“So, she still gets a cut.” Vicky points out.
“She does. I don’t want her to be completely broke. I just want to make sure she can’t sell it out from under me. It will be the last bit of money that she gets from me.” I am strong with my words and my heart and mind are on the same page.
I can’t go through the rest of my life like this. I’m younger than her, I have a job, I spend my money wisely all because I know what it does when you spend it like it’s nothing.
Most of the way back home it’s quiet between the two of us. Not that we don’t want to talk, but because we’re both so tired.
I don’t want to meet with my mother. I hope she’s not there. I don’t want to be mean to her, but she has to realize she can’t keep coming to me when she has no one.
The only time she does is for money or when one of the many men that she sees drops her. Then she’s gone again because they call her.
I’m not her fallback. I’m not going to sit here and just wait until her life crumbles again. I can’t. I have my own life to live.
“You are thinking about a lot.” Vicky tells me.
“Yes.” I grin at her, blushing a little.
She has known this and yet she has let me have my thoughts for hours before saying anything to me giving me the space she thinks I need.
It’s getting harder and harder to think as we get closer and closer to home. I don’t want to have anxiety when I get back home.
“This trip has been everything that we didn’t want it to be.” Vicky whispers to me.
“This isn’t going to be any different. She’s there or she’s not. Do you want to be dropped off at home?” I ask her as soon as our bus arrives in Portland.
“No, if you don’t mind, I would like to stay with you for a little while longer.” She bites down on her lip.
I can see she doesn’t want to be in the way, that she wants to just continue to spend time with me and it warms my heart knowing that.
“You can stay with me as long as you like. It’s not like I have to worry about being into work tomorrow morning.” I grin at her.
It’s dark outside. It’s almost midnight and I know that as soon as I get to the house all I’m going to want to do is go to sleep.
There’s so much to do though and there’s no way that I can sleep until I know that everything is handled.
“Are you sure you want me to stay with you?” Vicky asks me.
“If I didn’t want you to, I would’ve told you. I don’t have a problem telling people to leave me alone, or to leave.” I giggle at her.
A taxi brings us through the gates of the mansion. It pulls up to the front of the mansion and even though I haven’t been there in a while the lights are on, the stone dragon still sits in the garden even though you can’t see the ground because of all the snow.
I see there’s a car and I hold my breath.
“She’s here.” I whisper, clearing my throat and opening the door.
Vicky only nods her head as we walk into the mansion. I can see that Vicky is impressed with the inside of it.
The lights are on in every room and I don’t know who’s paying it. It’s furnished and no one has lived here in years. At least that’s what I think.
Chapter Thirteen
I see her sitting in the living room. Her feet up on the coffee table. She’s in her socks, black leggings and a white hoody. Her blonde hair is a mess, and she looks like she hasn’t slept in days.
“Mother.” I nod my head.
“Nadia.” She smiles at me.
“I didn’t expect you to be here.” I tell her honestly.
Mother reaches out and rings a bell that I haven’t noticed until now.
When she rings it there’s a maid that comes out of the kitchen for her. I see that she’s made herself completely comfortable.
“What is all this?” I sigh at her.
“I wanted to make sure that you’re all set for when you take it over. Should I wait on a check or will it be cash?” She asks me.
The tone that she has strikes a nerve.
“Cash, this is the last time that you’re going to come and see me unless you just want to see me mother. I can’t keep doing this.” I put a hand on my hip.
“Must we talk about this in front of company?” She asks me, looking at Vicky.
“This isn’t company. This is my friend Vicky.” I tell her, taking Vicky’s hand in mine. Not afraid to show mother that she’s more than just a friend to me.
“Are you kidding me?” She laughs at me.
“I have been holding it in for a long time. I’ve never dated a man you would know that if you were around.” I glare at her.
“Ginny please get me a cup of tea.” She looks at the short maid.
The woman is short, black hair and brown eyes. She looks scared of my mother.
“How long have you been here?” I ask my mother.
“For a few days. You told me to stay put and that’s what I’ve done.” She points out to me.
“Well if you can stay another night then I guess we can go to the bank tomorrow morning and you will be on your way.” I tell her coldly.
She bites down on her lip.
“I have to leave early in the morning.” She whispers to me.
“How early? Before the banks open?” I grumble.
“I will take a check. I trust you.” She changes her mind about the cash.
“That’s because you’re looking to leave tonight. Remember this is going to be the last time.” I whisper.
I take my bags and dig deep into my bags. Finding my check book, I hurry to write her a check so that she can just go.
“I’m sorry that you’ve had such a bad life.” Mother is sarcastic with me.
“It was a lonely life. Hearing you fighting with the men that you brought home. Hearing you cry because you’re all alone. You didn’t think about the little woman down the hall. Not once. You made me who I am, and I guess I should thank you for that. I don’t have to worry about anyone but me, I can take care of myself.” I thrust the check at her, and she takes it, slipping it into her purse.
