Page 36 of The Do-Over

This wasn’t a wise thing to say for three reasons. One, it was mean and petty, and I didn’t want to be either. Two, my mother may have never held a job outside the home, but she’d spent countless hours volunteering with the PTA, the Rotary club, the church, heading fundraisers, and spearheading donation drives. Before Miss Ruby, she’d been Dad’s do-it-all woman at the office. Her contributions were plentiful even if she never got paid a dime, and I respected her for it. And three, my thoughts about my mother usually always stayed just that: thoughts.

Phee’s eyes bulged. My mother appeared momentarily flummoxed, a little like her favorite kitten had just scratched her.

“I see your attitude hasn’t improved since you stormed out of your father’s office. You know I love you and want the best for you. Sometimes you need a nudge in the right direction.”

“I told you, you don’t need to worry about me. I… I need…” What did I need? What would the New, Improved Perci Who Didn’t Care About Making Her Mother Happy say? “You don’t have to worry about me. I already have another job.”

Yep, New Perci was a liar.

Mom’s eyes narrowed. “A new job? I haven’t heard a thing about this.”

I nibbled the inside of my lip. In for a penny, in for a lot of trouble, as Mimi liked to say. “I got a job working at a daycare around the corner from my house.”

A yawning silence stretched. The waitress paused at our table, took one look at my mother’s face, and scurried off without a word.

Phee frowned. “I didn’t know you wanted to work with kids.”

Yeah, me neither. “I think a change would be good.”

“This is ridiculous. You already have a job with your father.” Mom unlocked her phone and slid it across the table. “Call him now and tell him you’ll be back to work Monday.”

I stared at the phone, a heaviness settling in my stomach.

I will not try to be a better daughter… Mathias had written that on my list. New Perci didn’t do what her mama told her just to keep the peace.

I grabbed my purse and hugged it to my chest. “I’m not going to do that.”

“Persephone.”

My hands shook as I stood. “It was good to see you.”

I rounded the table and pressed a kiss to my mother’s cheek. The comforting scent of her perfume and face moisturizer assaulted me.

“I don’t like this,” Mom said, softening slightly.

“You don’t have to like it, Mom.” I straightened. Pride pushed my shoulders back, firmed my voice. “But I’m doing it, anyway.”

“Good luck with the new job,” Phee said, and when I looked at her, she winked.

With a nod, I turned and made my way through the crowd, feeling my mother’s eyes bore into my back. I didn’t turn back. No, I didn’t. With a fledgling confidence I didn’t know I had, I kept right on walking.

FIFTEEN

“You could go on a wild goose chase,

or you could let the goose come to you.”

—MIMI

Mimi came over to my apartment on Sunday afternoon to give me a cooking lesson. “One of you girls needs to know how to make food that sticks to a man’s ribs,” she explained.

Naturally, I was the right choice since I also liked food that stuck to my ribs.

She buzzed around my kitchen wearing an apron that read, YOU CAN TOUCH MY BACON ANYTIME.

“Did you get what we needed for the cobbler topping?” she asked, opening the fridge and moving things around until she found the Bud Light I kept on hand for her. She cracked it open and chugged half the can. “Yep, that hit the spot.”

I shuffled around her and dug through the cabinets for the ingredients. “Can you get the butter out of the fridge?” I asked.