Designing Humans

Part One

                                                                            Creve Coeur, Missouri

                                                                                           April 2024

"What do you call a hot male flower?"

"I have no idea. What?"

"A daffoDILF."

Mom erupted into a high-pitched giggle, slapping one hand over her mouth. With her free hand, she pressed the button of the blender, the loud WHURRRR drowning out her voice. She pressed it again to pour out her smoothie.

"That was a joke!" she snorted, "I swear you get it from Miss Starr!"

Stella blushed.

"Oh, Mom...!"

"Do you want a strawberry-banana smoothie, honey?"

"Sure."

As Mom poured the smoothie into a tall glass, Stella couldn't help but look out the window. It was a bright, clear day-- not a cloud in the turquoise sky. An orange moving truck dominated the street as men staggered in and out of the truck, carrying big boxes and heavy furniture.

"Hey, Mom, someone finally moved into the old Brennan house. Took 'em long enough!"

Mom shrugged, unimpressed.

"It's a nice house. Someone would move in eventually."

"Heeeey!" Stella leaned forward, heart pounding in her ears. "Maybe it's a family with a girl my age! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Yeah."

Mom's voice was high and tight, as she was distracted by whatever was on her phone. She typed furiously, red-nailed fingers flying across the glowing screen. Stella stuck a red-striped straw into her glass and took a long drink, eyes rolling up to meet her mother's. Mom poured her own smoothie into a portable teal cup.

"Stella, I don't want you staring out the window all day. When I'm working, and you're at home, you need to keep busy."

"Mom, I know. It's just...it just hasn't been the same since the, uh...." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Divorce."

Mom froze. She tensed up, her shoulders stiffening as one eye twitched. Her hand flew to the back of her head.

"Let's talk about that later, okay? Right now, I need to go to work." She kissed Stella on the cheek-- a hard, quick peck. "See you tonight, sweetie. Love you."

"Love you, too, Mom."

As she watched her mother walk out to the driveway, Stella felt a hard lump rise in her throat. Mom stared at her phone, scrolling through message after message-- not looking up, not even when she opened the car door and slid inside.

All she ever thinks about is work, Stella thought, I swear, it's like ever since she divorced Dad, she married her job.

As Mom drove away, Stella waved-- though she knew her mother couldn't see. She wished Mom wasn't so absorbed in her work, even if she understood why. She wished she was the Mom she used to be, who made her own jokes, who asked about new neighbors, who took in a clear blue sky.

XXX

Lily wasn't a traditional beauty. She didn't think about her looks much, but this morning's barrage of flirty texts made her heart race with excitement. She didn't have a man go this crazy over her in twenty years. She didn't know how to go about flirting with a legal secretary from another firm, but getting his number at the wine mixer had been a good start. She held her head high as she walked inside, proud of her short, plump figure, small, slanted eyes and big Roman nose. Only the high-pitched ding of her phone made her look down: