- 3.
Saying that in front of everyone was like a
slap in the face for Chrissy.
Mom had never even raised her voice to
<
Chrissy before, so she stared with wide eyes,
not believing what she was hearing.
Tears welled up instantly, and she whined,
“Why? Mom, you’ve got to be mistaken. Why
would I apologize to Ashley? And how can you
say I’m someone else’s daughter? You’re
hurting my feelings! I’ll never forget what you
said today!”
Mom didn’t even bother to look at her. Her
fingers trembled as she touched my face
gently.
“It’s okay, honey. Mom’s going to make up for
everything you went through. Come on, let’s
go home and talk.”
Chrissy was practically grinding her teeth.
She stomped her foot, watching me follow
<
Mom to the car with pure hatred.
Even as the car started, Chrissy screamed,
“I’m not coming home tonight! I’m going to
run away and starve to death!”
But all she got back was the dust kicked up
as the car drove off.
And she really didn’t come home that night.
She even had the housekeeper tell Mom that
she was staying with her boyfriend.
Before, Mom would have blown a gasket and
demanded that they find her, even skipping
dinner.
But this time, she told the housekeeper not to
look for her.
<
Dad and Jake were both out on business, and
Mom stared at the family picture on the wall
for a long time, like she was in a trance.
Finally, she looked up, and her eyes were
dark.
“Tell her that we support all her decisions
from now on. It’s just a boyfriend, whatever.
As long as she’s happy, let her do what she
wants.”
That night, Mom did something she never did,
cooking all my favorite dishes and forcing a
few black credit cards on me, telling me I
could spend the money however I wanted.
The housekeeper winked, showing me the
number 8 with her fingers. When I didn’t get
it, she mouthed, “Millions.”
<
And Mom said, out of nowhere, that she knew
everything that had happened.
“Ashley, give Mom a chance to make it up to
you, my sweetheart.”
