Three Wishes (A Mulberry Lane Novel, #2)

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

Kate MorganTwenty-seven-year-old Kate Morgan was a God-fearing and highly superstitious person who never clipped her nails a night or put her handbag on the floor. She looked away whenever a black cat crossed her path, and she checked the doors and locks three times before bed each night.

Sweet as she was, Kate was always eager to please and had an insatiable need for love and approval, even at the expense of her own happiness. If given the opportunity, it wouldn’t have been difficult for a psychologist to determine that she was the way she was due to her upbringing. At the end of the day, we are all products of our relationships and experiences, both past and present. Our parents, siblings. Aunties and uncles. Our babysitters and teachers. Our best friends, the first boys who’d ever broken our hearts—as well as the last ones. The man behind the counter in the corner store who refused to sell us the candy when we were nine-years-old because we were ten cents short; even the recluse across the street. Those are the relationships that have shaped who each of us is today and who we will be tomorrow.

Kate paced the waiting area with Adam in her arms. A mix of anticipation and dread filled her. The airport was just as busy as it had been on the day she’d first flown into Portland on her way to Carlton Bay. Evan had been there, waiting for her, flowers in one hand and balloons in the other. She remembered the giddiness she’d felt when she spotted him. It was the first day of the rest of her life; her new life, which belied how that marriage would later end

“Babe, stop pacing,” Mark said. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Kate was relieved that Mark was able to get the afternoon off from work so that he could help her pick her mother up from the airport. “I’m so excited!” Kate was very close to her mom. She was her best friend and the one person—apart from Adam and her best friends, Sarah and Louise—who she loved most in the word. But she was also nervous. Ever since the day she’d told her parents she was leaving for the United States to be with Evan, her mother had all but disowned her. “But I’m also scared.” Kate dry-retched. “I think I’m gonna be sick. What time is it?” Kate checked her watch. It was almost 1:00pm. Her mom’s flight should have arrived at 12.20pm from Manila and the flight board said it had landed on time.

“She should be coming out of the customs area any minute now.” Mark took Adam from Kate. “But seriously, babe, you’ve gotta relax. You’re making me nervous!”

“Don’t be nervous. My mom is super cool,” Kate said, as if also trying to convince herself.

“You told her I’d be here, right?” Mark asked.

Kate and Mark had been dating for close to two years now. They’d decided to take things slowly. Or—more accurately—she’d decided to take things slow. After her one-year marriage to Evan ended up in divorce, the last thing she wanted was to get tied up in another relationship. The next stage in her life was dedicated to finding out who she was as an adult, an independent woman, and a new mother. “Of course,” Kate beamed and then scrunched her face. “I mean, I didn’t exactly tell her you’d be here; like, today. But I have told her all about you and how amazing you are,” she quickly added.

“What? You mean she doesn’t know I’m out here waiting with you?” Mark asked.

Kate shrugged. “Don’t worry. She’s cool—and you’re gonna love her.” For what it was worth, Helen Valdez was a great mom. She was a great woman, the kind of person who didn’t take fools. She called things as she saw them.

Growing up, Kate watched in awe how Helen carried herself. To Helen, a spade was a spade—there were no two ways about it. And if anyone tried to sell her a shovel, claiming it to be a spade, that person was in for it. There was black, there was white, but there was never gray. Helen was fierce and beautiful, and she was wise. Everyone loved her. “Do you know...when I was younger, my mom taught PE at my school. She would wear these colorful leotards and tights—like the one’s Jane Fonda used to wear in the eighties,” Kate laughed. “I wasn’t in her class, of course, though I wish I had been. All the students thought she was cool, and I was super proud she was my mom. Anyway, when the nuns found out that she was wearing those outfits and teaching her students aerobics, they told her she needed to stop. Right? I mean, it was a strict private Catholic school for girls. They’d expected her to get the kids to do jumping jacks, sit-ups, and push-ups.”

Mark nodded as he listened to Kate’s story.

“But my mom wasn’t having any of it. She always made things fun. So, for her next class, she got her students to come in the most colorful aerobics outfits they could find; and for PE, they jogged around the school campus with two of her students carrying a boombox, blasting Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl on the loudest volume setting.” Kate laughed at the memory of it. “It was so funny! I was so proud to be her daughter.”

“Then what happened?”

“She quit.”

“She quit her job?” Mark asked.

“Yup! Right on the spot and guess what her exit music was?”

Mark wrinkled his handsome nose. “She marched off to an exit song?”

“She danced away to that song by James Brown—I Feel Good.”

“Do I know the song?”

“Everybody knows the song,” Kate said. “I feel good,”—she sang— “na na na na na na na—that’s the guitar!” she laughed. “I knew that I would now, na na na na na na na.”

“Oh, I know that one”—he sang along—“so good! And it’s a saxophone, not a guitar,” Mark laughed. “Might even be a trumpet.”

“So good!” Kate echoed him. “I got you!” Kate danced and nuzzled Adam’s neck, sending him into a fit of giggles.

