Louisa never stayed in one place for too long. Her mother was killed by her father and she didn't want to keep running and hiding but it was best. It was what she knew.
A year later, she fell for another dangerous man.
Clay Morrow made her feel agai...
"Birds flying high You know how I feel Sun in the sky You know how I feel Breeze driftin' on by You know how I feel It's a new dawn It's a new day It's a new life For me And I'm feeling good"
"Fancy," my mom said as she sat down and glanced around the nice restaurant I had invited her to.
She wore a nice dress that complimented her frame.
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"Not the only thing that knows fancy, I see," I waved up and down at her dinner attire. We both were dressed nicely but I never seen my mother outside of her scrubs or loungewear like sweats and graphic tees. She wore nails and had her hair nice but she had this laid back baddie vibe.
"Where you think you got it from, beautiful?", she smirked taking a sip of the wine that I had ordered for us tonight.
I pushed my hair behind me as I sat up and crossed my hands, before I prepared to speak the things I had on my chest.
"Mom, we have to talk."
The mood shifted and the background noises sort of grew quiet. I felt like a little girl again, stepping up to her mother with a timid voice to speak to her. I felt 5 years old again but I pushed that feeling down and cleared my throat.
She gave me the floor with a nod of her head.
Before I could speak, the waiter came back to take our orders.
"Shrimp scampi for me. Creamy garlic mashed potatoes with a Caesar salad for the lovely lady," my mom ordered our food with her polite smile and even ordered us another bottle of wine.
"Thanks, Ma."
"I remembered you were vegan after that one time I had to kill that chicken on the farm. You were crying for weeks about how I killed Grace."
I rolled my eyes but laughed at the actual memory of my mother chasing my favorite chicken, Grace, around the yard before she killed her for Sunday dinner.
"Mom, I want to know about my birth father. For real, this time..."
She froze at the start of the conversation and I could see her actually go speechless. Her eyes welled up with tears and she swiped at them before taking a deep breath. I had never seen her like this.
She took a deep breath again and then gave me a half smile.
"You deserve the truth, baby. But I-", she covered her hand with her mouth.
"When will you be honest? Why did you really adopt Sherice? Why can't we speak about my father? Is he dead? Alive? Black, white, yellow... Why keep so many secrets when it helps no one?"
"Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don't you know Butterflies all havin' fun, you know what I mean Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean And this old world is a new world And a bold world For me For me Stars when you shine You know how I feel"
My mother kept the secrets and it just all started to get to me. All of the lies and not knowing who I really am. Why couldn't she just give me the real facts and stop with the bullshit?
She gave me another look, this one filled with fear.
"Okay, Mart. I'll give you the whole truth, but not here," she leaned forward and began to whisper. "We can do this at another time. I need to be sure that we are good and protected."
"From what?", I questioned.
"From the past."
We decided to push the conversation back and started a new one. One filled with us opening up to each other, laughing and sharing memories of the past. It reminded me of old times, Sunday dinners, and our nighttime talks.
"I can answer one question for you, though."
"What question?", I asked as I finished off my salad and took a sip of my wine.
"Sherice. She came from my oldest best friend... I promised to keep her safe if ever anything happened. She couldn't handle it anymore, so I adopted Sherice."
"She couldn't handle what?", I wondered.
Why would a mother give up her daughter?
"The life. The one we tried running from..."
It held mystery but I definitely saw some actual truth in those words. At least it was getting me closer and closer to the truth. Something that we all needed.
