She had taken a step down in society when she married my father. When he died, she had been left with few skills, and so set about what she did best. She reconnected with all of her former society friends and promptly married husband number two.
They all started to blend together after awhile. The worst one was completely indifferent to me. The nicest one asked me questions about my life and showed up at the various school activities that required parental involvement. My mother divorced husband number five two years ago and had been comfortably living off all of her previous settlements since then. I seriously wondered when the guys she went out with were going to wise up to the idea of a prenuptial agreement.
I knew I shouldn’t really complain. My mother’s gain meant that I didn’t need to pay for school or work during my four-year stint in college. I had been able to focus completely on my studies. But I was eager to get out from under the thumb of my mother subsidizing my life. It was time that I stood on my own two feet, and I had vowed long ago that I wasn’t going to follow in her footsteps when it came to matters of the heart.
As I got out of the taxi, the front door flung open, and my mother stepped out onto the front step. She was dressed in a light pink pantsuit that fit her trim figure like a glove. Her blonde hair was cut in a stylish bob that fell just above her shoulders. More than one person had remarked that Maxine looked more like my sister than my mother. She worked hard at it; such was the life of a divorced socialite on the prowl for husband number six.
“Darling! I would have sent a car for you. Why didn’t you let me know you caught an earlier flight?” I moved toward my mother, and she caught me up in a tight embrace. For everything that I disliked about my mother’s life, I had to admit that strictly on just being a mom, she got top marks. I had never felt second best or as if I was a bother to her. She was proud of my scholarly accomplishments and insisted on spoiling me at every turn.
“I knew you had your luncheon this afternoon, and I didn’t want to be a bother,” I said. My mother’s assistant had provided my mother’s schedule to me in anticipation of my arrival. The entire morning had been blocked off to prepare for some charity fundraiser that she was hosting.
“I would have figured something out,” my mother said. She left her arm around my shoulders even as she directed one of the house staff to take my bags to my room. “I have a surprise for you. I can’t wait to show you.” She moved me across the driveway.
“What is it?” I asked. I had joked to Stacey that I thought my mother was going to buy me a car, but I was secretly wishing that was the case.
My mother pulled a small box out of her pocket and hit it which caused the garage door in front of us to begin its ascent. Inside the stall, I saw a two-door powder blue BMW sport coupe with a red bow on the top. “Happy Graduation!” she exclaimed.
Just like that, I was ten years old again. I squealed and clapped my hands together before giving my mother a hug. Then I ran to the car and started my exploration. It was my favorite color, and I loved the feel of the plush leather seats as I slid into the driver’s seat. My mother opened the passenger side door and sat down next to me.
“You’ll need these,” she said, dangling the ring of keys in my face.
I snatched them out of her hand and turned the engine over. Immediately, it purred to life. “Let’s take a drive,” I said. “Do you have time?”
My mother laughed and nodded. She closed the door, and I spun out of the doorway enjoying the feel of how responsive the car was as I maneuvered back to the main road. “This is awesome, Mom. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Alexa. You’ve worked so hard; I thought you deserved it.”
“I’d say that you are too extravagant with your gifts, but I’m not going to complain this time around,” I said. I loved the way the engine growled as I let it open up on the highway. “This is killer.”
We rode in silence for several minutes. I was completely absorbed in my new car. I hadn’t needed one in Chicago since I lived just off campus and had access to the L rail everywhere. But now that my future was wide open, and I had no idea what to expect next, this was one less thing that I’d have to worry about.
“So, there’s something else that I’ve been meaning to tell you,” my mother said, breaking my train of thought.
“What, you’re getting married again?” I scoffed as I flipped on my turn signal for the exit ramp. As much as I wanted to keep going until we reached the water, I was starving, and I knew she needed to get back. I’d take the car out for a longer spin in a bit.
The long pause caused me to glance wide-eyed back over at my mother. She had a pensive look on her face. “You’re kidding, right?”
“The wedding is in four months,” she said stiffly. “I’d like it if you could be there.”