Page 24 of Love Beyond the Illusion
Re: Subject: Harvest Season Events
Hello Jack,
Thank you for the email. I will need to move a few things around, but I should be able to make room for you in my schedule.
Your new beck-and-call girl,
Piper Harris-Bradley
I hit send, then flip onto my back, satisfied with my response. Smiling up at the rotating ceiling fan, I hear the chime indicating another email. Rolling back over, I see Jack has already replied. Damn.
From: [email protected]
Re: Re: Subject: Harvest Season Events
Good. See you next week.
Your boss, who is definitely not rethinking his hiring choices,
Jack Bradley
Staring at his email, I run through a series of smart-ass comments and comebacks, but I’m too tired. I smile to myself, then finish unpacking.
Bailey, Avery, and I are on our first flight of the day, conducting the preflight checks of the emergency and medical equipment before the passengers start boarding.
“Piper, how’s everything going with Roxy?” Avery asks, resting her arms on top of the seat. Bailey takes a few steps over, occupying the small space in the aisle.
Only Bailey, Avery, and Lina know about the complicated relationship with my mother. I can’t even recall how often they have been my shoulders to cry on after a fight or disagreement.
Sometimes, those fights were from guilt trips for not seeing her as much as I should. Other times, they consisted of Roxy blaming me for her inability to find a good job—which, in her words, is because she had to lovingly sacrifice her education or well-off boyfriends to support me as a child. This particular time, I was trying to stand my ground about paying another month of her rent. She’d quit a job she had as a bank teller because the manager was, in Roxy’s words, on “a high horse.”Whatever the hell that means.
I let out a heavy breath. “It is what it is. She’s never going to change.”
“Did you send her the money like she wanted?” Bailey asks.
“I didn’t want to, but I did. She told me if I didn’t send her rent money, she’d be homeless. When I hesitated, she mentioned all the times she supported me as a child.” I frown. “She’s my mom. I had to do it.”
“Damn. That’s got to be tough to hear from your mom. It’s not like it’s your fault when you’re like, I don’t know—seven?” Avery hisses.
“It’s a mind fuck, that’s for sure.” I wish her eclectic personality came with a warning label for manipulation and emotional immaturity.
Avery frowns and puts an arm around me. “I’m sorry, babe. I know that must be so hard. You know the three of us are always here for you.”
“Yes, I love you all for that, but we all have problems. I can handle Roxy. You lost your parents so young, Avery. I should be grateful that I still have my mom, right?”
Both of my best friends shake their heads in unison.
“No, not at the expense of being treated like she’s always treated you,” Avery snaps back.
“Avery is right. You don’t deserve it,” Bailey adds, her eyes soft as she looks at me.
“I love you both, you know that?” I reach my arms out, hooking them around my friends. The three of us hold each other tightly.
“Wait, make room for invisible Lina!” Avery exclaims.
“Oh yes!” Bailey rounds Avery, extending a side hug into the empty space between them.
“Lina gives the best advice in situations like this.” I smile.
