he fell off the wagon again.”
“Oh no.”
“I could be wrong though. It just felt like he was acting strange last night. Maybe it’s just because he’s craving it and getting edgy.”
“That could be it. It is a disease after all, not just a habit.”
“That’s what I keep reminding myself.” He sighs. “I’m glad I’ve got someone who understands.”
“Likewise.”
When we hang up, Kaitlin looks over at me. “Who was that?”
“Chevy. He wanted to see how I was doing.”
She tilts her head. “Really?” She draws the vowels in the word out.
“Yes, really,” I say with a chuckle.
“You like him.”
I blink twice. Is it that obvious? Maybe Kaitlin is just that smart. I cover my face with one hand and peek out. “You’re very observant.”
“Does he like you?”
I am sure the answer to that question is yes, based on the way he acts with me, but I still have my doubts. “I hope so.”
“I bet he does.”
“What makes you say that?”
“How could he not like you?”
I reach over and pull her in for the biggest hug I have ever given her.
Chapter Thirty
Friday, August 10th
I have become weary from making headbands. My eyes are beginning to cross and my patience is dwindling like the light from the sun as it sets. I keep wishing for it to be September so that I can go back to Hidden Treasures and see what kind of commission I got. I'd go there now just to see how things are going but I don’t want to jinx anything.
I talk to Chevy on the phone for a few minutes about it but he has to get back to work. I put my projects away for the day and find something else to occupy my mind. I go to the kitchen and make cupcakes with Kaitlin. After they cool, I start to frost them and Kaitlin goes to the living room to set up our next disc. A minute later, Kaitlin yells, “Somebody just pulled into the driveway!”
“They’re probably just turning around.”