by Megan Sparks
Mum helped with the washing up. She set the tea towel down after washing her hands and looked around.
“I fancy getting some fresh air,” Mum said. “Why don’t you show me the town? All I remember is trying my first root beer float at a diner that’s your father’s café now. I’d love to see what he’s done with it.”
Annie nodded. Of course they would have to go to Rosie Lee’s, there’d be no avoiding it. She just hoped Mum didn’t put it down like she had the house. Annie knew her tone would be much sharper if Mum dared diss Rosie Lee’s. Annie sent Dad a quick text to let him know they were on their way.
The air was crisp but not as cold as it had been on other days. Annie pointed out a few things as they walked the few blocks to downtown.
“I forgot how small it is.” Mum glanced from the railway tracks with a wood behind them to the detached houses with their front and back gardens. Straight in front was the downtown area with its quaint brick buildings. Annie remembered thinking the same thing when she roller-bladed through the town on her first day, but now she was determined to stay positive.
“It is a bit small, but this way you know your neighbours.” Annie smiled at a woman pushing a pram with triplets. “Hiya! How’re the little poppets?”
“Great! I actually got five hours of sleep last night. A miracle. Annie, tell your dad my husband’s coming tomorrow for the pies.” The woman waved before crossing the street.
“Will do.” Annie waved back and turned to Mum. “See? Everyone’s so friendly.”
Mum seemed to stiffen a bit. “I wouldn’t like everyone knowing my business. There’s no privacy.”
Annie shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me.”
“And what do you do for entertainment? I don’t imagine you have a theatre or any museums,” Mum said, as if she had time to do things in London other than work.
“Well, there’s roller derby,” Annie said with a smile. “That’s what I do for fun.”
Mum didn’t comment.
“Or we could go shopping,” Annie suggested. Not that she was a huge clothes hound, but it was something she always enjoyed doing with Mum.
“Yes, that would be good,” Mum nodded. “You need new pyjamas, and we should get you some new bras while we’re at it. You’re bursting out of that one.”
“Mum!” Annie crossed her arms over her chest and looked around to see if anyone had heard. Why did Mum always have to point out the most embarrassing things? Even if they were true.
Mum smiled and patted Annie’s shoulder. She didn’t pursue the subject. Instead she changed it. “Still dating that boy?”
“Yes!” Annie gushed. Just the thought of Tyler sent shivers down her spine. Was he thinking about her right now? “He’s amazing.”
“Yo, Ann-nie! C’mere!”
Annie turned quickly, running a hand through her hair. As if it was fate, or destiny, or psychic powers, there he was in his car. Tyler pulled up in front of them and leaned across the passenger seat, flashing his dazzling smile. “Hell-loo, you must be Mrs Turner.”
“Ms Bradley,” Mum said crisply. Annie’s stomach squirmed. She knew Mum had gone back to her maiden name, but it was the first time Annie had actually heard her use it. “And you are?”
Annie blushed at her mum’s businesslike tone. Best to introduce them and get it over with quickly. “Mum, this is Tyler.”
“Tyler?”
“Tyler Erickson,” Annie added quickly. Mum believed people should always be introduced by their full names.
“It’s so great to meet you.” Tyler winked and smiled wider. “I can see where Annie gets her good looks. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were her older sister.”
Mum raised an eyebrow. She didn’t look charmed by Tyler’s flattery.
She must be knackered from the flight and time difference, Annie thought. That had to be it.
“I’m going to show her Rosie Lee’s. Would you like to come?” Annie asked Tyler.
He shrugged. “Not really. Are you working too?”
“I’ll help Dad out if he needs a hand – he’s got a lot on at the moment.”
Tyler sighed and shifted the car back into gear. “What time will you be done? There’s a movie we need to see.”
Annie shook her head. “Not tonight. Mum’s only here for a few days.”
Tyler suddenly seemed to remember the woman standing next to Annie and gave them both a wide grin. “Fine. Call me when you’re done. Ms Bradley, it’s been a pleasure.”
Mum nodded, although she still wouldn’t return his smile.
Tyler revved the engine and took off down the street going double the speed limit.
