Dreaming God

by Rik Johnston

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I

  BONDING WITH MOM

  Megan and Tuesday made their next appointment with Michelle to see Doctor Frederiksen, which turned out to be that coming Wednesday, just two days out. Megan couldn’t wait to get out of the Millwork Tavern for a couple of days, and certainly away Doctor Frederiksen’s smug attitude. No sooner did they set the appointment, Megan wasted no time in getting out of the office grabbing her purse with one hand and Tuesday’s hand with the other, leading her out of the office.

  “I just don’t like him very much!” Megan said, clearly frustrated by her encounter with Doctor Frederiksen, her pace quickening. “I feel like he is psychoanalyzing me!”

  Tuesday was doing her best to keep up with her mother and her long strides. Fortunately, the two of them had to stop to wait for the elevator to reach their floor. “I don’t know why you let him upset you so much.” Tuesday queried. “I think he’s nice.”

  “I just don’t trust people.” Megan shot back. “Nobody does anything for free. I want to know what we are giving up so he can write his bestseller?

  Tuesday was shocked by what her mother was saying. “If he can help me, what does it matter?”

  “It matters.” Megan continued, trying to make her daughter understand. “Because I know what men who seek notoriety are capable of. I know that the little people like you and I are stepping stones to their greater glory.”

  The dinging sound of the elevator door opening broke the tension of the conversation. The ride three floors down seemed to stretch on for long minutes, with no words spoken between the two of them. In fact, it wasn’t until they had gotten to the car that either Tuesday or Megan had said anything to each other. Suddenly, Tuesday’s excitement got the better of her and she continued her spirited account of the events of her session for her mother, as well as she could recall, every minute, every detail. She told the story of how she could see everything from every angle, and how she saved the child from not one, but two horrible fates. Her mother listened carefully and took mental note of the tale, making sure to try and understand what had occurred in her session, just in case she needed to testify against Doctor Frederiksen for messing up her daughter’s mind. After Tuesday had finished her account of what had happened, she suggested that she be rewarded for her efforts.

  “Why don’t we get some ice cream?” Tuesday asked as innocently as she could possibly muster, “And then go hang out at the mall? Wouldn’t that be fun?

  Megan brightened up at the idea of a mother/daughter date. “Yeah, that would be fun.” She answered. “I’m off work today, and we could use some fun time together!”

  The next few hours were spent window shopping in the Tres Riveras Mall, trying on new clothing, and speculating upon the motivations of other people walking by as they sat on a bench. Both Tuesday and Megan were laughing and joking when a mall cop walked by, looking at them briefly before moving on down the corridor. This reminded Tuesday of Douglas Downe’s visit the week before, which she hadn’t yet told her mother about. Now was as good of a time as any other.

  “We had a visitor the other night.” Tuesday mentioned casually, hoping to pique her mother’s interest just enough to avoid any possible wrath from the revelation she was about to give. Megan did perk up just slightly, her curiosity getting the better of her.

  “Who?”, Megan asked inquisitively, perking up wondering who it was who might have come calling. “Was it Marie?”

  “No, Mom.” Tuesday said with a little caution in her voice. “It was Officer Downe.”

  Megan huffed a sigh of disgust, wishing it had been anybody else. “Uggh, what did he want?”

  It’s not that Megan hated Douglas Downe, in fact she found him to be somewhat charming when he wasn’t acting like a belligerent authority figure. The two of them had some history, as they had spent a weekend together a few years prior. Douglas had very much wanted to become romantically involved with Megan, but she did not return that sentiment. She initially hadn’t been interested in his advances being he was a police officer and she was a drug fueled prostitute, though Douglas didn’t know that at the time. He had come into Tuck’s Diner many times on his break, and had flirted endlessly with her, hoping to take her out sometime. Each day that he arrived, he would flirt, and ask her out, and she would politely decline, and the process would repeat itself. One particular Thursday, Douglas came in to the diner with his charm turned all the way to eleven, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Megan finally caved and decided to go out with him on one date. What Megan didn’t know was that “one date” had meant an entire weekend with Douglas at a beautiful cabin retreat at a mountain lake. He picked her up on Friday and took her to the cabin, where the two of them hit it off quickly. It wasn’t long before the two spent less time doing lake activities and more time doing bedroom activities.

