Only Forward

(11) Highways Happen

My poor mother has decided she never sees either of her daughters anymore. The last time she was of that thought was during Vanessa and I's sophomore and junior years of high school, when we both tried out for every single club during one semester. Choir, marching band, orchestra, cheer, soccer, volleyball, the yearbook, the newspaper, photography, dance, you name it, we tried it. Neither of us had our own drivers licenses at the time so between the bus and my parents' cars and our teammates' families dropping and picking us up, somehow we managed to balance a super crowded schedule. At Christmastime, Mom and Dad sat us girls down and discussed the decision to only pick a few extracurricular activities instead of the whole bucket. Vanessa and I were disappointed at first, but soon discovered that life was a lot calmer when we had enough refreshed sleep to remember taking tests and quality family dinner times.
I was sixteen then. Now I'm twenty-two and life is even calmer. So it seems to me. But on my mother's perspective, her oldest daughter is married and moved out of the house and her youngest daughter finally has a full-time job and a boyfriend who takes up all her time. I sound pretty successful.
However, in the back of my mind, although I never dreamt of any of this for myself, I don't feel like I am living up to my full potential. My full-time job is just me as a vivacious coffee barista at BlueCorn and I spend more time at the Lynch house now than my own. That is about it. I am not furthering my interests on anything or helping the community or seeing the world. Vanessa is not around to listen to my heart-to-hearts anymore, unless I FaceTime her, so I end up never getting solutions to my dismays anymore. I have halted at sharing them with Ross, because I do not want him to think I am discontent with his companionship or that he is keeping me from living life. Certainly before he came into my life, I was even more boring than I am now.
My mother just freshly brewed Brazilian coffee since I can smell it from my window loft on the second floor. Pulling on a maroon cardigan, I sauntered downstairs and smiled at the backside of my mother, as she clasped tightly to her "greatest momma" mug and stared out the backyard glass doors. "Hi Momma," I called out, mentally snapshotting her silhouette for future memory.
My momma turned around and smiled. "I thought you were at work, Laura. I didn't hear you at all this morning."
I smiled and reached for the coffee pot. "They called me off this morning. This week has been especially slow. Alyssa said I can have an additional weekend shift though. One of the other baristas wants to take a trip out of town and I can have her shift."
Mom smiled. "What's Ross doing today?"
I looked down at my phone to swipe away the hot droplets of black liquid that I had spilled. "Ross? He's downtown with his siblings, meeting with a director or something. I am not sure. He was very vague last night over the phone."
"So you are free today?"
I smiled widely. My momma was missing me. "What would you like to do today?"
Marano kitchen coffee minute was now over as my mom drained the rest of the coffee pot and rinsed it with cold water. "Let's go in the valley and shop. You are in need of a new wardrobe and I need some birthday gifts for your father."
I scrunched my face at her. "A new wardrobe? What is wrong with my clothes?"
Mom chuckled, as she sidestepped me for the coat closet where her purse hung. "Your boyfriend is an up and coming musician. Don't you think you need some cuter outfits?"
Attempting to not be offended by my mother's slightly insulting apparel statement, I followed her to the garage door. "I own cute clothing. And I will buy us lunch."
Mom smiled. "Get your shoes, Laura. We have places to be."
Our first stop was a thrift store that had seen a lot of Vanessa and I when we were grade schoolers. I furrowed my brow. "Mom, how am I going to wow the supposed celebrity world with hand-me-downs?" Her thought process seemed totally off game at the moment. Was she crazy? Actually she was. My closet full of clothes was just fine.
Mom rolled her eyes at me and gestured me to follow her. "You never know what you could find in here. Besides, we are also looking for gifts for your father. He and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary next week."
I slapped myself mentally. I totally forgot about that milestone coming up. Before exploring this little corner store that I had not been in for a long time, I pinged my phone a notification to remember next week's upcoming event. By the time I glanced up from my phone, Mom was way ahead of me. My eyes bounced around the volume area of the store. Though the walls still looked as drafty as before, I knew all the items on the shelves were different day to day. You never know what you might find in a resale shop, as opposed to a regular name brand outlet. No garment is the same, by shade of color or theme or size. That is the beauty of resale retail. You have to search for the perfect masterpiece and you will probably never see someone else wearing your outfit in the world.
Mom wrapped scarves around my neck and paired them with lace jackets and skinny jeans, in an attempt to create unique outfits. I have to give my mother some credit. She does well at keeping up with the trends of the pop culture world more than most adults I know.
