Page 151 of Blossoms of the Heart
I looked at the screen and saw it was mom.
She’d respected my wishes and hadn’t called me since I told her not to. I didn’t call her either and honestly I hadn’t missed the contact.
I was going to accompany Mitsuke and Akito at the river for the ceremonial candle lights.
We planned to stay an hour then head to the exhibition ceremony.
“It’s my mom.” I told Mitsuke.
She raised her brows and sighed. “You should talk to her. Take it from someone who would love to talk to hers.” She nodded. “I’ll go wait for you in the car.”
I smiled understanding. Rukia and my mom couldn’t have been more different if they tried but they were still our mothers.
I went to sit on the patio and answered the phone.
“Mom, hi.”
“Sweetheart. I’m so glad you answered.”
I pressed my lips together.
“How’ve you been?”
“I’m okay I was just calling to let you know I’m here.”
I stood up.“Here?What do you mean?”
“I’m here in Japan. I came with your father. We’re at the museum waiting for the exhibition to start. We came to support you.”
“Support?”
“Yes. I didn’t want you to get the shock of your life when you saw me. Phoebe I didn’t like the way we left things when we last spoke. No mother and daughter should live without speaking so long. I’ve been worried.”
I didn’t know how to take this. I guess I appreciated the call and her meeting me half way but there was so much more to this than trying to make amends with a phone call.
“I’m okay.”
“I know when you aren’t okay. You don’t sound okay.”
“I’ll be fine mom. Thanks for coming. I guess I’ll see you at the exhibition.”
“Wait, please.”
I was going to hang up because I was anxious to leave. “What’s up?”
“Phoebe I know that we’ve had a difference of opinion and I guess that’s on me for my sometimes backwards ways of thinking. I just wanted you to know I’m sorry. I figured from our last conversation that maybe you were… um, seeing Tai. And I had no right to talk about him that way. So I apologize. I want things to be good between us.”
She’d never apologized to me before for anything.
All the years of being under her thumb wouldn’t just go away overnight, but I wouldn’t be the one to beat a person for trying, especially since that person was my mom.
“I appreciate that mom. I do.”
“Good. Can’t wait to see you.”
“And you.”
She hung up. I stayed where I was for a moment taking the conversation in.
That went well. Could have been better if I felt I could confide in her with my worries but we had a long way to go before that happened.
Baby steps. That was bridging the gap of something we never had.
Time for another serious conversation. But with Tai.
My stomach was in knots.
