Movement

Chapter Four.

When Brady received the phone call from Harry, she was in the bath. Leaned back against the back frame of her tub with her eyes closed and her chin tilted up, she relaxed her body in the scolding hot, lavender scented water. She was off of work for the day and had spent the previous evening with her Mother, the two women huddled in the booth of a Long Island diner with their hands wrapped around two hot mugs of coffee. Her mother, who reflected her daughters image almost exactly frowned as she gazed upon her daughter.

"You have horrible bags under your eyes, sweetheart," she cooed, in that motherly way that made Brady's eyes droop with ease. She always felt so comfortable around her mother.

"I'm just a bit tired lately, Mom, nothing to worry about," she dismissed, taking a sip of her coffee. Her Mom gave her one of those smiles that didn't quite reach her eyes, her head tilting ever so slightly and her shoulders slumping. She shook her head.

"Now, now, Brady, no need to humor me. I can tell when my baby's not feeling well." Brady rolled her eyes at this in the most respectful way she could- her and her mother were lucky enough to not only treat each other like family, but like friends. Their bond grew incredibly strong throughout the years and all they had been through together.

"I'm fine, Mom, seriously. Work is just... it's exhausting, that's all," she explained in her most convincing voice. Her mother didn't catch on or let it slip.

"Have you... You know, have you met anyone?" She asked timidly, and this was the question that Brady had always hated ever since she reached puberty. It's not that her mother deemed it necessary to find a man to take care of her, but she knew all too well her daughter's ways of purposefully isolating herself. She knew it because she had been this way too, and a little piece of her soul crumbled away as she began to realize that, unlike her, Brady would never grow out of this isolation phase and she would continue to deny people's attempts to get into her heart. For the most part, that terrified her.

"No, Mom," Brady sighed, her eyes closing. Mom took a sip of coffee and continued to watch her daughter, urging her to continue. "I don't have the time," Brady explained.

It was her Mom's turn to roll her eyes, and so she did. "Cut the cr.ap, Brady, you've been 'busy' since you were sixteen," she huffed out. "Now, you know I would never even humor the idea that you need a man to take care of you but... God, don't you get lonely here? Have you at least made any real friends?"

Brady frowned, and actually thought about it, because her Mom had asked her this question too many times to count at this point, and she could have a different answer for her this time. Because honestly, she's never had the chance to tell her Mom that she actually has plans to go get drinks with someone she's met through work, and even more so, she's never told her Mom about anyone besides Daniel, so she took a deep breath and looked her Mom in the eye and nodded.

"Actually, I'm going out with a coworker and some of his friends tomorrow night," Brady responded, and her Mom's eyes widened.

"Oh, honey, that's fantastic! Who's this coworker?" She asked, trying to hide the skeptical tone to her voice, but Brady didn't miss it. A typical Long Islander at heart, her Mom had a knack for gossip. Brady smiled.

"His name's Harry, he's been my partner since I started the new job," she responded vaguely. Her Mom raised her eyebrows.

"Is he cute? How old?"

"Mom," Brady huffed, "would you relax? He's not like that, it's not like that."

Mom smirked knowingly and took another sip of her coffee, looking way too damn satisfied, "for now, at least." Brady hung her head and closed her eyes as she continued, "by the time I come back down in December you two will be all cozied up by the fire, drinking some mulled wine and watching the Hallmark Channel."