“No, ma’am.”
“Good.” She purses her lips and leans forward. “What in God’s name are you wearing?”
I glance down at my TacHo sweatshirt and swiftly adjust the camera angle so she can’t see the words. “A sweatshirt.”
“Well isn’t that special.”
IE:That shirt is tacky as hell and you should know better than to be seen in public wearing it.
“Sof and I just finished our barre class,” I explain, because apparently at the ripe old age of twenty-three, I still feel compelled to defend my fashion choices to a woman who wouldn’t dare leave the house without a full face of makeup and who certainly wouldn’t be caught dead wearing joggers in public.
So much for the apple not falling far from the tree.
Thank God. I happen to like being comfortable, and honestly, who doesn’t like taco-themed clothing?
Sofia calls out a greeting and my mother returns it before turning her attention back to me.
“What’s up?” I ask, determined to move the conversation along. The sooner she gets to the point, the sooner I get my smoothie.
“Your cousin Hannah got engaged on New Year’s Eve and you have yet to congratulate her.” She heaves a long-suffering sigh. “I raised you better than that, Scarlett Clarabelle Evans.”
Hannah’s engaged? She’s only twenty-one. Hell, she won’t even graduate college until May, but if she’s happy, then I’m happy for her.
“It’s all anyone in Brady has been talking about for the last two weeks, so imagine my surprise when your Aunt Ruth informed me you’re the only member of the family that hasn’t congratulated Hannah. Now the poor dear thinks you’re jealous or some such nonsense.”
Hardly. Despite my mother’s determination to see me married young and well, I’ve got my own aspirations and they don’t include a husband. Not for a while, anyway.
“I didn’t know about Hannah’s engagement,” I admit. “But it’s great news. She must be so excited.”
“What do you mean you didn’t know?” She shakes her head in disbelief. “She’s been flashing that rock all over the internet, talking about a great big summer wedding.”
Now who sounds jealous?
No surprise there. As far as Mama’s concerned, the whole point of higher education is to find a decent husband. She wasn’t exactly pleased when I finished undergrad single as a Pringle.
A fact that made my graduation all the sweeter.
“I’m sure Hannah’s ring is lovely, and I’ll be sure to tell her so when I message her, but I didn’t see it because I haven’t been on social media.”
Truth. Even if I’d spent hours scrolling my feeds, I would’ve missed the news because Hannah and I don’t follow each other. She’s a sweetheart, but our mothers have been comparing us since we were kids, and we agreed long ago not to let ourselves get wrapped up in their competitive nonsense.
Mama sniffs but says nothing.
So typical. The woman could squeeze blood from a turnip.
“I told you, I’ve been busy.” Pride wells up from the pit of my stomach and I sit a little taller. “In fact, I was recently assigned a special project at work. I’m co-chairing an event committee with the CEO.”
No need to tell her it’s a Valentine’s Day social lest she get the wrong idea.
“Is he single?” she asks, smile returning. “Hannah’s fiancé is studying to be a heart surgeon, but a tech CEO would be quite a catch.”
So much for not getting the wrong idea.
Beside me, Sofia snort-laughs and claps a hand over her mouth.
“There’s more to life than finding a husband,” I say, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. “This is a great professional opportunity for me. If things go well, I might even be able to leverage it into a full-time Organizational Behavior role when I graduate. We had our first meeting today and—”
Mama sighs—again. “Of course, but wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to take care of you, Sweetpea?”