  One thing had led to another, and before they knew it, they were caught up in their passion for one another. Megan must have been genuinely interested in him because this had been the first time she had been with a man that she didn’t trade herself for money or drugs in a long time. She did find him attractive and charming, and he was exceptionally good at fulfilling her physical desires. But Douglas was quite observant, and was hoping to become a detective on the Cadence Falls Police Force one day, so one of the first things he had noticed about her was that she had track marks on her arm, though he was much too polite to mention it right then. The next things he had noticed was her scars, followed by her stretch marks, but in his mind, he had found these things about her to be unique and beautiful. He made a mental note of these things, but didn’t mention any of them until they were on their way back to Cadence Falls on Sunday evening. He had attempted to express to her that he thought her imperfections made her beautiful, and she became angry at him for saying so. When the topic of the stretch marks came up, this was the first that Douglas had heard about Megan’s daughter. And he was legitimately shocked that in all the months he had come to Tuck’s Diner and gotten to know her, this was the first time he had ever heard of her daughter. One would think that a child would be more of a priority in a person’s life. Upon learning about this hidden piece of Megan’s life, Douglas queried her about the track marks, to which Megan had confessed she was a heroin addict. Megan might have been more open to that exact conversation had she not gone the whole weekend without getting her fix and wasn’t having a predominantly nasty set of withdrawals. When Douglas dropped her off, the two of them had mutually decided that they probably shouldn’t see each other again.

  And while Megan didn’t want to date him, she craved his body in ways she never thought she would, and the two of them would get together at random times to take care of each other’s needs. Douglas was better than a clear majority of Megan’s paying customers were, and he was the only person to get it “on the house”. She even had a nickname for him that she shared with him and her friend Marie, she called him Freebie.

  But each time the two of them got together, it always ended in some tragic argument about her kicking the drugs and stop selling herself, and she got mad at him for the better part of two weeks until she found herself desiring him again. For Douglas, their meetings had become much more than physical, and he found himself caring more about Megan Moxley than he should. He began to open dialogue with her about how he felt and wanted something more, and each time she would rebuff him, turning him away, angry at him until she got over it, and the scenario would replay itself every couple of weeks. And so, the two of them were constantly in and out of each other’s lives, she would invite him back in, and he would express his concern for her, and then she would back off and throw him out again. This was the way of things.

  Tuesday became nervous at the prospect of revealing the information that Douglas Downe had imparted upon her. “He said that he needs to talk to you.”

  “I’m sure he’s got more than talking on his mind.” Megan snapped back, still f
urious with him about having entered her home and destroying her stash.

  Tuesday, having heard other kids talk about the subject at school, knew exactly what her mother had meant by that comment. “Ewww, No!” She squealed. “No, he wants to talk about something else.” Tuesday laughed a little nervous laugh.

  Megan’s countenance completely changed, “Do you know what it is?” She asked in an icy tone that made the polar glaciers seem like a tropical island. “Did he tell you?”

  “He needs to know who supplied the drugs you were selling?” Tuesday blurted out, just trying to avoid the seriousness of the topic.

  “No!” Megan stated firmly, a look of trepidation on her face. “I’m not a rat! I won’t do it.”

  “You have to, Mom!”, Tuesday countered with extreme concern, attempting to coerce her mother into doing what was best for the both of them. “They’re going to kill you once they realize their shipment is missing!”

  Megan began to feel her anger growing inside her, filling her up with a blinding rage that was not easily controlled. “Why doesn’t he just mind his own business?”, she snarled.

  “He cares about you, Mom!” Tuesday cut her off, as directly to the point as she could before hitting her with some reality. “He’s a cop, you know he could have thrown you in jail for the things he knows you’re involved in. But he hasn’t because he cares about you and wants to see you clean yourself up. So why don’t you cooperate and give him the information he needs to save your life?”

  “Or maybe he’s just setting me up for the fall?” Megan snapped back, her suspicions getting the better of her. “Maybe he wants to lock me up with the rest of them.”

  Tuesday couldn’t roll her eyes any harder if she had tried to. “You would show a lot of progress if you cooperate with him. You have to trust him to do the right thing.”

