Fractured Lines

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Andi let herself in. "Mom? I'm here. Tell me you're all finished cleaning up?" And she hoped in a better mood.

Her mom came out of the living room and hugged her. "Sorry, love. I don't want to deprive you of getting to clean up after one of my parties."

Andi did a little fist clench and silent cheer. Her mom was back to normal.

"I have to do a few things. The dishes have been moved to the kitchen. I got that much done." She smiled. "Truly, it's not too bad. There were only nine of us, but we had fun."

"Sure, make Cinderella do all the cleaning and never invite her to the ball." Andi draped her forearm across her forehead as she made her way to the kitchen.

Her mom's laughter rang out as she went up the stairs. Her laugh was something that settled in Andi's soul like a kitten snuggling up to her. It was so perfect and warming. The relationship they had was not something Andi took lightly; she'd seen what kind of family relationships most of her friends had and she knew hers was golden.

Once in the kitchen, she stopped for a moment to assess things. As usual, her mom had stacked everything, wiped down what she could. All that needed to be done was her least favorite job, washing and putting away the dishes.

Delilah knew how to throw a party and make everyone feel welcome. Andi was sure this one had been the same as the others. She'd offered to come back and help, but her mom had insisted that Joan would help her which had been fine with Andi. She'd been tired after her photoshoot. It hadn't gone quite as planned. An old family argument had surfaced. And one of the toddlers had gotten sick. And that was before the clouds whipped in and opened up. Rain had poured down on them. It had been insane and, thankfully, they'd decided to forgo their deposit and not re-book. Andi was fine with that. She'd packed up and had gone home and flopped on her couch.

Glad and sad that she had missed helping her mom the evening before, she filled the sink with water.

Delilah came in and rested her hand on Andi's shoulder. She smiled. "Last night was good. We had so much fun."

Andi continued to clean as her mom told her about the events of the evening before. Even though it was a committee meeting, and there was business to be discussed, there was always time for fun. Agnes Carns had gotten up and had led the group in a belly dance class. At 80, she had moves that a 20-year-old would envy. Andi wished she'd have come just to see that. The woman knew how to move her body. She was so flexible and fluid. Her husband, David Carns, had kept the group in stitches with his corny dad jokes. They were an awesome couple and had been a great addition to the committee five years before.

Delilah's cell phone rang.

"Sorry, I have to take this." She snatched it off the counter and answered it. "Hello?"

Andi shut off the water and immersed some of the dishes. She was only half-listening to the one-sided conversation.

"Yes. This is Delilah."

Andi washed the stack of dishes mounted beside the counter. She rolled her eyes, if her mom kept having dinner parties she should hire help to clean up after it. And that it not be Andi. Or she could at least get a dishwasher that Andi could stack everything into. She chuckled at that thought because, like her mom, she wasn't even sure she knew how to use one.

"No!"

Her mom's shrill voice shocked Andi so much she whipped around. Her hand hit a glass, which caused a chain reaction. Four of her mom's favorite fancy gold-encrusted wineglasses toppled from their perch on the counter and hit the clean tiled floor. The loud crash made her wince. She fumbled around, trying to ensure no more would follow their descent. She looked at the smashed mess and then up, expecting to see a stormy what-the-hell look and explain how that had happened. She was surprised to discover that her mom wasn't there. Taking a careful step to the side so she could see into the dining room, her mom was on the far side, at the opening to the living room. She was clutching the phone like she was going to crush it. She was pale and she was hunched over as though in pain.

Andi ran over to her, making hand gestures.

Her mom glanced at her, gave her a 'not now' look and hand swipe. Her body suddenly went on high alert, looking like a rabbit ready to bolt. And then she did. She ran from the room.

It felt like being in the middle of an intense windstorm with the wind whipping at you, pulling your hair, tugging anything not tied down, and then suddenly it's gone. Andi turned her head to the right and then to the left, just to see if she'd missed something. Her mom had done many things that made Andi wonder about her sometimes, but most had been silly or fun. Rarely had she seen this, whatever this was, from her.

A sense of dread suddenly gripped Andi's shoulders in a talon's grasp and then dropped like a stone into her stomach. Pressing her hand to her belly, she went searching. There was no sign of her mom in any of the downstairs rooms. A banging sound from overhead caught her attention. Heading for the stairs, she hurried up them. Just as she got to her mom's bedroom, where the door was slightly ajar, the door slammed in her face.

Immediately, she remembered when she was 13, angry and pissed off at her mom for not letting her go to a party, she'd slammed a door in her mom's face. It had been the one and only time. Being on the receiving end of that sucked. How her mom had put up with some of her teenage tantrums she didn't know. But this wasn't a teenage tantrum.

