Page 11 of Breathe Again

“Hello?”

“Mara? It’s mom.”

“Hi, mom. How are you?”

“Well! I just finished all my laundry, did my banking, and washed the patio doors. They were filthy. Now, my back hurts. I did too much I guess,” she sighed. “I picked up groceries and I’ve got my bedding in the wash now. You don’t happen to be going out for groceries, are you?”

“No, not today.”

“Oh.” She paused. “I just wanted to ask if you could pick me up a bag of milk.”

“Didn’t you just say you went for groceries today?”

“Yes, I did, but I forgot the milk!” she laughed.

“Why don’t you just go get some?” I was confused.

“Because,” she enunciated slowly and succinctly. “I just went. I don’t want to go back. I figured if you were going for groceries tomorrow you could pick it up for me.”

“I’m not going tomorrow either, Mom. In fact, we added a new member to the family today, so we’ll be home for a few days at least to settle her in.”

“Did you get a puppy?” She asked excitedly.

“No, no,” I petered off, remembering that she was allergic to cats. This was not going to go well. “Olivia likes quiet, she likes to visit her Uncle Dean’s puppy, but to have a dog full time would, first and foremost, be too much for me to handle, and the barking would drive her nuts.”

I was talking too much, nervous, over-explaining. I imagined Olivia one day feeling like this about me and my stomach pitched.

“Well, that’s why you train your dog, Mara.”

“Again,” I strived for patience, “that’s not something I have the time or desire to take on right now.”

“Well, if it’s not a puppy, what is it?” She asked irritably.

“She’s been going into the shelter for a couple of months with Bex and Willa. A little cat took a liking...”

“A cat?!” she screeched. “You know I’m allergic to cats, Mara!”

“It’s not like you come over here all that often, Mom. Maybe you can take an allergy tablet before coming?”

“I like to sleep over at Christmas time, and see my grandchild on Christmas morning, and now I won’t be able to. This was really selfish of you, Mara.”

“Really?” I drew the word out into three syllables. “You would deny Olivia a cat because you want to visit once a year and not have to take an allergy tablet?”

“You could have gotten her a dog!” She spat; her voice filled with disgust.

“I’ve already explained why that’s not an option at this time.”

“Willa put you up to this. Why she wastes her time in that flea-ridden place is beyond me. She should be building her business, not messing around with strays.”

From experience, I knew this tirade could go on for quite a while. I cut her off as quickly as I could, which was honestly not all that quick, and got back to Olivia and Sirius.

Unfortunately, as soon as she hung up with me, she phoned Willa and raked her over the coals. I knew this because Willa called me about five minutes after I hung up with my mother to check on me. Bea’s tantrums didn’t seem to bother Willa like they bothered me. I admired her for that.

That was several weeks ago and things with my mom had gone from bad to worse since then. Personally offended that I got a cat, she brought it up constantly. Explaining my reasons over and over and trying to appease her was exhausting and frustrating.

On top of that, Olivia wanted to show her pictures of Sirius, and my mom never failed to dramatically shudder when she looked at the pictures. I don’t know why she couldn't just humor her, but she had a point to make and that took precedence.

I leaned down and scratched Sirius’s tiny head with the tip of my finger. They would be back soon. Olivia would be tired, and nodoubt Harry Potter would be back on the tv, Sirius curled up beside her.

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