  “No dice.” Megan replied, denying any chance at revealing who her suppliers are. “I’m not going to do it, and that’s the end of that discussion.”

  Tuesday was not in the mood to push her mother any further on the subject, she had delivered the message, and now it was up to Megan to do something about it, if she chose to do so. Tuesday understood the seriousness of the situation, and knew how stubborn her mother could be when she chose not to do things. Tuesday wished inside her heart that Megan would simply cooperate, and let that be the end of it. Whether it was a matter of pride, or of the heart, or whatever it was, Tuesday hoped that her mother could rise above it and do what needed to be done in order to survive this ordeal. But she also knew that nothing ever came easy with her mother, or happened the way she had hoped they would, and whatever would transpire she had hoped that the results would be minimal at best.

  In the next moment, Megan had pretended that the conversation had even taken place, and was back to focusing on having fun with her daughter. In fact, Megan was suggesting coffee as both their next refreshment, and as a way to change the subject from Douglas Downe and his insipid snooping. The two of them walked down to the other end of the mall where the Cadence Falls Coffee Company brewed the freshest local blend of coffee of anywhere in the area. There were two locations for the coffee shop, one in the Tres Riveras Mall and the other in the Millwork Tavern, both served premium coffee that was smoother and not as burned tasting as the larger chains were providing. The atmosphere in the Cadence Falls Coffee Company was dimly lit, warm, and had a rustic design to it. The couches and comfortable chairs were set up in secluded areas to provide privacy for their patrons. It was a great place for Tuesday and her mother to just catch up with each other’s lives without all the formal stress of being at home.

  II

  HARD QUESTIONS AND UNEASY ANSWERS

  The two of them were seated on a loveseat, isolated in one of the crannies of the building, discussing everything from the Jackson Twins and their asinine behavior, to that liar McCauley, to Tuesday’s overall grades. Tuesday told her mom all about her date with Jason, and how she had met his brothers and her close brush with Principal McCauley. Her mom just laughed at Tuesday’s recent adventures, wishing that her little girl wasn’t growing up so quickly. Since Megan was in such a loquacious mood, Tuesday thought that it might be time to learn answers to some questions she had about her for a long time, but hadn’t had the courage to ask. Megan found a moment of clarity in her present situation, and felt like expressing it, which opened the door for Tuesday to take that train of thought down the tracks as far as would be permitted.

  “You know, I thought kicking the drugs would be more difficult than this.” Megan confessed, feeling stronger on her stance than she thought she ever would. “So far, I’m doing alright. Yeah, I’m going to be okay.”

  “That’s great, Mom!” Tuesday responded supportively, slipping into a sense of nervousness, gearing up for a serious discussion. “I want to ask you some serious questions. Is that alright?”

  “I don’t know.” Megan retorted, shaking her head in doubt, “What do you mean by serious?”

  Tuesday was struggling to find the right words as she knew that the wrong approach would push her mother into a corner and she wouldn’t get the answers she needed. “You know; the questions kids want to know about themselves when they are my age. Things that all kids want to know about eventually.”

  Megan’s eyes became wide, completely taking the meaning in a different direction than originally intended. “Oh gosh, honey! You are too young to be thinking about boys like that!!”

  “No, Mom!!” Tuesday interrupted before her mother’s assumption would take her on a path that she didn’t intend to go. It’s not that she didn’t want to know about boys, now especially that she had one, she most certainly did. But this was not the time for that talk, she had other things on her mind, and needed the answers. “There are things I need to know about me. About our family. You know, those things.”

  Megan’s previously locked eyes dropped to the floor in shame, knowing that she would have to recollect a past that she wasn’t comfortable reliving. “Oh. Those questions.” Megan uttered, too ashamed to look at her daughter. “You want to know about your father, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.” Tuesday responded, shaking her head, and reaching for her coffee.

  “I mean; I really don’t know what to say.” Megan confessed, clearly attempting to dodge the question. “I don’t know why you need to know this stuff?”