"Well, that was rude. Mom! What's going on?" She wanted to barge in, but they'd always respected each other's privacy. Andi had never seen her react like this, ever. Not even when Andi had told her at 16 that she was pregnant. Her mom had freaked which Andi hadn't understood until later, when she'd realized her mom had her at 18.

But after the lecture about unprotected s*x, she'd gone right into how they could make this work. Andi would have to finish school. There was no way she was dropping out. She'd have to get a part-time job to help pay for the expenses. And on and on. She'd planned it all out. Andi had only wanted to see if she could rattle her mom, who was always so calm and cool. She'd felt horrible when she had to tell her mom it wasn't true. Then, she'd tried to save face by telling her it had been a school project—testing the psychology of another. That little lie wasn't one Andi had ever cleared up.

"Mom? What's going on? You're scaring me."

They'd always had a direct relationship, with her telling Andi when she was being a brat or when things were weighing her down. But she'd never cut Andi out altogether without some explanation. Other than the day before when they'd gone grocery shopping. Something had changed.

The door opened so there was a little crack. Her mom spoke softly but did not show her face. "I'm fine. I just need a moment."

"You okay?"

"Yes. I just had a bit of unexpected news." The door closed with a gentle snap.

Andi leaned against it, placing her palm flat against the polished wood. She breathed out slowly. This woman was her entire world. She'd singlehandedly raised her. And, in all her 31 years, Andi couldn't recall a time that she'd feared losing this woman or of really even having her world rattled. Her life had been blessed with very few hills and valleys. Not knowing who her dad was had always bothered her, but her mom had made sure that she made up for that lack of a parent in Andi's life.

"I'll be downstairs." There was no answer, so she pushed away and made her way downstairs. She went to the kitchen, slightly relieved that she didn't have to explain what had happened to the fancy glasses. She got the broom and dustpan and cleaned up the mess and then washed the red wine from the floor. She finished up the dishes, wiped everything down, and realized she was still alone. Debating what to do—wanting to respect her mom's space but also wanting to make sure she was okay—she walked to the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom?" She waited a heartbeat. "Mom?" she yelled louder. There was no reply. She leaned against the railing.

A car started up. Andi frowned but went to the front door as it sounded awfully close. She opened the door. Her eyes met her mom's as she put the car in reverse and gunned it.

Andi ran outside, waving her hand, trying to get her to stop. "Mom! What are you doing?"

She got a flip of the hand, one that was a gesture of leave me alone. She drove off.

Andi's gaze never left the last spot where the car had turned the corner and disappeared. She stood on the cold cement in bare feet, with only jeans and a T-shirt against the brisk spring breeze, but it barely penetrated her thoughts. She stared down the semi-busy street.

"Hey, who was that squawking their tires?"

Andi looked vacantly at Joan, her mom's neighbor and best friend, who had joined her.

"If your mom saw that, she'd be flying out here giving them hell. There are a lot of signs in our neighborhood—slow down—thanks to her. She's always looking out for the young kids and the elderly, who don't always watch where they're going."

"Yeah."

"Who was that? It wasn't someone from the party last night, was it? Oh my, that was so much fun. Your mom sure knows the right people to invite. I love that she keeps it fun and full of laughs. Well, after the boring meeting stuff happens. Karen Brentworth, that witch, is still peeved that she didn't get an invitation. She's been trying to get on your mom's board for ages. I love that she keeps telling the old crow no."

"Yeah, she doesn't like people who come for political reasons, personal gain, or to create drama. All three of which Karen is looking to do."

"Yes, she could make Delilah's life hell, but she doesn't let her." Joan chuckled.

"I didn't ask. What is Mom saving money for now? Turtles? Ocean cleanup? Homeless?"

"Single mothers."

Something in her tone caught Andi's attention. Her head snapped around to look at her, but Joan evaded eye contact.

"It's cold out here. If you find out who that was making so much racket, let me know. Actually, I'm sure Delilah will tell me about it next time I see her."

"Mom."

"Yes. I'll talk to her later."

Andi looked at Joan, and then the empty street. "No. It was Mom."

"Get out. She'd never—"

"That's what I thought." She turned and walked back into the house, leaving Joan standing there frowning.

"I'm sure this isn't a midlife crisis thing, but it is kind of odd for her to do this. I've known her for twenty-nine plus—"

Andi shut the door without answering. It was then that she realized she was shaking, only she knew it wasn't from the cold spring air.