Page 4 of Lucius

Selecting the tour at noon, Sidney entered in her information and hovered the mouse over thereserve nowbutton.

What was the old saying? It was easier to ask forgiveness than permission?

Wasn’t shealsoa whole adult who could do things like take a day off?

Taking a deep breath, she clicked the button to reserve her spot for Saturday.

Now she just had to find the right time to tell her mom.

“What? I need you! Saturday is our busiest day!” her mom said after dinner as Sidney was clearing the dishes.

“I’ll help set up in the morning and deal with the clients as they come in, but I’m leaving at eleven. On the dot.”

“Why do you have to do this? Why not Sunday?”

“Because.” She had a whole lot to say, actually, about how it was reasonable to want to take time off and not always be atthe salon. Hair styling was her mom’s passion, not Sidney’s. No matter the suggestions and encouragement she’d gotten to go into it, Sidney had always only wanted to do art.

“Because?” her mom prompted with an annoyed tone.

Her heart sank a bit at her mom’s harsh tone, but she’d been hyping herself up all afternoon to have this confrontation. “This is important to me, Mom. I want to go, but more than that, I never ask for time off. I’ve been working at the salon since Dad died and you’ve never hired anyone to help out at the front desk so I could do my own thing.”

“The salonisour thing.”

“It’s yours, not mine.Artis my thing. I know you don’t get it.”

Her mom waved a dismissive hand. “No, I don’t get it at all. You’re talking about doodling when I’m talking about our business. It keeps the roof over our heads and the lights on, dang it. Besides, I don’t have anyone to cover on such short notice.”

Ever since she’d clicked the button for the reservation, Sidney had felt like she needed to go to the safari park. More than her desire to sketch animals up close, she could feel like this was a decision that was going to change things for her in some way. She just had aninkling, as her grandma used to say, that something cool was just around the corner.

Straightening her shoulders, Sidney ignored the guilt that surged inside her. She knew her mom depended on her, but this was something she not only wanted to do, but felt deep in her bones that she needed to do it. “I’ve made up my mind,” she said with as firm a voice as she could muster. “I’ll be leaving at eleven and I’ll be gone for the rest of the day.”

“Oh fine, you win. We’ll manage.”

Relief flooded through her. “Thanks, Mom.”

She felt a mix of emotions as she finished carrying the dishes to the sink and turned on the hot water. She’d had a small victory, but she still felt guilty. She didn’t like disappointing hermom even though she was one hundred percent certain that the salon would be perfectly fine without someone sitting at the front desk for one afternoon.

She just simply didn’t want to keep putting herself on hold like she’d been doing for so many years. It was well past the time when Sidney needed to put herself first for a change, and going to the safari park to sketch animals was a very small step toward a life that she wanted very badly for herself. One that wasn’t stuck behind the front desk and wishing things were different, butmakingthings different.

Hope flickered in her chest for a moment.

Was this what it felt like to finally have a chance to do something for herself? To follow her heart and chase her dreams?

It was pretty damn awesome.

As the suds filled the sink and the steam from the hot water made her nose itch, Sidney smiled to herself. She was going to take a day off and go to the safari park and see some wild animals up close. She’d take her new sketchbook and her leather roll of freshly sharpened pencils, and she’d make the most of her time there.

She couldn’t wait.

Saturday couldn’t come fast enoughfor Sidney. She was so excited for the safari tour and a chance to see the animals up close that she’d studied the park map until she felt like she had it memorized. Her mom had been annoyed with her all Friday, but Sidney had chosen to ignore the behavior. Her mom was used to Sidney caving whenever she tried to guilt her into doing what she wanted, but this time, Sidney felt so sure that she was supposed to go to the park that she wasn’t fazed by the guilt one bit.

When it was time for her to leave on Saturday for the park, her mom studiously busied herself in the back and she just chalked it up to her being annoyed that she didn’t get her way. But Sidney was finally putting herself first.

When had she ever done that?

It was strange that she was in her twenties and had never really been able to do what she wanted without being pressured by her mom to always focus on the family business. Times like these, with her mom acting like a petulant child, made her miss her dad even more. He’d always been a buffer for her mom’s harsher edges, and had supported her art even though he’d hoped she would go into the styling business.

The park was busy when she pulled into the line for the parking lot. She eagerly awaited her turn to greet the man who was directing people into the parking lot.

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