  Tuesday thought about it for a moment. “Why is this so important to me?” She began to run ideas through her head and concluded that her father might be the key to the problems in her life. If she knew who her father was, she could track him down one day and find out if he might share some of the same complications that she did. For her, it was worth a shot at the possibility of discovering where the origin of her difficulties began. “Please, Mom.” Tuesday entreated her mother with a quiet anxiety in her voice.

  “Alright, I’ll tell you what little I know about your father.” Megan yielded, trying mentally to pick and choose the pieces of her sordid tale she wanted to tell. “I used to take these drugs. . .”

  “I know all about the drugs.” Tuesday interrupted, somewhat impatient, like a kid waiting to unwrap their birthday present. “I want to know about my father.”

  “Do you want to hear this or not?” Megan spoke, scolding her daughter with her eyes, shooting her a look that indicated she had better not interrupt again. “I’m getting to that, so hold on, would you?”

  Tuesday felt bad for having disturbed her mother, and realized she needed to display a little patience with this story. “I’m sorry, please go on.”

  “It’s just difficult to talk about these things.” Megan defended herself, her eyes began to welling up a little bit, but she would not allow the tears to fall. “It was such a painful part of my life.”

  Tuesday wanted to do her very best to be supportive of her mother, and was proud of the progress she had made so far and so she was determined to do everything she could
to help Megan unload this baggage. “Mom, I want to be a part of your life. Whatever it is, it can’t be enough to keep a secret from your favorite daughter all your life.” Tuesday had always loved using the “favorite daughter” line as it made her feel like she was the most important kid in the whole wide world.

  “You’re my only daughter.” Megan managed to spit the words out, half laughing, half crying.

  Tuesday laughed too. “I guess that makes me your favorite one then, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I guess it does.” Megan said, laughing and shaking her head. She came down off her laughter and continued to relay her story to her daughter. “I used to take these drugs, not drugs that one would normally take. I signed up for a trial to take drugs for a pharmaceutical company, drugs that I was told were a new form of birth control. I was paid very well for testing the drug for them, and I was able to afford an apartment for myself. I have a whole file of paperwork on it in the chest in my room in case I had to sue somebody over it, but I never look at that pile of old, bad memories.

  Megan stared down at the table as she talked. Of the lowest points in her life, this was the beginning of the lowest chapter in her life. She suddenly felt ashamed for the path her life had taken and the consequences it has had for her only child. She would have changed long ago if she hadn’t set her pain so deeply in stone and had rooted her resolve to bury that suffering so deeply that it would never face the light of day again.

  “I was already taking a lot of illegal drugs at the time.” Megan continued, her voice becoming strained from the stress of recalling the events of this point of her life. “The doctors had warned me not to use anything in conjunction with what they were testing on me, but I was young and wanted to party, and didn’t want to listen. Eventually I had a bad episode and realized it was better to pay to do the experimental drug under a doctor’s care than it was to mix street drugs with what I was using.”

  Tuesday felt she had to interject so her mother would know she was paying attention. “That sounds like a good decision.”, she said, focused on what Megan was saying, sipping on her mocha.

  “I cleaned up quite a lot, and I met a nice guy, his name was Daniel.” Megan went on, becoming a little agitated about talking about her life in this way. It felt to her as if the top of an enormous scab was being ripped off her flesh and the blood was flowing freely again. “We were involved for several months; I must have been about 20 at the time. Daniel and I got serious pretty quickly, and he seemed to love me so much that he begged me to start a family with him. I wasn’t ready for a kid yet, and he seemed to understand more and more as time went on that I just wanted to take things slowly, because I was afraid of messing it up. For once I was as happy as I can ever remember being.”

  “That doesn’t sound too bad, Mom.” Tuesday countered, trying to alleviate any of the pain that her mother might have felt at the moment. “Was this Daniel guy my father?”

  “I honestly don’t know, sweetie, he could have been. We had some very careless interactions with each other after a while, not to say that you were an accident or anything.” Megan stated as if it were an attempt to dodge a bullet. She was clearly hoping to avoid that exact question. “Everything was great between us, or so I thought. One day I came home, and he was angry at me. He had found out about the experimental drug trial I was participating in and just flipped out. I’d never seen him so angry, he thrashed the apartment and left with just a few simple belongings. He said I would never see him again, and true to his word, I never did hear from him again. It was like he disappeared from the face of the Earth.”

