Chapter 121
Chapter 121
“ Chloe p>
“I’m good,” she assured Amos. “I think the mail carrier lost
Amos p>
n
off their
keychain, though.” She straightened, reaching for the door. “Goodbye,
He watched silently while she let herself inside. She locked the
She crept silently upstairs–something she hadn’t done since high
and when she peered out the window to get one last glimpse of him, he was gone.
It would be best if Ma didn’t know she’d spent the whole night with her “friend.” She was a grown–ass woman and she was entitled to spend the night anywhere she wanted with anybody she wanted. That didn’t mean she wanted her mother to know about it.
She crept past Ma’s bedroom, grateful to hear light snoring. Still asleep. But not for long. She scuttled to her room and quickly but silently changed into pajamas, then crept back downstairs.
Despite having totally opposite schedules, they had developed a routine of having breakfast together before Ma headed to work and Chloe went to bed. Chloe settled herself on the couch, trying to look like she’d been there for hours, and turned the TV on low.
Not even five minutes later, she heard the creak of the stairs as Ma came down. “Well, well,” she said from the living room doo with sleep. “When did you get back p>
Il raspy
“A while ago,” Chloe answered evasively. “Just watching TV. Do you want me to make breakfast?” It was a pointless question. Ma wouldn’t hear of letting anyone else cook in her kitchen. Even at her most catatonic after Dad passed, she’d still handled all the cooking.
“I’ll cook,” Ma answered immediately. “I’m off today and tomorrow–the office is closed for roof repairs. You want eggs? ”
“Sure. Thanks p>
Chloe put the coffee on for Ma, then made herself a mug of chamomile tea and settled in at the kitchen table. Despite her long nap at Amos’s, she was ready for bed. This was her usual sleep time, and her body hadn’t forgotten that.
She listened sleepily as Ma shared work gossip about people Chloe had never met and didn’t care about. Ma worked in an insurance office as an administrative assistant, and she knew mortifying personal details about every single Oworker.
“—but what did she expect from a guy like that?” Ma suddenly demanded.
“Oh my god, right?” Chloe put in, not totally sure what she was agreeing with. “So, then what p>
“Well, of course the poor girl’s heartbroken p>
“Of course p>
“So, I told her p>
Chloe tuned back out again, sipping her tea and staring out the window as the light rose. Amos would be in his lightproof bedroom, in his daysleep. Chloe imagined herself curled up next to him.
“And do you think she listened?” Ma’s voice suddenly cut into Chloe’s musing.
“No?” Chloe guessed.
“No, she did not,” Ma answered, gesturing emphatically with the spatula.
Her chatter went on throughout breakfast. Chloe finished off her eggs and toast in relative silence, putting in a word only when her participation was necessary for what was otherwise intended as a monologue. When she and Ma had both finished eating, Chloe cleaned up the breakfast mess while
Ma’s chatter went on.
Chapter 121
Standing at the sink, Chloe yawned loudly, interrupting Ma’s story about the payroll clerk’s secret desk stash of cannabis gummies.
“Well,” Ma said archly. “I see it was a late night p>
“They’re all late nights for me. This is my normal bedtime. You know that p>
“Don’t let me keep you, then,” Ma huffed.
“Alright, I won’t,” Chloe answered, unable to keep her impatience in check. Instantly a flash of guilt made her say, “Sorry, I’m tired
Ma regarded her with wounded dignity. “I know you are. Sleep tight, then p>
Upstairs, Chloe pulled her curtains shut and dropped gratefully into her bed.
“Chloe. Baby. Wake up, quick. Chloe. Honey. Chloe p>
Chloe jerked awake, bleary and alarmed. “What?” she asked urgently, sitting bolt upright.
Ma was sitting on the edge of her bed, phone held out to Chloe. “Look at this p>
“What? Why?” Chloe took the phone, brain still foggy, and looked down. It took her a second to realize what she was looking at–someone’s big toe, with an overgrown yellow nail and pretty obvious inflammation on one side of the nail bed.
“Aunt Stacia wants to know if that looks infected? Should she go to the doctor? ”
Chloe rubbed at her eyes. “You woke me up to show me Aunt Stacia’s ingrown toenail?” She wasn’t awake enough to keep the aggravation out of her
voice.
“She needs a professional medical opinion,” Ma answered defensively.
“Ma, it’s noon. It’s basically the middle of the night for me p>
“It’s not the middle of the night.” Ma gestured at the bright light glowing around her closed curtains.
“No, it’s not,” Chloe agreed through gritted teeth. “Because in the actual middle of the night, I am usually working. So I sleep during the day. Ergo, noon is the equivalent of midnight for me. What if I woke you up at midnight to ask you for office administration advice? You’d bite my head off p>
Ma got up from the bed, wrapping her cardigan around herself with dignified affront. “Excuse me for asking you to spare two minutes for your aunt’s health p>
Chloe wanted to scream. She managed not to by curling her hands into fists until her knuckles ached. “If it throbs and it’s hot to the touch, tell Aunt Stacia to go to the walk–in clinic. They can remove the ingrown portion of the nail. She might need an antibiotic if it’s infected p>
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