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He glanced away from the game for a quick second and flashed her a big smile. “Hi.”
She side hugged him, and he rested his head on her shoulder before straightening and continuing his game.
“Where’s Mom?” she asked, surprised Mom hadn’t met her at the door.
“In her room.” Harper’s heart sunk. After Milo’s speech, she was ready to give Mom the benefit of the doubt and be more supportive, but if she was in her room now that meant she was passed out.
She should have known better. The second half of her life, she’d always expected so much from Mom, and every time she’d let her down. What made her think this time would be different?
Ugh. She always did this—made Harper have hope and then squashed it with no regard for anyone else. She wasn’t going to sit around and wait for her to wake up from her alcohol induced nap. She lifted her bag on her arm about to ask Tom if he wanted to go for lunch when Mom walked into the living room.
Harper did a double take. Her brown hair was styled, her face glowing with makeup, and the black bags that seemed to have been a part of her had faded.
“Hey, when did you get here?” Mom asked, her voice crystal clear and happy… Was Mom actually happy to see her?
“A few minutes ago,” Harper said, still trying to process the woman in front of her. “You look good.”
Mom’s eyebrow quirked, and she spread a hand down the turquoise t-shirt she wore that brought out the blue in her hazel eyes. “Thanks. I feel good.”
“So, you’re really sober?” Harper asked. She was looking right at Mom, but she still couldn’t believe it, she needed to hear her say it.
“I am. I got myself a sponsor, and whenever I feel the need to grab a drink, I call him.”
“I don’t get it,” Harper said. “I mean, I’m happy, don’t get me wrong, but what changed?”
She shrugged and came to sit on the loveseat beside the couch. She shifted to face Harper and let out a breath that she seemed to be holding for a long time. “Between Mrs. Garrick passing and what just happened with Milo, I realized that I don’t want to go through life in a haze. I want to see everything clearly because none of us know how much time we have left on this earth. I don’t want to wind up at the pearly gates only to regret all the things I missed out on because I chose the bottle every time.”
Harper still had her doubts. She couldn’t help herself. They’d been down this road before, and Mom always fell off the wagon. Though, this time seemed different, and deep-down Harper hoped that it was.
“I’m proud of you, Mom. I want you to know that.”
Mom’s lip quirked at the edge, the light in her eye sparking. “I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“It was a one-time thing, so enjoy it while you can,” she joked.
“I have to be honest, I thought you’d tell me I couldn’t change, and this was only temporary.”
“Is it?” Harper asked.
“No.” It was one word, but the oomph behind it reassured Harper that Mom meant it this time.
“Milo told me to give you chance, but I’ll admit when I got here and you weren’t around, I assumed—”
“I fell off the wagon?”
Harper nodded.
“Geez, don’t give me any credit.”
“Can you blame me?”
“No, I can’t.”
“Just promise me,” Harper said, “you’ll fight this time. You will do everything you have to, to be the strong woman I know that you can be.”
“I’m trying. I want to reassure you, but I can only focus on one day at a time. So, for today, I promise. I’ll fight.”
“I guess for today that’s going to have to be good enough.” Harper lifted her bag on her shoulder and stood. “I was going to ask Tom if he wanted to go to Aunt Greta’s for lunch.”