  “That’s so odd that he would vanish like that.” Tuesday said, watching her mother intently, taking yet another sip of her mocha. “Didn’t Daniel love you enough to make that work? Couldn’t he have given you a shot to redeem yourself?”

  “He did love me, and I loved him.” Megan explained, cupping her hands around her own pumpkin spice latte. “It’s my own fault for continuing to take the drug. I didn’t think that he would find out, I was being so cautious. But he had found one of my payment stubs for the money I was earning by using their product, and just freaked out. He just packed and left without another word. I was completely heartbroken.”

  “That seems awfully cold.” Tuesday said, a bit of anger written all over her face.

  Megan turned her face away from her daughter so she couldn’t see the shame upon it. Tuesday reached out and placed her hand gently upon her mother’s shoulder to give her an indication that she would support her through this discussion.

  “It’s alright Mom.” Tuesday offered, hoping to bequeath some level of solace upon her mother. “I love you, and that’s never going to change.”

  Megan reached up and gripped her daughter’s hand, holding it, while gently rubbing her thumb up and down the side of Tuesday’s hand and forearm. For the first time, it had occurred to Megan that her daughter was getting old enough to have serious conversations with, and that the two of them could likely confide in one another for many years to come. This was only a foundation, but she could imagine the magnificent palace the two of them would one day build together. Only a couple of weeks ago, neither of them would have imagined the two of them would be sitting anywhere together besides home, much less be having conversations of this magnitude. Megan felt a large swell of gratitude rise inside her for the blessings that had been bestowed upon her. It was a feeling she couldn’t easily quantify or explain, not even to herself.

  “Mom, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” Tuesday stated, feeling a little weepy herself. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

  “Oh, you’re welcome.” Megan spoke quietly, the conversation clearly had taken its toll, leaving her introspective about the past. “I hope some of your questions were answered.”

  “What happened after that?” Tuesday asked, glued to the tale that her mother was in the middle of telling.

  “Can we save it for another time?” Megan requested of Tuesday, feeling defeated and somewhat cold herself. “I just can’t right now.”

  Tuesday isn’t sure that she’s ready to back down quite yet. “I’ve still got more to ask; why can’t we do it right now?”

  Megan turned back around and faced her daughter directly and Tuesday could see for the first time that she had indeed been crying as indicated by the streaks of mascara running down her Mom’s face. “Look, honey. I just need some time to figure out how to put it all into words.” Megan responded, her hands visibly shaking at the thought of the events of her younger days. “I haven’t given any thought to these things in a long, long time, and it’s a very painful period of my life. I just need a little time with it.”

  Tuesday sighed, letting her breath sound out audibly, but only just slightly, realizing that this would not be the day that she finds answers to the questions she was looking for. “It’s okay, Mom. I understand.” She told her mother confidently and informatively, “I can wait for you.”

  Megan wraps her arms around Tuesday and the two embraced in a long hug, knowing that the events of the day had been important to them both. It was a beginning, and a step to greater things in their lives. Tuesday was certain of it, it all felt different and better than it had before. The entire dynamic in their lives had been set on an entirely new and original trajectory, one from which there was now no turning back.

  But most importantly, Tuesday now had a name that she might think of as her father. “His name was Daniel.” Tuesday speculated to herself, wondering if this guy could have been the one. Something didn’t sit right with Tuesday about the tale her mother had told, about the way Daniel had left her. It didn’t add up, and she suspected that there was a part of the story that her mother had neglected to tell her, something she was either keeping for herself, or was lost from her memory due to the passage of time. For Megan, it could have been too many highs ago to tell the story with complete accuracy, but Tuesday was bright enoug
h to realize that either way, something was missing.

  Megan also sensed that her relationship with her daughter had reached a turning point, but wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. The closer the two of them became, the more she would have to reveal, and Megan wasn’t certain that she would ever fully be prepared when that day arrived.

