Page 23 of I Love to Hate You
“Hey, baby,” she says as her face lights up like Christmas morning. “How are you doing?”
I stand back and look at my mother, soaking in the sight of her and letting it make my day ten times better. She looks phenomenal. Her color has returned to its usual hue, her hair is done, she’s fully dressed, and I can tell from the way she’s standing that she feels good. Her entire aura is pleasant and happy like it was before her diagnosis, and it wouldn't matter if I’d had the worst day of my life, seeing her this way makes my heart bloom.
“Ma, you look so good,” I tell her as I step forward and wrap her in my arms. She does the same to me and the two of us stand in the doorway embracing like it’s a family reunion.
“Well, I finally feel a little better,” she says, stepping back to look at me like I’m the one who has been sick. “You look good, baby. I haven't heard from you in a couple of days. Is everything okay?”
My smile is as wide as the doorway. “Yeah, everything is fine. I’m just glad to see you doing so much better.”
“Me, too,” she says, beaming.
Mom moves to the side to let me enter and closes the door behind us, securing every lock again, which tells me how low her energy was before that she couldn't even lock the door.
Every light in the house is on tonight, showcasing the house I grew up in. Tons of pictures cover the walls with images of my mother’s family framed for all to see. Throwbacks of my mom standing next to my grandmother when she was a kid, well before she met my father and had me, put a smile on my face because I know she wasn’t sick in those pics. I find myself spinning around to get a view of everything in the room because it’s been so long since she felt good enough to have all the lights on. It’s nice to see it all and be reminded of where I grew up. Having a single mother is hard for everyone, but the bond it creates is something that can’t be undone.
Mom and I walk into the kitchen where she has a baby blue kettle on the stove. She steps to it and turns on the burner that ignites after three clicks.
“You know I have to have my tea,” she says, turning around to face me. “You want some?”
I’m not really big on tea, but when Mom is offering, the answer is always yes, so I nod. Mom removes two mugs from the cabinet and sets them on the counter, followed by tea bags.
“So, how’s school?” she asks, which immediately makes me swallow hard.
“Uhh, school’s good,” I reply.
“Almost at the end, huh?”
“Yeah, for sure. I’ve got some interesting news about that, actually.”
“Oh?” she says, raising her eyebrows.
“Yeah. So I took my final test today for Retail and Sales Management. It was a big deal because I needed to score well in order to pass the class. If I didn’t pass the class, I wouldn't have the credits I needed to graduate, so it was ahugedeal, actually.”
Mom pauses to look at me with that face that mother’s get when they know they’re about to have bad news dropped on them by their children. She stares blankly, her eyes immobile and unblinking, waiting for me to get it out. I press my lips together and look down at the floor for a moment, and when I look up her face hasn’t changed at all.
“What, Kendrick?” she demands, making me feel like I’m living under her roof again.
“Mom,” I start. “I passed the test. You're going to get to see me walk and be handed a degree at graduation. I did it.”
The greatest joy in my world is watching my mother’s face burst into happiness, and nothing is better than watching it now. Her smile makes the bulbs in the room seem dull by comparison, and her eyes immediately fill with tears.
“You did it,” she says as she pushes herself away from the counter and extends both of her hands for me to take. “I always knew you would, baby. I’m so very proud of you.”
“Thank you, Ma,” I say as we hug again, and somehow, this one feels like the best hug I’ve ever gotten. “I did it all for you.”
“Sshh,” she responds, pulling me in tighter. “You hush. You did it for you, Kendrick. I’m as proud of you as a mother can be, but never forget that you did this for your own good. You were strong and determined, and you knew all along that pulling this off would set your life up for success in a way that staying around here never could. I couldn't be happier for you.”
“Thanks, Ma,” I say again. I lose the fight to keep my own tears back as one slides down my cheek. Mom wipes it away but doesn’t bother to wipe her own.
She takes another moment to squeeze my hands with a prideful smile, before going to the stove and taking the whistling kettle off the burner.
“So now that you know you’ve made it, what’s next?” she asks as she pours water in the mugs.
“I’m not even sure yet,” I admit. “Having a degree is one thing. Securing a job is another. I have to look into what marketing firms are doing internships nearby. I’ll start looking as soon as graduation is over.”
“I know you’ll find a job. I was talking about now. Do you have any plans to celebrate? Parties to attend?”
“Oh … yeah. I’ll probably get with Simon and celebrate a little.”
