“So, what’s going on with Angel’s move? How many days left until you’re on your own?”
“When Jason and I got back in town Sunday night she was basically all packed up,” I smiled, feeling genuinely happy for my cousin and the love that she’d found. “She spent the weekend making some aesthetic changes to her boyfriends’ place and she says she’ll be completely moved in by this coming Saturday!”
Dr. Gill nodded. “And I must say, you really do seem like you’re going to be okay with this.”
I thought about her statement and agreed. “I am. I’m turning her bedroom into a studio so I can start painting again.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea!” Dr. Gill chimed in.
I nodded in agreement.
“So, I take it that this means you’ve made your final decision about taking Jason up on his offer?”
I let out a sigh and honestly felt somewhat guilty for being so set in my ways on this one, but I couldn’t deny that the idea of moving in with him just wasn’t what I wanted. It had absolutely nothing to do with him or my feelings for him; it was just simply that I wasn’t ready.
With a hint of a smile, I answered Dr. Gill’s question. “I have, and I’m looking forward to being on my own.”
She smiled at that.
When my session was over, I hailed a cab as usual, and answered my mother’s phone call without even having to look at the ID.
“Hey, Ma.”
“So…how was it?” she replied.
I smiled. “Fine. Actually, better than fine.”
“Really? You sound good.”
I climbed inside the cab while I answered. “I think it’s just this beautiful weather we’ve been having,” I lied, knowing that there were other factors contributing to my good mood. Looking up at the mostly clear sky through the open window, I smiled.
“Are you headed back to work?” She asked.
“Yep. I’m on my way there as we speak.”
“Well, I won’t hold you up. Just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you,” she added, causing my smile to widen.
“Miss you too,” I said back, trying to calculate how long it’d been since I’d seen her and Daddy. If my memory served correctly, they were here in the city roughly six months ago.
“When do you think you’ll come visit again?” she asked. “Here in Virginia?”
That question made my stomach drop and I didn’t respond.
I think it was at that exact moment that my mother recalled the same memory that came into my mind. “No rush,” she amended. “I was just thinking it’d be nice if you dropped in.”
There was silence between us for a while. “Yeah…we’ll see,” was all I said in return.
The last time I came into town, right around the time Jason and I met two years ago, I ran into Antonio’s mother, Mrs. Martin, at the grocery store while I picked up a few things my mother needed. It took me the entire weekend to recover from the conversation that took place – the one where she accused me of everything from setting Antonio up or provoking him, to arranging to have him beaten up afterward.
“Don’t worry about it,” my mother said sweetly, almost sounding like she felt guilty for bringing it up. “We’ll try to make it out there sometime this summer. Whenever your father is able to take off. Sound good?”
I nodded like she could see me, still thinking about my last visit to Fairfax. “Sounds good,” I said back.