Page 4 of Rejected Heart
That wasn’t exactly the case.
Yes, I did enjoy my job. It wasn’t terrible. And I’d seen growth over the years. But I wasn’t exactly where I’d hoped to be in my career. Sure, I was in a position that I’d worked extremely hard to get to, hoping it would give me the experience for the job I’d ultimately have, but I still wasn’t quite sure what that job was, though.
For now, I was a box office manager on Broadway. I hadn’t gone to the city in hopes of making that my career, nor was it where I had expected I’d wind up.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t ever really had a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life. And that made things extremely difficult. I hadn’t expected it would be a walkin the park, but I wish I would have had some direction before I decided to take off to the city. Because while it was a great place to be to find opportunities, it was easily one of the most expensive places in the country to live.
“Yes, it’s my job, but you’re my mom.”
She sighed. “I’m so sorry about this, Layla.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“Just give me some time to think about it, and we’ll figure things out. Maybe the doctor will have some suggestions,” she reasoned.
“Suggestions? Suggestions for what?”
Her eyes roamed over my face, a sense of disappointment etched in her features. “Maybe things won’t be so bad for me, and you can head back to the city.”
“Are you in a rush to get rid of me?”
Her expression turned horrified. “Not at all. I just don’t want to put this burden on you.”
For several long moments, I stared at the woman who’d given up everything just to support and raise me, and all I felt was disbelief. “Are you joking?”
“About what?”
“Mom, I could spend hours upon hours here reminding you of all the things you’ve done to take care of me my entire life.” She pressed her lips together at the same time her fingers twitched in my hand. Evidently, this conversation was making her emotional. “Taking some time off from work to care for you for a few weeks is not a burden. Besides, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me, because you can’t do this on your own.”
My mom, despite the exhaustion she felt and the painshe was in, didn’t hesitate to argue with me. “It might not be so bad. I could always call Carmen to help occasionally. She’d do it.”
Carmen was my mom’s best friend. There was not a doubt in my mind that she’d step up to help. In fact, I probably needed to make it a point to reach out to her today to let her know what had happened. My mom might have appreciated having another visitor.
“Of course, she’ll help. But she has other responsibilities, too.”
“Maybe I could hire a private nurse.”
I cocked a brow. “Did you stumble into some money I’m unaware of in order to pay for this private nurse?”
It was that question that did it. The reality of my mother’s situation settled heavily on her shoulders. She remained quiet for so long as it hit her, and I gave her the time she needed to come to grips with it.
“I never wanted to be on my own,” she murmured.
My hand squeezed hers. “I know.”
“He was my everything.”
Pain slashed through my heart. “I know.”
“I never thought he’d leave us.”
My throat grew tight.
I was five years old when my father left. At the time, I didn’t truly understand what happened, but the older I got, the more I learned. And when I asked questions, my mom didn’t hesitate to tell me what I wanted and needed to know. For all she told me, I couldn’t begin to understand what the problem had been.
Mom explained to me how she and my father hadgotten together and had what could only be described as a whirlwind romance. She claimed they were madly in love, and I didn’t doubt that for two reasons. First, he’d proposed to her, and they’d gotten married. Not only that, but even though I’d been young, I had a handful of memories I could still recall with my dad. Except for him leaving us, all those memories had been good.
My mom had even more, and somehow, it was those good memories that had managed to last her a lifetime. She never moved on. She never got over him.
