The Peach Pits

Chapter 8

Mae drank her lemonade and browsed through the campus magazine she'd gotten with her acceptance letter. Mae imagined herself walking around campus with friends and going to parties. It made her even more eager to escape her tiny town. She felt the necklace Jesse had given her under her shirt. Extra carefully, she'd tucked it under her collar so no one in her family could see it. Wearing something that nice gave her an air of confidence she hadn't felt in years, and she liked having a secret to keep, one that wouldn't tear her family apart. 

Trina sat outside with Aunt Lynn. They talked on the porch. Trina laughed and smiled occasionally. Aunt Lynn had been out of the hospital for about a week now. She used a cane to get around. Mae pitied her aunt, to be so young and have to suffer with bad health was unfair.

"What time do you work today?" Mae's mother asked. Mae hadn't noticed her enter the kitchen.

"Not till five," Mae said slowly. "Why?"

Mae's mother shrugged. "I was just asking." Mae's mother poured herself a glass of lemonade and leaned up against the counter. When Mae noticed she wasn't going anywhere, she closed her magazine.

"I'm so glad Lynn's home," Mae's mother said. Mae would feel the same way if she had to wait in anxiety for Trina to leave the hospital.

"I'm chopped liver now," Mae answered. Trina had been attached to her mother for the past few days, helping her with everything and following her everywhere. Mae understood, but she was used to using her little bits of free time to spend with Trina.

Lisa glanced out to the porch and smiled. "You can't replace a mother," she said.

Mae narrowed her eyes. She hated when her mother made dumb little sentimental comments as if she and Mae were anywhere near as close as Lynn and Trina. She wasn't any kind of mother to Mae. She and Mae were roommates at most. Before she died, Mae had spent the majority of her life being cared for by her grandmother. And now, four years later, her mom was trying to pick up the pieces and be a mom much too late.

Mae wasn't sure if her mother truly knew why Trina and Lynn lived with them. She was sure Aunt Lynn hadn't said anything to her mom- she probably didn't know how to bring it up- but Mae wished she would. Just so she didn't ever have to say anything herself, not that she planned on it. Mae couldn't speak for her aunt, but the secret was wearing thin on her. Mae's only fear was that she might have to face the fact that her mom didn't care, or would blame her.

"Trina's getting so big," Lisa said. "I can't believe she's about to be sixteen. Time just flies." Mae wanted to laugh. Yes, Trina had gotten older, but she was maybe three feet tall on a good day. Mae's mother spoke about Trina like she was a baby when they were barely two years apart.

"Yeah," Mae agreed. "I was thinking of making her a cake. Don't know what else I'm going to do yet." With the extra money she had and the more she was planning to get, Mae could actually get Trina a real gift this year. That made her more excited than she could say.

"I'm sure she'd love that," Lisa said. "Someone else baking for a change."

"I'm normally busy," Mae said pointedly.

Lisa sighed. "Mae, I know. I didn't mean anything by it."

Mae shrugged. "I know. I was just saying-" The back door opened.

Trina came into the kitchen, followed by her mother. "It was getting too hot out there," Trina explained. The hair along her forehead had frizzed up from the heat.

"There's lemonade in the fridge," Mae offered. She pulled out a chair and helped Aunt Lynn ease herself down.

"Sweet." Trina went to the cabinet to get two glasses. She poured a glass of lemonade for her mother first, then herself. "So, Mae, any big plans for Saturday?" she asked.