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“I told you,” I reply, my heart swelling in my chest at seeing my mom’s happiness. “My new job gave me a bonus.”
“A bonus?” Mom asks, and I nod. “Already?”
I should’ve known the little white lie wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her curiosity. I hate to let it snowball, but I can’t exactly go back now and tell her my new boss paid for the room. That’d be even worse. “When you make the company six figuresin profit in the first week you’re there, they’re grateful,” I reply, thankful that’s the truth, at least. We turn and start down the hallway toward the elevator. “The timing was perfect. I got the bonus, and then you texted me. Seemed sort of karmic to use some of it on treating you. I’m sorry Dad couldn’t make it.”
“Well, you know your father,” Mom says as we reach the elevator and she pushes the down button. “He’s not exactly Mr. Spontaneity, so he was all too willing to stay home with Mark.”
I have to agree. I love my Dad, and he taught me a lot about hard work and preparation, qualities I’ve put into my work. But he’s about as predictable as the sunrise and sunset. So, an unplanned trip down to the city, even to see me? Well, that just doesn’t fit in his schedule for life. And with him and my brother at home, they’re probably ordering take-out, holing up in their respective rooms, and nerding out in their own ways—Dad, with bowling on TV, and Mark, with his computers.
But Mom loves the opportunity to get out and experience life in the city. She’s wearing one of her best dresses, there’s a smile on her lipstick-pink lips, and she has a sparkle in her eyes. She’s ready to tackle the evening and whatever may come.
I’m more than grateful for my mom and for the fact that we’re able to spend some girl time together.
The elevator comes, and we step inside. “Mom?” She looks over at me, and I feel a little choked up, how much I’ve missed her hitting me unexpectedly. “I just wanted to say thanks for coming,” I tell her honestly. “I know you’ve been worried about me.”
Mom chuckles and takes my hand. “You’re always going to be my little girl, sweetheart, so I’m always going to worry about you. That doesn’t mean I don’t have faith in you, but even when you get enough money to buy whatever you want, I’ll worry.”
"So this’ll never end?” I tease, hoping it doesn’t.
“Well, if you ever want to buy your parents a motorhome for our retirement,I wouldn’t say boo.”
I laugh. “Tell you what. If I can ever afford it, and Dad agrees to actually use it and not just let it sit in the driveway, we’ll talk.”
The elevator dings again, and we come out into the lobby of the Hotel London. Why London? I have no clue. But the hotel’s nice, and the room is definitely bigger than my apartment.
Dylan went above and beyond, and silently, I thank him. Some people might think he’s sugar daddying me, but I know the truth of Dylan. He did it because that’s who he is. He’d do the same for his few friends as well. If anything, he’s been too generous with me, because if the Hotel London is three-star, I’ll eat a big ol’ bowl of lima beans. Frozen.
I just wish I knew what caused such a big heart to become walled off and so hard to most of the world. Even as I waited for Mom to finish getting ready for dinner tonight, my thoughts turn to him. I miss him, and seeing the joy he’s brought to my mother, even without her knowledge, is something I want to return to him as soon as I can.
But tonight is about Mom, and as the elevator doors open and we cross the lobby, I get to give her a little of her own medicine.
"Surprise!” the two women say in unison.
“Maggie! Melinda! What are you doing here?” Mom says, looking from them to me and then greeting them each with a hug.
Melinda answers quickest. “Raven told Maggie you were coming down as a surprise, so we did a little sneaky girls’ trip planning too. I hope it’s okay we invited ourselves to your dinner, Dianne?” She gives Mom a warm look, truly okay if Mom says she’d rather it be just the two of us.
But Mom loves Maggie, treating her like a second daughter, and Melinda is basically her partner in crime, if the crime is shopping a little too often and having a Cosmo or two too many. Melinda is more a Nordstrom’s and Barney’s type, and Momis strictly TJMaxx, but somehow, they get along well with the common denominator of their daughters being friends.
“Of course you’re welcome. The more, the merrier,” Mom tells them. “I’m excited to see you too.”
“Have you had fun?” Maggie asks Mom.
Mom sighs in bliss. “Oh, my goodness, yes. We had room service and went to the park this morning. Then, this afternoon, Raven took me to get this massage where you’re floating in water. What was that called again?”
“Watsu massage,” I reply, exchanging looks with Maggie, who gives me a little smile. She spotted me that one, giving me a coupon she’d gotten from the last time she went to her favorite salon. “And you had fun, admit it.” Mom had serious doubts about that, saying it was going to feel like a weird swimming lesson, but afterward, she’d been wigglier than a bowl full of Jell-O.
"I did,” she agrees with a laugh.
“Good. I would love to hear more about it over dinner,” Melinda says, reminding us that we should go if we want to make our reservations.
We’re going to a steakhouse in the theater district I know Mom will enjoy. It’s likely she’ll try to pay, especially when she thinks I paid for the hotel, but I don’t want her to do that. I’d love to be able to treat her to a nice meal while she’s in town. Unfortunately, I haven’t actually received my first paycheck yet, so Maggie offered to spot me and I promised to pay her back as soon as I get paid. In the end, Melinda will probably snatch the check and it will be a moot point, but I’m glad to have a plan in place regardless since my funds are running lower than they ever have before.
We take a taxi to the restaurant, and Mom and Melinda chat the whole way, rehashing the latest season of aHousewivesshow they both watch before switching gears to swap dessert recipes. I can’t help but crack up a bit as Melinda calls one of Mom’s classic poke cakes a ‘brilliantidea’. Delicious? Yes, absolutely. Brilliant? I’m not sure about that, but Mom’s beaming so I’m not gonna pop her bubble.
“Do you all come here a lot?” Mom asks as she sits down at our table.
“I think I’ve been here with John before,” Melinda says, mentioning Maggie’s dad, who stayed home to give us a ‘girls’ night on the town’. She looks around and confides, “Probably for some boring business meeting he had. These days, I don’t have to go to many of those dreadful things. Times change, and meetings are in coffee shops and tea houses more often than over white tablecloths.” She looks pleased at that, then laughs as she shares a story. “Oh, my goodness, he went to a meeting the other day, and they gave him boba tea!” she tells us. “He said that when he took a drink, he thought he’d swallowed a crown and nearly choked himself trying to get it back up, only for it to pop in his mouth. Suffice it to say, he was not a fan.”
