Check Yes, Juliet

Rasasvada

I had gotten a call from my mom earlier that week and she said that she wanted to see me. So I decided to go, maybe my mom really had changed. I wanted to give her a chance. When I got to her house, she was cooking. I watched her for a few minutes in shock as she stood there with an apron on.

"Where is Sandra?" I asked.

"She's out buying groceries. She's been teaching me how to cook too." She lifted the spoon out of the pot and held it to my mouth. "Try it."

I raised my eyebrows, but obeyed her. It actually wasn't that bad. It wasn't Sandra's kind of cooking, but I could tell my mom was getting there. I sat down at the kitchen table and she continued.

"So...this whole new...lifestyle you're living...what happened?" I asked.

She sighed. "I went on vacation with your father to Italy. We went to this market to see if there was anything good so we could try and make a meal."

I laughed. "I can't imagine you two doing that."

She smiled. "I know, it was this crazy idea we had come up with. Anyway, there was a women there selling tomatoes. She didn't have a left arm, and her clothes were dirty and the sleeves were covered in holes. But...she smiled like she had won the world. When I came up to look at the tomatoes, she welcomed me like I was part of her family. Being the way I was back then, I gave her a dirty look. But she just continued on smiling. She asked me about my family and I mentioned you. Her smile flickered and her eyes became sad. She said that she had lost her daughter. She had lost everything. Her family was practically royalty, but her husband committed an awful crime, losing his life in the process. She was like me...her relationship with her daughter was harsh. Her daughter ended up leaving and they never talked again. Once she lost everything because of her husband, she started realizing that she had missed out on what her relationships could have been and realized the important things. That's why she was so happy, she wanted to enjoy everything now that she understood what losing it felt like. For some reason this impacted me to the point that I knew I had to change. I was her, Sam. Her past was who I was. And I didn't want to only realize what mistakes I had made until I lost everything. Now, I am enjoying everything I have while I have it. And I want to mend things with you, I want to treat you better.  I want to support you."

"Have you mentioned this to dad?"

She nods. "Yeah...he doesn't approve of how I have changed."

"So...what then?"

She shrugs. "We are trying to work it out. He isn't taking it well. It's been hard."

"Well...you will always have a home with me. If things end up going south, I'll be around."

My mom dropped the spoon and started crying. I got up alarmed, what did I say? She came over and gave me a giant hug. "Thank you so much. I didn't know if you would forgive me for all the crappy stuff I have put you through."

I hugged her back. "Of course, I just needed to know that you would support me in whatever I did."

My mom nodded. "Anything for you, my darling." She smiled. "Now, I think the dish is done, should we sit?" I nodded and we sat down with the pasta. "So tell me about your life, I wasn't really around." She says shamefully. "I want to know everything."

I smiled. So I did. I told her about my early childhood, all my drama with the girls. I told her about working so hard that most nights I wouldn't get any sleep. I told her about the boring parties that they made me go to, only to see everyone drinking and smoking. And after years of it, realizing this life was awful. How my parents lived was not a fairytale. I told her about Alex, my best friend back then and how she was the only person who understood me. How she was my only friend for a long time. Then I told her about meeting Chris, and how I became the person I am today. Then I told her about Jenna, Jesse, Scott, and Ian. I told her about what life was like at boarding school too. She listened the entire time and wouldn't interrupt. It took me an hour to get through everything. I did truly want to fill her in, I wanted to start a relationship with this woman. When I finished, she looked sad.