Page 71 of Seven Days in June

Finally, she glanced up, meeting her mom’s eyes.

“Are you sorry you had me? Do I make your life harder?”

“No! Where is this coming from?”

“You said I was a burden, Mom. You said you don’t have any space for a real life, because I soak up all your time and energy.”

“I didn’t say that!”

Audre’s brows rose to the ceiling.

“Yes, I said that,” admitted Eva. “And it’s true. It’s hard for me to date and do spontaneous stuff other single women do. But I’m also not interested in dating. I love my life the way it is! Just me and you, kid.”

“Just me and you, huh?”

Eva cocked her head. “Yeah. Who else?”

Audre shrugged insolently. She was acting strange. This was more than just the fight. She was holding something back.

“By the way,” Eva continued, grasping at straws, “when you called me perfect? I’m far from it. And when I was around your age, I had a really tough time.”

“You went to an Ivy League school! And wrote a bestseller when you were barely legal.”

“Honey, I was also sick. Even sicker than I am now. Wanna know how I got to Princeton? My grades dropped so dramatically my senior year that they rescinded their offer. I had to write an essay from a hospital bed”—psych ward, just tell her—“begging the university to take me back. Explaining that I had a debilitating illness.”

“Really? Can I read it?” Audre asked shyly, her mood shifting a bit. She was always hungry to hear more about her mom’s childhood. When Audre was little, she’d ask Eva relentless questions.What’s your funniest memory? Did you ever have a crush that liked you back? What was the scariest movie you saw in the theater?Eva could always answer those. The deeper questions, she couldn’t.

“Yes, baby, you can read it,” said Eva, getting up to move to Audre’s side of the bench, scooting in next to her. Audre hooked her arm through Eva’s and leaned her head on her shoulder.

“So, you fought to get back into Princeton.”

“I did,” said Eva.

“You fought to keep me in school, too,” started Audre. “How? I mean, what did you say to Mrs. O’Brien to change her mind?”

Audre peered up at her, with her massive doe eyes, and Eva froze a little. She wasn’t prepared to explain Shane.

“I did her a favor. I found an English teacher to replace Mr. Galbraith. Shane Hall. Heard of him?”

“Ohhh, I’ve heard of him,” responded Audre cryptically. “How doyouknow him?”

“Well, he’s a Black author,” said Eva, kissing Audre’s forehead. “We more or less all know each other.”

“Huh. How well do you know him?”

“I mean…”

“Do you, like,likehim?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because I saw pics of you two. Outside, yesterday. And it was clearly a date.”

Eva disentangled herself from Audre and stared at her—mouth agape, heart pounding, temples exploding.

“Audre,” she started, forcing a casual little laugh. “I don’t know what you saw. But if I was seeing someone, you’d know it. Honestly, does Shane Hall even seem like my type?”

“You don’t date, Mommy. What even is your type, the Invisible Man?”

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