“She sounds like a real treat,” Mark said of Helen.

“Oh, she is! Mom was always the life of the party. Like, seriously, she could walk into a wake and the whole sad affair would turn into a party.” Kate was beginning to look forward to seeing her mom walk through the gates.

“Come here, buddy,” Mark said as he picked Adam up from Kate’s arms.

“You know... when I broke that mirror last month, I thought it was the end. I mean, seven years of bad luck, Mark. First, my dad died. Then, I couldn’t afford to fly home to say goodbye. But now,” Kate smiled, “now, my mom’s coming to live with me. It feels like things are actually falling in place.”

Mark laughed. “I think we all knew you were being silly about the whole thing. First of all, you didn’t break the mirror. It fell. Whatever bad luck you think comes with that should not fall on you. Second, it was impractical to return to the Philippines. It’s not your fault that you weren’t able to attend his funeral.”

“Whatever,” Kate waved a hand in front of her. “I’m just glad. My luck is turning; I can feel it!”

“Kate! Kate!”

Kate saw her mother, Helen, waving from across the way. She wore a deep red dress which fell just above the knees. “Ma!” Kate jumped and waved. She took Adam back from Mark. “There she is,” she exclaimed, any of her earlier worries dissipated. “Let’s go!”

“My goodness! You’ve put on so much weight—I almost didn’t recognize you,” Helen said, laughing. “What have you been eating?”

“It’s the baby weight,” Kate smiled. “How was the flight?” She noticed her mother wasn’t wearing a b*a. “Oh my golly gosh, are you not wearing a b*a?” Kate whispered and looked around. Helen roared with laughed and cupped her breasts. “I took them off in the flight. You know how I hate bras. My boobs were suffocating. And besides, these babies are so small, no one can even tell they’re dancing freely. I’m surprised you can tell.” Another roar followed. “Oh, I definitely felt it.” Kate laughed. Helen always brought the entertainment and wasn’t afraid to laugh at herself.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. Woohoo!” She was a blast of energy.

“That bad?” Kate asked.

“I was worried about having to wait around another minute,” Helen said. “Standing around in the customs area is such a waste of time. They asked me so many questions—you’d think I was a terrorist or something.”

“Sssh...Ma! Don’t say that,” Kate said in a hushed tone and looked around to see if anyone had heard her.

Helen instantaneously frowned. “And why not? I can say whatever I want to say, thank you very much!”

The sudden shift in Helen’s tone surprised Kate. “I know you can...but still.”

“I can and I did,” Helen said with an air of nonchalance. “So there!” She looked Mark up and down.

Mark grinned. “Hello, Mrs.—”

“Oh good, here,”—Helen handed Mark her hand carry bags—“you can take these for me. Now, where is my little grandson?” she asked, turning back to Kate and focusing on Adam. “Come to Mama Helen, you handsome little baby,” she cooed.

“No, Ma, wait, this is Mark...” A nervous laugh escaped from her mouth. Whilst she was eager for her mother to bond with her Adam, she didn’t want Helen to think that Mark was some a baggage handler. Helen’s eagerness at seeing Adam had actually surprised her. Not once had her mother shown any delight—curiosity, tenderness, longing—for her grandson. Helen was one of those for whom the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ held true. But Kate knew that once her mother had met Adam, the relationship would grow.

“Oh,” Helen stopped and shook her head. “Sorry—am I supposed to tip him now?” she muttered as she rummaged through her handbag. “My goodness, Kate, why didn’t you tell me? I don’t think I have any dollars—”

“No, no,” Kate sighed. “This is Mark—I told you about him. Remember? Mark is my partner.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,” Mark tried once more.

“Your partner?” Helen pursed her lips and regarded him before turning back to Kate. “Where is Evan?”

Kate glanced at Mark and put a hand on his arm as if to reassure him. “I’m sorry,” she said to him. Turning back to Helen, “Ma, I told you that Evan and I have gotten a divorce.”

Helen looked from Kate to Mark and back at Kate. “Nonsense. I already told you, Filipinos do not get divorced. Now, let me say hello to my grandson please.” With a swift move, Helen took Adam from Kate’s arms, exchanging her Louis Vuitton handbag for the baby. “How’s my handsome grandson? You look just like your father,” she cooed. “No, actually, just like your grandfather,” she said with an emphasis on the word grand.

Adam cried and wriggled in his grandmother’s arms as he reached for Kate.

Helen did not hide her disappointment. “You clearly have never told him about me,” she said, handing Adam back to Kate.

Kate sighed. Things were not going as well as she’d hoped. “Ma, he’s two-years-old. He’ll come around soon. You just need to give him some time.”

Helen sniffed. “I suppose we should go. I’m exhausted from the travel.” Helen looked at Mark. “Can you at least help me with my luggage?”

Mark nodded. “If you come with me to baggage carousel, you can point yours out and I’ll go and grab it.”

* * *