Mum watched him before slowly turning to Annie and crossing her arms over her chest. “Does he always order you around like that?”
“Do you always have to be so judgmental?” Annie snapped back.
Mum gave her a hurt look. “I only want what’s best for you, sweetheart.”
“Then stop putting me down.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted it. But this was just like when she had to quit gymnastics when she grew too tall last year. Mum had taken it almost as badly as Annie herself. Because Philippa Bradley always wanted the best. She could never accept that her daughter wasn’t.
Annie closed her eyes for a second and did a quick calculation. Mum was only here until Saturday and Annie was already trying to work out how many more hours of her mother’s criticism she’d have to put up with.
Chapter Ten
As soon as the door jingled open, Dad rushed out from the kitchen with his hair sticking up in all directions and his apron covered in flour and bits of dough.
Annie held her breath. Mum was already in a mood. If Dad was stressing about the baking, he might be grumpy too.
She didn’t need to worry. Dad burst into a wide smile at the sight of them. “Pippa.”
“Davy.” Mum smiled a real smile, and not her usual tight-lipped one.
Dad wrapped her in a tight hug and they kissed each other on the cheek. When he let go, Mum brushed the flour off her blouse but kept her smile.
“You look great,” Dad said.
“As do you.” Mum looked him up and down.
Annie waited for the criticism about his appearance, some comment about Dad needing a haircut or new shoes since one of his trainers was covered in paint. But instead Mum focused on the café.
There were a few people at the tables, reading newspapers, sipping tea, or trying to wipe cupcake icing off their toddler’s hair.
“Well, it’s certainly a vast improvement over what it was. You’ve really got something here.” Mum turned around, nodding her head approvingly while Dad put his arm around Annie and beamed. Mum’s eye caught sight of Lexie’s mural and she walked from one end of the bus to the other studying the caricatures. “This is truly spectacular. I hope the artist gave you a fair price.”
“It was Annie’s friend Lexie who did it. I just feed her scones to keep her happy,” Dad joked. Annie pulled away from Dad. If only scones would make Lexie happy now.
Mum peered into the display case at the arrangement of scones, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, and pies. It was like the Queen herself was inspecting the café. One of the customers even set down his newspaper and sat up a bit straighter. When Mum backed away from the display case, she seemed tempted to request a sample of everything. “They all look gorgeous. I’m really impressed with everything you’ve done here.”
“Why thank you, Madame,” Dad said in a deep voice as he bowed with a flourish.
Mum smiled again, another real one, while Annie let out another breath. She still remembered hiding under her covers one night listening to Mum accusing Dad of being immature and Dad calling Mum a killjoy.
Mum walked over to Annie and this time she put an arm around her daughter. Annie was a few inches taller than her mum and wanted to slouch under her mother’s arm. Not that she dared. The last thing Annie wanted was to be told off for not standing straight.
“And Annie looks great. Happy and healthy.” Mum gave Annie’s shoulder a little squeeze while Annie prepared herself for Mum’s announcement that she needed bigger bras. It didn’t come. Mum was being tactful for a change. “I’m so proud.”
Annie stared at her in surprise. Mum never said anything she didn’t mean so there must be some truth in it. She’d have to apologize for being snarky later. Mum had just been being Mum. That was her way.
Dad puffed his chest out like a prize rooster. “Well, with our killer gene pool, our daughter’s bound to be fantastic.”
Annie groaned under flushed cheeks as she shifted out from under Mum’s arm. “OK, guys. I think I’d better tidy up in the kitchen so you can talk about me some more.”
“I actually have to get back to my pies,” Dad said. “Pippa, please sit. Annie will get you a pot of tea. Or a cappuccino. Her frothed milk is the best in town.”
Mum looked like she was battling with herself as she repressed a yawn. “I don’t think all the caffeine in the world will keep me awake. I’m suddenly exhausted. Could I have a lie down before dinner?”
Dad nodded. “Sure, we’ll eat probably around seven, after we clean up here. You still like Chicago pizza, right?”
“It’s been a while, but I’m sure I’ll manage.” Mum teased in the only way she knew how: with sarcasm.
