Mommy Dearest

Erica Porter made a sour face as she took another sip of her coffee. Something was off in it, but she didn't have time to make another cup. One of her kids, William or Morgan, must have made it and left it on the counter untouched. Their loss was her gain.

Erica had grown up rich. Her father, Norman Porter, had made millions in his lifetime, and while he was alive Erica and her sisters had never wanted for anything. Fancy clothes, cars, trips, anything. Erica was one of the lucky ones. She had also gone as far as getting an education, the finest schools money could buy. Unfortunately, she, nor her sisters, inherited their father's lucky streak in business.

Taking another sip of the gross coffee, Erica's remembered that first year after the patriarch's ****. Bad investments, over spending, untrustworthy financial managers, all of it added up to a lost fortune. Erica and all of her sisters were broke. Most quickly married into wealth, a but a few, like Erica, went to work. While she wasn't good at business, she had a head for marketing. Soon Erica was working for a top advertiser in the city, long hours, good pay, and she felt better than she ever had in her life. She'd married one of her co-workers, a man named Steven who turned out to be a serial cheater. The divorce was swift, leaving her with a solid child support package and two children. She barely even thought of Steven anymore.

It was another busy Saturday. Erica's firm was going to be making a pitch on Monday, and she wanted to head in to the office to make sure that their materials were in order. After another sip of coffee, she put down her mug and got to work on her make-up. She had been a beauty queen in high school, competing at pageants, modeling more for popularity than for the cash reward. As she aged, Erica knew that she still had the looks, but preferred a more subdued look. No need to be flashy in her job. If she were to show off too much, people wouldn't take her seriously.

A little bit of eye liner, something to cover up a couple blemishes, and she was ready. She stood up from her make-up table, had another big swig of the coffee which, surprising to her, was starting to grow on her, and turned to leave.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised to see William, her son, standing in her doorway, a look of shock on his face.