Heather could picture her mother at the kitchen table, smoke circling her lined face—a bad habit that came with her bartending job. Her mother had been a beautiful woman. The few memories Heather had of the lake house, she could remember her mother laughing. But years of financial struggle that caused her to work nights at the bar and days in a supermarket had taken their toll. “It must be nice to be able to travel all over the world. I don’t know how I’m gonna pay my taxes this year. No matter how hard I work, it still seems like Uncle Sam takes everything.”
The usual guilt hit her as she thought about her mother’s life compared to how she now lived. She tried to help her mother financially, but she wouldn’t accept. Instead, she just kept piling guilt onto her daughter.
Heather didn’t want to burden her mother with her problems, but she needed to talk to someone. “Mom, I ended my relationship with Charlie,” Heather said.
“You did what?”
“I told him I needed a break.”
“God, Heather, what were you thinking?”
The words were a punch to the gut that knocked the wind out of Heather. Just once, she wanted to call and feel supported. “Forget it, Mom. I’ll deal with it on my own.”
“Don’t take that tone with me. This isn’t my fault.” Her mother sighed. “I’m sorry I’m not being more supportive, but Heather, I’m just tired of it all. I’m trying to get myself through the day and pay the bills. I’m trying to keep a roof over my head and food on my table. I had one good thing happening in my life, and that was that you were gonna be taken care of. Now that’s gone.”
Heather kicked at the floor. The story never changed. “Maybe I don’t need someone to take care of me. When I was a kid, I told you that I wanted to travel the world and write, and you told me that people like us don’t get those chances. I proved you wrong. Why can’t you tell me that everything’s going to be okay?” Heather sank onto the couch.
“You think it’s easy to do it on your own? Without Prince Charming, you’d still be a waitress instead of a columnist. We’ll see what happens without him. I’ve been alone trying to take care of you since the day my mother died. I had dreams too, Heather, but my life has been shit since that day. The only thing that ever mattered was you. And now I’m gonna see you have the same life I did.”
“I can’t do this right now, Mom. Life with Charlie is far from perfect.”
“Oh, Heather, you don’t know what a bad relationship looks like. When you tell a man you’re pregnant and he walks out on you, or when a man loves his booze more than you, then you can tell me what a bad relationship feels like. But when he buys you a diamond, cares about your career, and gives you a home in the Back Bay, you make sure he’s happy so he won’t leave you .”
“I have to go,” Heather whispered.
“There aren’t many Charlies in the world. Do whatever it takes to get him back. I just want more for you than I had.”
“I know, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.” Heather hung up the phone.
CHAPTER 5
I t felt like winter would never end. Every morning since Victoria had returned to Nagog, she awoke to see the blue sky out her window and thought it would finally be a sunny day. But by ten in the morning, the clouds moved in and the sky turned a depressing gray. Even on days that it didn’t snow or sleet, Arctic air from Canada froze her bones until she thought they’d crack.
Big red X s on her calendar marked the two weeks that had passed since she’d arrived home. She’d assumed spring would awaken by late March, but Mother Nature wasn’t ready for flowers and green grass. For days, flakes almost the size of poppies fell like inverted parachutes, and then turned to white blasts of static so thick Victoria couldn’t see her front yard. Trees crashed along the road. The power had gone out twice, and yesterday the governor had declared a state of
The usual guilt hit her as she thought about her mother’s life compared to how she now lived. She tried to help her mother financially, but she wouldn’t accept. Instead, she just kept piling guilt onto her daughter.
Heather didn’t want to burden her mother with her problems, but she needed to talk to someone. “Mom, I ended my relationship with Charlie,” Heather said.
“You did what?”
“I told him I needed a break.”
“God, Heather, what were you thinking?”
The words were a punch to the gut that knocked the wind out of Heather. Just once, she wanted to call and feel supported. “Forget it, Mom. I’ll deal with it on my own.”
“Don’t take that tone with me. This isn’t my fault.” Her mother sighed. “I’m sorry I’m not being more supportive, but Heather, I’m just tired of it all. I’m trying to get myself through the day and pay the bills. I’m trying to keep a roof over my head and food on my table. I had one good thing happening in my life, and that was that you were gonna be taken care of. Now that’s gone.”
Heather kicked at the floor. The story never changed. “Maybe I don’t need someone to take care of me. When I was a kid, I told you that I wanted to travel the world and write, and you told me that people like us don’t get those chances. I proved you wrong. Why can’t you tell me that everything’s going to be okay?” Heather sank onto the couch.
“You think it’s easy to do it on your own? Without Prince Charming, you’d still be a waitress instead of a columnist. We’ll see what happens without him. I’ve been alone trying to take care of you since the day my mother died. I had dreams too, Heather, but my life has been shit since that day. The only thing that ever mattered was you. And now I’m gonna see you have the same life I did.”
“I can’t do this right now, Mom. Life with Charlie is far from perfect.”
“Oh, Heather, you don’t know what a bad relationship looks like. When you tell a man you’re pregnant and he walks out on you, or when a man loves his booze more than you, then you can tell me what a bad relationship feels like. But when he buys you a diamond, cares about your career, and gives you a home in the Back Bay, you make sure he’s happy so he won’t leave you .”
“I have to go,” Heather whispered.
“There aren’t many Charlies in the world. Do whatever it takes to get him back. I just want more for you than I had.”
“I know, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.” Heather hung up the phone.
CHAPTER 5
I t felt like winter would never end. Every morning since Victoria had returned to Nagog, she awoke to see the blue sky out her window and thought it would finally be a sunny day. But by ten in the morning, the clouds moved in and the sky turned a depressing gray. Even on days that it didn’t snow or sleet, Arctic air from Canada froze her bones until she thought they’d crack.
Big red X s on her calendar marked the two weeks that had passed since she’d arrived home. She’d assumed spring would awaken by late March, but Mother Nature wasn’t ready for flowers and green grass. For days, flakes almost the size of poppies fell like inverted parachutes, and then turned to white blasts of static so thick Victoria couldn’t see her front yard. Trees crashed along the road. The power had gone out twice, and yesterday the governor had declared a state of
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