Annie handed Mum the house key and caught the kiss Mum blew her. Dad looked like he expected a kiss too and for a second Mum seemed to lose her poise. She recovered by blowing another kiss at the whole café before going out of the door.
Dad let out a deep breath and clapped his hands. “Right. Back to work.”
Annie put on an apron and washed her hands. The filtered coffee and decaf were running low, two tables needed wiping down and a customer came in for the three pies she had ordered.
Annie looked up from steaming milk when the door jingled the arrival of two new customers: Lexie and her mum.
The machine spat bits of hot milk into Annie’s face before she turned the knob off. Focus Annie. She finished the latte and brought it to the seated customer before greeting the pair.
“Hiya,” Annie said, avoiding Lexie’s eye. When she did sneak a look at her friend, Lexie avoided her eye too.
Mrs Jones, oblivious to any tension, pulled Annie into a motherly hug. Blonde, petite, and with perfectly ironed pastel clothes, Mrs Jones was the complete opposite of Lexie who had today left Japanese fashion behind and was going for a Victorian gothic look, complete with a black corset, black buttoned shoes, thick make-up, and hair pulled into a tight bun under a minuscule, slightly askew top hat.
“Honey, it’s so good to see you. I feel like it’s been ages since you’ve been over. You must come to dinner soon. We miss you.” Mrs Jones gave Annie another hug while Annie wished she were the one making pies instead of Dad. A glance at Lexie, and Annie knew not all of the Jones family would be happy for her to come to dinner.
“Yes, sorry. It’s just that my mum’s visiting from London.”
“Really?” Lexie looked around the café, clearly trying to find someone who might fit Annie’s description of Mum.
“She’s tired and went back to the house. But she really liked your mural,” Annie explained, hoping that would break the tension.
It didn’t.
Lexie said nothing as Mrs Jones paid for the pumpkin pie she had ordered. “Why don’t the three of you come over for dinner on Saturday?”
Annie shook her head while focusing on Lexie. Under the Goth make-up, Lexie’s face remained expressionless. “Mum’s leaving that night.”
Mrs Jones looked like she had never heard such devastating news. “What a shame. We’re heading to Indiana for a few days so no other night works.”
“Sorry, it would have been lovely.” Annie grabbed the pastry tongs and picked an apple-cinnamon scone from the case and held it out to Lexie. “Scone?”
Lexie’s mouth twitched for a second but she still wouldn’t meet Annie’s eye. “No, thank you.”
“Happy Thanksgiving.” Mrs Jones waved, still oblivious to the tension between the girls. “Best regards to your family.”
The door closed slowly behind them, Lexie shuffling her feet in a strop as she left.
Annie sighed as she replaced the scone in the case. She guessed Dad was wrong. Scones weren’t enough to keep Lexie happy. But what was? Annie tried to think back to when the trouble first started. The hot chocolate mix-up, of course. Even though Annie had apologized, Lexie had barely talked to her since then. Going to sit with Tyler in the cafeteria had been the last straw.
If she didn’t want me to sit with them, she should have said something. She was busy drawing and didn’t even bother pausing her music when I was there.
But when Annie thought about it, she knew that she and Lexie had been on shaky ground for weeks.
Since Tyler and I started going out.
Lexie had never liked Tyler. He was a jock and Lexie hated how they got so much attention. And Tyler hadn’t exactly been Mr Friendly either. But still, why couldn’t Lexie be happy for her? Tyler was her first boyfriend and this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her.
Could Lexie be jealous of Tyler and the time I spend with him? No, that was ridiculous. There was nothing to be jealous of. OK, so Tyler was Annie’s boyfriend, but he wasn’t her best friend. That was Lexie’s job.
Was her job.
Chapter Eleven
Annie did her hair in two plaits as she sang along to Nirvana’s “Come as You Are”. Curly hair was not the goal this time. They were having a pre-Thanksgiving roller derby bout and plaits worked well for keeping her long hair out of her face. Not only was this her first bout since being benched, it was the first time both of her parents would watch her play. She couldn’t wait for Mum to see her in action.
