A Mother's Homecoming(47)

The way Morgan put it was better. It almost made what happened this afternoon sound like a family moment.

Faith chewed on her lower lip. If she got herself in more trouble, would the three of them spend even more time together? Maybe they could even do some kind of family counseling. Would it be enough to keep Pam in town longer?

Bad idea. Faith shook herself out of the fantasy. If she wasn’t careful, she could chase Pam out of town. After all, Pam had been quick to leave her behind before, and that time Faith hadn’t even done anything—other than cry and poop or whatever, but all babies did that. If Faith was a brat, she might cause her mother to bolt.

Besides, she was sick of being grounded. Especially if there was a chance Bryce Watkins was going to ask her to the middle school’s big fall dance. Homecoming might officially be for the high school, but all of Mimosa celebrated.

Maybe she should switch tactics, be the model daughter and student. If she did that, her dad and Pam might agree to let Pam take her dress shopping for the dance.

Assuming she’s even still around. Her mother had always been very clear that she wasn’t moving back to Mimosa. Why would she? She’d lived in far more exciting places—heck, she’d been on television! If her family hadn’t been enough to keep her here when she’d actually been married to Nick, it was insane to think she’d choose Mimosa now. Part of Faith wanted to plead the case for Pam to stay, but her stomach roiled at the thought of being rejected. It was one thing to grow up without a mom and accept that as your norm. It would be far worse to be told you’re unwanted.

“Thanks for letting me vent,” Faith told her friend. “I should go before he catches me on the phone.”

“Sure, anytime. You know I’m here for you, girl.”

“I know.” And she appreciated it. But calling to bitch to Morg wasn’t the same as having a bona fide family.



Chapter Eleven


Since Pam had the day off from the salon, she’d planned to go to the house and work on renovations after leaving Nick’s. She headed to Aunt Julia’s to change her clothes, but ended up sitting on the foot of her bed, lacking the motivation to get moving. Even though she knew rationally that part of what she’d witnessed from Faith was over-the-top drama, a sign of the girl’s age, some of the pain she’d seen had been real. And I caused it. Either by leaving in the first place or by coming back.

“Well, hello there,” Julia said from the doorway. “I didn’t realize you were home.”

“I swung by to change clothes, with plans to work on the house tonight.” Pam spread her hands. “You can see how far I got.”

Julia clucked her tongue. “You’ve been out there so much that we hardly see you. Why not take the afternoon off? I was going to run into town. We could make it a girls’ trip—hit the craft store and stop for high tea.”

Pam grinned. “High tea in Mimosa?” The local cafés sold more fried pickles than scones.

“You just have to know where to look. Come with me?”

What had Nick said earlier? You sound like you regret the missed opportunities with your mother. So maybe keep your eyes open for future opportunities with other people. “I’m in.”

Her aunt clapped her hands together. “Wonderful! Let me go put my face on.” That consisted of penciling in darker eyebrows and applying lipstick. Then she announced that she was ready.

Pam got into the passenger seat of her aunt’s car, grateful not to be driving. She lacked the mental energy.

“Are you all right, dear?” Julia asked. “I don’t mean to sound insulting, but, well, you’ve looked better.”

“I’ve felt better.” Pam studied her fingers on her lap, wondering where she should start. “You know that Nick came by your house once to see me? Faith, our …”

“I know who she is,” Julia said quietly.

But Pam was determined to get the word out, to acknowledge her own child, even if the person who needed that acknowledgement most wasn’t around to hear it. “Our daughter. My daughter. She wanted to meet me. We had what I thought was a very nice conversation over milk shakes one day, but it got more complicated after that. Nick asked me to come over today and talk to her. She’s been having some discipline problems.”

“Anything serious?” Julia asked, looking worried.

“Not yet. She’s a good kid, just confused. And ticked off. I guess not having a mother will do that to you.”