Mary and Halley (sequel to When Mary Met Halley)

ten

I told Halley about what Paul had done and she was as sad and outraged as we were. We made sure Paramjeet knew she could stay as long as she wanted; she didn't want to move back in with her family and didn't want to be alone.

All totally relatable. 

The next day was Saturday and we were eating pizza when the front door opened and Hazel walked in.

"Um," I said, holding a slice halfway to my mouth.

"Hey," she said casually, walking over to the box to take a piece out. I just gaped at her.

"Mama!" Jasper shrieked once he recovered from the shock, falling out of his chair in his haste to get to her. 

"Hi, baby," she said through a mouthful of pizza, picking him up and holding him. She kissed Hank on the head. "Hey, big guy." Leave it to her to get the nicknames mixed up.

"Ma?" Hank asked, more question than greeting. He looked at Shiloh, who was looking at me, worried because she knew Hazel wasn't supposed to be there without us having advance warning.

"It's okay," I said to her, but it wasn't. "Come out front with me for a minute," I said to my sister in a forced friendly tone.

"No thanks," she said airily, still holding Jasper. I wanted to yank him away. She was thin, too thin, and didn't have the healthy look of someone who had been off illegal substances for an extended period of time. 

My mother came in the open door. "Sorry we're late, there was a traffic accident," she explained, clutching an old mustard yellow plastic handbag. 

"We weren't actually expecting you," I said, trying not to be rude. I was already emotionally drained from the previous day of horror stories.

Mom looked surprised. "Hazel said she arranged it."

"Seriously?" I asked Hazel, not even hiding it now. "You can't do this."

"What, I texted you, it's not my fault if you didn't get it," she said, rolling her eyes and putting Jasper down. She perched on the counter to finish her pizza. "Shiloh? Don't you have a hug for Mama? Or is Auntie Mary turning you against me?" Her lame joke fell flat, mostly because she wasn't joking.

My niece got up and dutifully hugged her. She was used to the calm and normality of the house now, and was understandably wary of her unpredictable mother.

Which, of course, was also relatable. 

"Why don't you guys take Granny into the other room and show her the new hidden pictures game," I said to them, hoping Leif, Halley, and Paramjeet would take their time returning from the store. 

Shiloh nodded and went into the living room, calling "C'mon, Jasper and Granny!" 

My mom followed but Jasper shook his head. "I want to stay with Mama." He wrapped his arms around her dangling legs and a mulish expression stole over his face.

"You can have a cookie," I offered, not above bribery. 

He shook his head steadfastly, and I heard the mini van pull into the driveway. "Fuck," I said.

"Mary, don't talk like that in front of my children; that's bad parenting," my sister admonished me brightly. 

I flipped her off. "You're about to hear worse," I promised, because Leif was walking up with his hands full of bags.  

He came in loudly and stopped almost comically when he saw who was in the kitchen. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before words could come out. "You, why?" he asked.