Unfortunately for my mother, I was not paying attention very well. I was fingering the fur coats she had pulled off the racks and mentally lost in thought about my parents anniversary and how I could make it extra special this year. "Mom? What can we do for you two this year?  For your anniversary?"  I stuttered a bit as she caught on to what I was saying.
     "He does not really want anything big, though, you know? Maybe just an outdoor dinner at the bar and grill by BlueCorn or something?"
That seemed so lame. That is what we always did, all growing up. I mulled over thoughts all the way to our next stop. Mom pulled her car into Sun Swept mall outlet. This was apparently where we were going to shop for my "new clothes". I was still stuck on Dad, however. "Would he not rather you and him go away for the weekend? Vanessa and I can take care of ourselves now."
Mom seemed to think about that one for a while. We strolled in and out of stores, my momma making sure I tried on all sorts of dresses and blouses and jeans. Although the purchases seemed a little extreme at first, it was super fun to act like a model in front of every mirror and attempt to create new fashion looks that would stand out in the world.
"Put this on, Laura. You never know when you might need a sparkling red dress!"
     I raised my eyebrows and took the loud gown from my mother. It reminded me of awards attire that I watched stars walk the red carpet in. When in the world would I need this?
     My mother covered her mouth with her hand in elegant ecstasy. "You look stunning, my dear. We are definitely buying that."
   I happened to find the price tag and I gasped. "Mom! It's $800 dollars!"
   "Your point is?" My momma gathered up the other choices she was adding to my wardrobe and shuffled me to the cashier line. "Go pull up the car, Laura. I won't have you judging my purchases. Your father and I want to support you in everything you do and this is part of it." I looked at her suspiciously as if she and my dad were hiding some mysterious contract from me or something.
      We hit the highway finally, on our way to lunch. I had googled a new place that Rydel had told me about a week ago, hoping Mom would like it. Out of nowhere, her car began wiggling and bumping. Something seemed totally uneven and I looked at Mom in alarm. Pulling to the shoulder, I carefully got out and surveyed the drivers side tire. It was flat. I frowned. Seriously?
"It's flat," I reported inside the car to my mother.
"I'll call your dad," was her response. I looked at my phone and wondered if Ross and his siblings were finished with their downtown meeting. He must have had the same thought as me, because my phone began vibrating in my hand from him.
    His voice sounded muffled, as if he was crawling through a dense tunnel. "Where are you? Rydel informed me you were possibly heading downtown for lunch."
    I smiled and frowned at the same time. "We were, until we got stranded on the sidelines because of a flat tire. My mom is on the phone with my dad, but I do not know how fast he will be able to get here."
    I heard rustling on the other side of the phone. "Hold on a second, Laura." There was a beep and I checked my phone's screen to see we were disconnected but I decided he had just put me on mute. Mom was waving her arms at me and I opened the drivers door. "Your dad is over an hour away at the other branch facility. We can call AAA. I think our account is expired, but we can try."
    I held my finger up as Ross' faint voice was trying to get my attention again. I put him on speaker. "We're coming to pick you and your mom up. Our driver will take care of your car, so that you can take it home after eating. No refusals allowed."
    Momma and I said thanks and hung up. I scrunched my forehead. "Driver? Since when do they have a driver?"
    Mom shrugged. "If you don't know, I certainly don't."
    They must have not been very far away at all, because two more vehicles pulled on the shoulder of our highway in a matter of minutes. Their "driver" ushered us out of the car, making sure we had everything that we needed at the moment from the automobile and then waved forward a tow truck and appeared to be taking a phone call simultaneously. Rydel scooted to the back of their car so that my mother could sit up front and I ended up next to Ross. I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Since when do you have a personal driver?"
    He winked. "Since this morning. It goes public in a couple days. Do you work Friday night?"
    Of course that was the additional shift I had accepted this morning. From the way Ross was talking, I needed off, so I immediately texted Alyssa and asked for a potential change. "If you cannot get off, we can attempt to have a quiet dinner on Thursday," he assured me.
    I was electrically excited for him and I had no idea why. "Something changed, didn't it?"
    Ross smiled widely. "You never know what may be around the corner or in your backyard, right where you live."
    I slapped him. That last metaphor was in relation to me, but I wanted to know about the procedures from this morning. He could tell from my face that I wasn't content. "You will know soon, I promise. Don't get me wrong. I wanted to scream from the rooftops but was reprimanded not to. But if your mom does not need you tonight, I want to show you something."
    Flat tires. Spare tires. Vague late night talks. Transformation shopping.  BlueCorn shifts. Friday night secrets. All in a day's work, I suppose. Like Ross said, you never know what may turn up around the corner.