  III

  TUCKING TUESDAY IN

  After finishing their coffee and discussion, Megan and Tuesday Moxley left the Cadence Falls Coffee Company and the Tres Riveras Mall, going home for the night, with a brief stop at Minami Teriyaki on the way home to pick up dinner. When the they arrived home, they ate their food, and watched some television for the night, laying to rest the events of the day behind them. When ten o’clock rolled around, Tuesday found that she was unable to keep her eyes open as she stared at the television, trying to catch a little of the local news. Her efforts increasingly failed her, as she began to doze off on the sofa, Megan nudging her to go and get herself ready for bed.

  Tuesday stumbled from the couch and upstairs to the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and changed into her nightgown, and trudged tiredly into her room. Megan came up the stairs and into her room a moment later to say good night to her.

  Megan stood next to Tuesday’s bed, handing Winston to her and tucking her in for the night. Her first thought had been to wonder why she had neglected such an important task for all those years. She had been truly blessed to have such a great and wonderful child. It was such a shame that other people in Cadence Falls hadn’t been able to see it. But then again, Megan had reconciled it in her own mind that the people in Cadence Falls were all somehow related to each other and were a bunch of inbred kinfolk. Except for her and Tuesday. While she had been able to earn a living, she had paid for her habits off the sweat and tears of the citizens of Cadence Falls and The Devil’s City, she truly had little regard for them. Part of it was the way that her daughter had been treated for all those years. Yes, she was responsible for her poor parenting skills, but she absolutely loathed many of the people of the area for their treatment of her daughter. Even now, Megan just looked at Tuesday in her bed and was completely over the moon about how well Tuesday had turned out.

  “Did you have a good time today?” Megan queried her daughter, wishing each day could be as amazing as this one had.

  “No.” Tuesday replied, doing her best to keep her poker face completely intact. When her mother shot back with that shocked and dismayed look of hers, Tuesday countered. “I had a great day!” She placed special emphasis upon the word great.

  “Oh you!!” Megan retorted, grabbing one of the pillows from the bed and lightly assaulted her with it. “I’m glad you did, we both needed that.” She finished saying, holding onto the moment.

  “I’m going to get a good night’s sleep!” Tuesday cheerfully stated. “Thanks to Doctor Frederiksen.”

  Megan walked slowly from the side of the bed and over toward the window, looking outside it to make sure they weren’t being watched before speaking. “I don’t trust Doctor Frederiksen.” She stated plainly with no hint of illusion in her voice. “I think he’s up to something. Anybody who would agree to treat somebody without getting paid is obviously up to something.”

  Tuesday felt her defenses rise a little bit, much in the same way they do when she is confronted by the Jackson Twins. “Mom, he’s just trying to help, that’s all it is.” She explained carefully. “You’ve got to let go of all that paranoia that you’ve been holding onto for all of these years.”

  It had been such a great day so in order not to spoil it, Megan decided to throw the fight and just agree with Tuesday on this for the moment. “Oh sugar, I guess you’re right.” She admitted. “He is a professional and he is helping you. And you’re right, I need to let it go, but there’s something about him I’m having a hard time trusting, and can’t quite figure it out.”

  Megan walks back around to the side of the bed and pulls the blankets securely over Tuesday’s body. In return, Tuesday squeezes her mother’s hand in reassurance, smiling to let her know that everything will be alright. “Don’t let it worry you, Mom!” Tuesday said in attempt to quench her mother’ fears about Doctor Frederiksen, though she felt it best if she didn’t mention his name directly to her. “For the first time, I feel as if I am beginning to understand. I’m thinking about my problems differently than I have before.”

  “Understand?” Megan asked inquisitively, failing to comprehend what her daughter was trying to tell her. “Understand what?”

  Tuesday tried hard to think about what Doctor Frederiksen might say in response to her mother’s query, though with Megan’s dislike of the man, speaking like him might not be the best idea. “That this could be a gift, not the curse that I’ve always thought it was. I walked out of that office and for once I could see the bigger picture.”

  “I don’t know if I believe Doctor Frederiksen is the right guy to help you or not.” Megan admitted, trying to illustrate her point to her daughter. “After all I’ve seen you go through with this I’m going to have a tough time believing this is anything but a curse. I’m so glad that you’re learning to deal with this, but I’m only asking that you please be careful.”

