A Taste of Jellybean Kisses - Pink - The Prequel

Two

NOW...

My lips still tingled as I got out of the car. “Mom, you won’t believe what happened!” I screamed, running up weathered stairs that shook with every step. I hated the rickety garage apartment we’d rented after the storm. It was supposed to be for just a couple months but now we were coming on half a year. And we’d stayed in for six months already. I slammed the door open, startling my mom who had been resting on the couch. That was something she never done while I was growing up, even with the constant demands of living in a busy bed and breakfast, she’d never seemed exhausted like this. But her new job had her traveling five days a week, and I knew the money issues we were had were always on her mind.  I was glad to see her taking care of herself, but at the moment I needed her. 

“There was a goose in your car?” she said, trying to smile but it somehow looked like a frown.  Her Spanish coloring hadn’t made its way to me at all. My looks came a hundred percent from my father’s Irish side. Her voice sounded rough and exhausted, but she did manage a small smile. 

“How…how did you know?” I asked, putting away the groceries that were the reason I’d left our nice dry house originally.

“This is Avon,” she said, rolling her eyes. That was something we both did but only at home. It wasn’t an appropriate reaction around anyone else. “Mrs. Murphey and Mrs. O’Donnell already called.”

Of course, they did. Here in our little world everybody knew everyone else’s business. It made me feel a part of things, but I knew my mom was over it.

“Mrs. Murphey is a bitch,” she said, shocking me with the language. Before she’d gone off to work in the real world, she would have never used language like that. She’d put up with the gossips in our small town life for twenty years before deciding to get her MBA. I think she was planning to divorce my dad and leave here, but the hurricane changed everything.  Her new job was the only thing keeping our family afloat financially.

Even as tired as she always was with the traveling, she seemed much happier. And even though she was home less, we talked about things more. I liked it. It was the only good thing to come from the stupid storm.

“Shh mom,” I said, pointing at the walls. Mrs. Murphey owned the apartment where lived. In Avon, gossip was currency, and Mrs. Murphey was always rich with news, as well as real estate.

“I doubt she’s bugged the place,” my mother said.  “Although I wouldn’t put it past her. And she told me you kissed Jax,” she said, sighing. I knew that noise covered up her reaction to a rude comment Mrs. Murphey.  It was most likely about my sister Lola, who’d gotten pregnant at sixteen and was still, considered the town slut even though she’d left four years ago. Mom didn’t need tell me details. I’d heard it all before. It was the main reason Jax and I were not more than friends.

“I always figured you would have college, to be with him without judgments and prying eyes,” she said. I nodded. I’d told Jax the same thing on a number of occasions. “I’m really sorry Jacey.” Looking beaten, she passed me an envelope that was on the coffee table. I scanned it quickly, and my heart dropped. 

 “What? Mom? How can they do this?” I asked, wanting to crumple the letter and burn it. The Financial Aid department had turned me down because the income was high on last year’s tax returns. We’d appealed based on the devastation that Sandy caused, but that was only worth a small credit and not nearly enough for what we needed. I bit my lip, hard enough to draw blood. I didn’t want to make my mother feel worse by showing how upset I was.

 “I’ve already called them, and there’s nothing they can do. On the positive side, next year you’ll be able to get everything we need. They’ll defer your admission, and with community college credits, you should still be able to graduate with your class. It’ll actually save some money in the long run. But I know it sucks right now.”  That was an extreme understatement.