“Could your driver bring me somewhere?” She asks me.
“I don’t have a…” Mother cuts me off and claps her hands loudly so that it echoes off the walls of the living room.
In no time at all there’s a tall man that’s almost bald. He’s wearing a suit.
“I don’t care what you do mother. If you have to leave, and that’s your only means then yes.” I am wondering how much this is costing me.
“IF I were you, I would keep the maid at least. The cook is pretty good, better than the one I used to have when you were little.” Mother slips into her boots. She puts on her coat and she leans over to hug me.
She wraps her arms around me, but I don’t hug her back. There’s no point in it. I do pray for her though.
“It was nice to meet you.” Vicky states as mother walks by us both.
Mother doesn’t say anything to her, and I bite my tongue. There’s no reason to be mean to her, Vicky has nothing to do with this.
I hear the front door close shut the maid takes the empty teacup and she looks at me with fear in her eyes.
“I don’t know how my mother treated you. I will apologize though. I would like you to stay on for a few days. Not because I need you, I can take care of myself, but I am sure that I will lose out on more money if you don’t stay. How long have you been here?” I ask her softly.
“Three.” She points out to me.
“Then you have four more days and I will give you a check for your time.” I smile at her she gives me a small smile of her own before she takes the teacup into the kitchen.
I sit down where mother had been. The seat is still warm, and Vicky comes to sit with me.
“I’m sorry she’s so rude.” I groan, leaning my head back against the couch.
It’s all new furniture. I wonder what happened to the old furniture.
“Don’t be sorry, this isn�
��t your fault.” She points out to me.
“No, but she didn’t have to be like that.” I mutter.
“You took it rather well, I think. Showing your mother, you didn’t yell at her. There was no argument.” Vicky smiles at me and takes my hand.
“Thank you, all these words were screaming through my mind. That’s all she wanted. Money. Money that she can blow. I gave her exactly what she was looking for and not a penny less. She won’t be able to say that I didn’t treat her fairly.” I whisper, staring at the fire.
I know that mother doesn’t know how to start a fire, so someone had done it and I’m thankful for that too.
“Not to be nosey but how much was this place?” Vicky looks around the room. It’s big enough to house at least thirty rooms, like the hotel we used when our flight was cancelled.
“Enough to get her through the rest of her life if she spends it wisely, but I know she won’t. She can buy her own house, her own things. She wouldn’t have to worry about working. It’s why I told her that the next time she comes to see me it better not be about money.” I grin at her.
I see the quick look of shock in her eyes before it disappears. I have to get all my things from the apartment sooner or later, but I also have to make sure that the sign comes down and I cancel the realtor letting her know that her services are no longer needed before it does get sold from underneath me.
“Would you like to see the rest of the house?” I ask her, knowing that I’m not going to be able to sleep anyways.
“I don’t know, I might get lost. It looks more like a kingdom.” She giggles at me but gets off the couch when I do.
I lead her up the ivory stairs and watch as she runs her hand up the railing that’s polished.
“Someone’s been keeping up on it.” She nods her head.
“Probably the realtor had cleaners come in. The furniture I don’t know where it came from. In order to sell a place, you have to make it look good inside and out.
I can only imagine the bill that my mother racked up. I’m not worried about affording it. I’m more worried about how careless she was not thinking about any bill because she didn’t believe that she had to pay it.
I open the door that used to hold my childhood. Everything is removed from it, I’m sure that mother had done that for her own selfish reasons.
“This used to be my room. I had a nice bed, nice things. Electronics to keep me busy but it was all out of guilt. Mother made sure that I wasn’t seen or heard most times. I remember dining by myself all the time and when I’d hear her, I would head out and go to my room just hoping there would be no fights” I mutter.
“So, then I guess that we’re not going to take this room?” She asks me.
“No. I don’t want anyone in this room.” I tell her.
I will put a wall over the door so that I can just block it out.
I like the fact that she’s including herself in the plans that I’m planning for my future.
“Do you have a place to go?” I ask her.
She hasn’t talked about where she’s from, the people that she knows. I don’t want her to come out and tell me that she’s homeless. I don’t want her to feel degraded.
“A park bench that’s one of the reasons I was going to see my father. I was going to ask him for his help.” Vicky doesn’t look ashamed, but I don’t know how much it would’ve helped her even if he did say yes.
Judging by the way he lived before he left it was no place for her.
“You can find a room here if you want. Or we can share one.” I tell her, going down the long hallway.
Showing her the rooms I can see that she’s happy to be here. She’s impressed but I don’t want her to be.
This is going to be my home. Our home for as long as she wants to stay.
“I will start working as soon as I can. I don’t know anything about the stock market and things like that, but I’m not going to let you foot the bill for everything.” She tells me as we head back down the stairs.
We walk into the kitchen and I see the maid is making a snack. It smells good as she puts the cookies in the oven.
“I thought that since you two were up that you’d be up for something sweet.” She tells us, as she sits at the breakfast bar.