  Tuesday is already ahead of her mother, nodding her head in agreement. This moment felt to Tuesday as if a wall had come tumbling down between them. Was her mother actually giving her constructive advice? “Thanks for the advice, Mom.” Tuesday offered her most sincere gratitude.

  “Hey, isn’t that what mothers are for?” Megan asked, looking into her daughter’s eyes and savoring the moment between them. “I wish I had realized all of this much sooner than now.”

  Tuesday didn’t want to hear her mother doubting herself in any measure, it just wouldn’t do if they were planning to beat the odds. “You’re doing just fine, Mom!” Tuesday lamented, “I’m very proud of you.”

  Just then Megan’s eyes brightened up a little bit, remembering something she had wanted to do when they got home. “Hold on a second, I’ll be right back.” Megan said enthusiastically, barely able to contain the excitement she had.

  Tuesday waited in her room for what seemed like ten minutes or so, when at last her mother reappeared with a small item clearly clutched in her fist. Megan Moxley had a light in her eye that Tuesday was unfamiliar with, a look that was completely alien to her. She wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but she had a feeling that she was about to find out.

  Megan knelt down beside the bed and extended her arm and opened her hand which revealed a white gold ring on a chain of cheap looking imitation gold. “A good person once owned this ring.” Megan said, the light leaving her eyes as her gaze became lost and had begun studying the shadows, looking to see the past reflected there. She paused ever so briefly, and then looked back at Tuesday. “I want it to belong to another good person. You want it?”

  Tuesday looked deep into her mother’s eyes with an understanding that surpassed any previous moment that she and her mother had experienced to this point. Tuesday didn’t know where this ring had come from, or who had given it to her mother, or for what purpose but Megan seemingly wanted her daughter to have it. Tuesday had assumed that this must have been an extremely important heirloom for her mother because she had seen her mother pawn various pieces of jewelry and other items of value over the years, but had never once seen this particular ring. “Did this belong to my father?” Tuesday silently wondered to herself, not daring the words to cross the threshold of her lips. No reasons were spoken between the two of them as to why she was given this ring, but Tuesday wasn’t going to turn down such an important item from her mother. The last thing her mother had given her that wasn’t an absolute necessity was that ratty old bear, Winston, who sat there on the bed witnessing the entire account. All Tuesday could do was nod her head in awe, and reach out to gently pluck the ring from the hand of her mother. Tuesday reached up and spread th
e chain out, placing it over her head to hang from her neck. She tucked the ring under her shirt to keep it close to her heart.

  “Thanks Mom. I promise that I’ll take good care of it.” Tuesday promised, reaching out and wrapping her pinky around her mother’s to bind her word in the eternal grip of the pinky swear. Megan is happy to hear positivity coming from her daughter instead of the tears, nagging and complaining that usually accompanied her every day. Maybe things are turning around. Megan thought to herself. She smiled at her daughter one more time for the night as she leaned in and gave her a hug. The embrace was warm and inviting, and Megan just wanted to hold on for the rest of her life. She had time to make up for, an exorbitant amount of lost time, and wasn’t sure what the best way to do it was going to be. She had lost so much time with her over the years, putting her selfish needs before the needs of her daughter. Megan was astonished over the outpouring of feeling she was undergoing, it was something completely new for her and it as if it had all been held back and somebody turned on the faucet, releasing the water to the extent that it flooded everything around her in pure, raw, and unadulterated emotion. She had spent years perfecting the ability to suppress her emotions, and now they were surfacing and kicking her in the behind, difficult to cope with. While she loved the sensations she was feeling for her daughter, these passions were a little too overwhelming to be experiencing all at once. She hadn’t expected it to come back in one big rush. She needed a good cry to balance out what she was feeling, and that couldn’t happen until Tuesday was asleep.

  “We should be getting some sleep now don’t you think?” Megan asked her daughter. We have to try and get you back in school tomorrow.”

  Tuesday sat there smiling at her mother. “Yes, I think so.” Was all that Tuesday could manage to say.

  “Good night, and sweet dreams.” Megan wished her daughter, with a soft smile.

  “Definitely.” Tuesday replied. And with that, she laid herself down in her bed, rolling over and grabbing hold of Winston.

  Megan turned out the light and left the room. It wasn’t long until Tuesday was fast asleep.