Surprise Visitor

I had come back home from one of the few days where I reported into work to hear Sam chatting with someone. I announce myself, “Hey babe! I’m home.” I head to my office to drop off my laptop bag when she rushes in from her seat to give me a hug and kiss.

She looks at with me a serious look and says, “We have a surprise visitor today. I invited her over since I have been talking with her over the past few months.”

I look at her with confusion and say, “Why are you being so cautious about this? It’s not like you to be fearful of anything.”

She grabbed my hand and said, “Just promise me you will stay in the room and listen to her speak.”

I sigh and said, “Yes…I’ll stay put.” We were walking into the kitchen as I said, “It’s not like you invited my…”

Sitting at the table was my mother holding a mug and giving me a wave. Her soft voice said, “Hi, Jaime…” I felt the anger boiling up inside of me that I felt all those years ago as Sam kept a tight grip on my hand. I did a couple of deep breaths as we sat down at the table opposite of my mom.

Sam said, “See I told you she would stay put. I have trained her well…ahhhh!” I gave her side a pinch to show her that I was still very mad at her. “Enough jokes aside. Babe…you are probably wondering why your mom’s here.”

I could only nod as I bit my lip to refrain from saying anything. I was still taking deep breathes and looking only at Sam. She was moving her head and eyes for me to look at my mom. I sighed and looked at my mom, the woman I had looked up to for 18 years of my life was sitting across from me. I finally said something but I was still short, “Hi, mom…”

My mom smiled and said, “You look absolutely stunning, sweetheart. I can tell you are happy with everything in your life.”

I thought: (This is weird since the last time my mom saw me naked she called me a whore. What is different this time?)

Sam reassuringly grabbed my hand and said, “Your mom reached out to me and wanted to apologize. She wanted to meet you again and rebuild the bridge that she tore down.”

I sighed and sarcastically said, “Sure you do, mom. Is this the ‘Christian way’ of trying to fix problems? Also why is dad not with you?”

The look on her face said it all before she said anything. My mom spoke softly but confidently, “Jaime, do you mind if we talk with just the two of us? I apologize, Sam, but I just think this will be more genuine if it’s just me and my daughter.”

Sam smiled and said, “Absolutely, I don’t mind at all! Why don’t you two head outside and I will bring two glasses of red wine!”

Sam got up from the table as I watched my mom get up next. She was wearing a t-shirt and yoga pants, which I don’t remember her ever wearing anything like that.

I sat at the table for a minute just taking everything in as Sam got next to me and said, “Jaime…hear her out, ok? I wouldn’t have allowed this if I didn’t think it would be beneficial to your overall mental health.” She was right as Sam was my protector and she wouldn’t have done this if there was any danger. I stood up with a smile as I gave her a kiss. She handed me the glasses of wine and gave me a slap of the ass as she opened the sliding glass door for me.

As Sam closed the door behind me, I handed my mom a glass of wine as she thanked me. There we were…a mother-daughter combo- one completely dressed and the other completely naked. We could hear the light sound of the crickets and the warm summer air was extinguished by a soft coastal breeze. My mom broke the silence and said as she looked into the distance, “This place is absolutely gorgeous, Jaime. I can see why you love it here.”

I took a sip and said, “It really is, Mom…So where did you want to start?”