“All right, let’s go,” Annie said as she entered the kitchen.
Mum looked up and almost choked on her tea. “Good heavens! What on earth are you wearing?”
Annie looked down at her outfit: black and white chequered tights, short red skirt, and her black and red Liberty Belles’ T-shirt which had Lady Liberty in derby gear on the front and Annie’s name and number on the back: “Anne R. Key, 5’11”½”. In her opinion, she looked really good. “It’s just my uniform.”
“For what? Going to a disco?” Mum asked.
Dad shrugged. “It’s what they wear.”
Mum drained the rest of her tea as if to stop herself from saying anything else.
“Relax. It’s part of the fun.” Annie kissed her mum on the cheek. Now was not the time to remind Mum that she once wore a sexy pirate outfit to a friend’s hen party. Annie was too excited to let her mother’s comments bother her today.
They squeezed into Dad’s beaten up white pickup truck with Annie stuck in the middle, her long legs bumping into the gear stick. Mum sniffed at the stained seats but didn’t say anything. Considering Dad barely used the truck (it was easier to walk to Rosie Lee’s than pay for parking), it wasn’t as dirty as it could have been.
Annie expected the rink to be empty with so many people away for Thanksgiving, but instead the car park was already full of cars. Annie was glad people thought of bringing their out-of-town guests to the bout. The more publicity the sport got the better.
“Is this it?” Mum asked, hesitating as she climbed out of the pickup in front of a warehouse-type building on the outskirts of town. After coming here for months, Annie had got used to the roller rink but she remembered having a similar reaction to the building the first time she saw it. The roof looked like it had been patched several times and was rusted in some places. The outside walls were in desperate need of paint to cover the graffiti. The lights illuminating the sign “ROCKERS’ ROLLER RINK” now only read “S I K”.
“Yup,” Annie said with a bit of pride. “My third home.”
Mum hesitated. “It looks like it’s infested.”
Annie hid a grin. It probably is. She took he
r mum’s hand and led her to the door. The last thing she wanted was for Mum to call a taxi to take her back to the house.
The inside of the rink had just as much character as the outside. The carpet was thin and faded, the plastic tables by the snack bar were chipped and stained. There was a permanent stench of sweat, stale popcorn, and disinfectant. Annie didn’t notice it any more, but Mum scrunched up her nose.
Dad went to check in as an NSO with Coach Ritter while Annie took Mum to the skate rental booth to grab the quad skates Jesse always reserved for her.
“This is Jesse Mathieu,” Annie introduced her friend, pleased that she remembered to say his full name. “Jesse, my mum, Philippa Bradley.”
Jesse held out his hand and gave Mum’s hand a solid shake. “Pleased to meet you. Have you had a good visit so far?”
“Yes, thank you,” Mum said.
“I know Annie is thrilled to have you here. Both in town and at the bout,” Jesse said.
Mum’s friendly nod surprised Annie, especially considering how she had treated Tyler. “I honestly have no idea what to expect. It should be interesting.”
Jesse grinned. “It’s unlike any sport you’ve ever seen. Wait until you see Annie out there. She’s amazing.”
“Oh stop.” Annie gave him a friendly shove.
Mum let down her guard a bit and smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. She talks so much about this, it’ll be good to see what the fuss is about.”
“There are a lot of rules and it can be hard to follow the first time.” Jesse reached under the counter and handed Mum a programme. “This includes some of the basics and the team rosters. But if you have any questions, come see me at halftime and I’ll explain what I can.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind,” Mum said.
“Cheers.” Annie grinned and waved before tucking the skates under an arm and walking away.
“I like him,” Mum said when they were out of earshot. “He seems very nice.”
“Yeah, Jesse’s great,” Annie said, not really paying attention. She searched the crowd but didn’t see Tyler. She’d asked him to come to the bout, but he hadn’t said whether he could make it or not. Probably busy with his family, she thought. But then Annie remembered that Tyler’s grandparents and uncle weren’t coming until tomorrow and they were going to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a posh restaurant instead of cooking at home. She shouldn’t worry. There was still time for him to make it.