“What’s your name?” I ask her.
“Ginny.” She tells me.
“Sorry, I remember my mother calling you by your name. I might keep you on depending on how good those cookies are.” I lighten the mood and I hear her laugh.
“Your mother is a scary woman if you don’t mind me saying. I can see that you don’t get your sense of humor from her.” Ginny grins at me.
“No, I don’t know who I get it from. Do we have milk in the fridge?” I ask her.
“Yes, your mother made sure that there was food in the house. I don’t know how she did it. All I know is that she has made sure that there were meats and a variety of foods.” Ginny points out that she did do some things.
“Was it delivered, or did she go out?” I ask.
“It was delivered.” She answers quickly.
“I will get the bill in the mail, I’m sure.” I don’t mind paying that. We need to eat and I’m glad that I didn’t have to go out and get the food.
Ginny gets tall glasses and she pours the three of us milk as the timer goes off on the oven. She takes out the cookies with the small oven mitts setting them on the stove.
The smell of chocolate chip cookies fills the air and I smile knowing this should’ve been my childhood.
“Are you sure that you want to stay here?” Vicky asks me.
I look at her for a moment. I just stare at her and see how concerned she is for my well-being.
Chapter Fourteen
“Yes, I’m sure. I should’ve come back here a long time ago. I didn’t want to intrude on my father’s side of the family. I didn’t know if anyone was living here and that’s something that I would never do. Family or not.” I explain to her.
Ginny takes the cookies and puts them on a plate. We eat them all between the three of us and drink down our glasses of milk.
The second we set our glasses down she scoops them up and starts putting them in the dishwasher.
“You don’t have to do it the very second that the glass is empty. Or the plate. I’m not like my mother I don’t know who you worked for before that.” I shake my head sadly at her.
“I just want to show you that I can do a good job. I know that it’s just the two of you, but I like it here. Not that I want to change your mind, I get it if you can’t afford my services or just don’t want it. I fell in love with this place the second I entered.” Ginny is at least honest with me.
I nod my head, thinking that it wouldn’t be bad to have others around. I’m sure that my friends are going to want to come over.
Throughout life people are going to come and go. The ones that stay are meant for you. They are your person.
We watch Ginny clean the kitchen and when she’s done, she nods her head at me.
“I like it. It’s good to me, you can retire for the night if you wish.” I remember that’s how my mother talked to the help only she was a lot meaner when I was younger.
“Have a good night.” She nods her head at me and leaves the kitchen.
“It’s morning.” Vicky whispers to me.
“It’s still dark. It’s night.” I laugh at her and get off the stool, leaving the kitchen myself.
We walk through the living room and go up the stairs. I remember running up and down the stairs when I was by myself. Almost slipping a few times, I had fun jumping down when I felt brave enough.
There were times that I had fun, but it was by myself that no one knew about. Just me.
I imagine the younger version of me, I see her, hear her running down the hall and laughing as her shoes made a loud noise that she couldn’t get into trouble for.
Vicky walks beside me. She takes my hand and the first thing I want to do is take a shower. I head dow
n to the room at the end of the hall. The last bedroom.
“My mother’s room. What used to be my mother’s room.” I tell her, turning the knob and pushing it open.
There’s a big bed, all-white blankets and sheets. There’s a rug at the end of the bed. A television for gaming and one for watching. Everything is brand-new.
“It’s nice.” Vicky tells me.
“It is.” I agree with her.
“I’m going to take a shower.” She looks down the hall and I laugh at her.
“Each room has its own shower. If you don’t mind me being in there, I will take a bath. You will see when you walk in.” I go further into the room and see the door that leads to the bathroom.
Vicky just shakes her head and smiles. There’s a shower, but there’s also the tub that I was talking about sectioned off in its own space.
“I don’t know how you rich people live with yourselves.” She jokes with me and starts the shower.
Our clothes are downstairs but there are robes hanging up and she sees them as soon as I shut the door.
I start the tub and find some bath oils to put into them. I haven’t used bath oils since I was younger, and now I can just use them because I want to not because I have to.
“It’s going to be different this time around. I’m not trapped like I felt I was before. I don’t have to worry about going to a private school where most of the women didn’t like me anyways. Some were nice, but not all of them.” I tell her, watching the water fill the tub and getting undressed.
Vicky is listening to me as she’s testing the water before she slides the door all the way open so she can slip inside.
I haven’t pampered myself in so long and after all that I’ve been through I think that I deserve it. I’m even thinking about going out and shopping when we’re settled in.
We don’t talk as we wash and just stand or lay in the water. I know that Vicky is just letting the hot water run down her body and that’s okay. I’m not worried about that.
My body is a prune by the time that I get out of the tub and Vicky has already been out of the shower just waiting for me.
“What do you like to do?” I ask her.
“I like typing. I can be an assistant of sorts. Receptionist. Do they have any of that work around here?” She asks me.
A Love Like Ours Page 8
