Broken Glass, Broken Hearts part 32

My cell phone rang and I looked down at the caller ID, my eyebrows raising. "Hello?" I said quietly into the phone as I pulled my car over to the side of the road. "Hi honey!" my mom's voice said cheerfully, as if she hadn't not called me in over a year. I slammed my head on the steering wheel and whispered, "Mom." She sounded giddy as she said, "Hi honey! I'm sorry I haven't called in so long, I've just been so busy." I laughed. So long is two months. So long is NOT over a year. "Yea, I'm sure," I muttered. I opened my car door and slammed it closed. I leaned against the car and ran my hand through my hair, closing my eyes. "Listen, mom, what do you want?" My mom sounded totally not phased by my outright remark as she said, "Oh, honey, your voice is so strange! You must have matured! Or maybe its just the phone..." I sighed angrily and repeated, "What do you want mom?" She sighed, clearly she was faking the super-happy thing. "Listen, honey," she said sadly. I swear I could hear tears in her voice. "I want you back. I want you and Milly back before you're gone. Your father wants you back, too. We're willing to move onto the same street if we can get you back." My mouth dropped open. I did not just hear those words come from my mother's voice. I was silent, in shock. "Honey? Honey, are you still there? Hello?" my mom asked anxiously. I coughed, clearing the lump in my throat, and said, "Mom."

"Oh, good. I was afraid I lost you. Minutes cost so much nowadays," my mom said, sounding relieved. I would have rolled my eyes at that comment if I wasn't still in shock. "Mom. I can't...I can't just come back. The child care services..."

"Oh yes, that," my mother said, as if she had forgotten completely about the people who had ruined my life. "Your father and I took care of that. We eat much healthier now, and we're buying nice little houses on a small street about seven hours away from your grandmother's, so you can visit frequently if you like." Seven hours. Seven hours from Angela. "The child care services said that we've matured a lot and are now appropriate to be parents," she said proudly. I rolled my eyes. Child care services knew nothing. My parents were better parents before they split us up. Much better parents. "Mom, we can't just...leave. We have lives here now," I said. She sighed, "Your grandmother told me that you moved about a year ago, so moving again shouldn't be that bad. It takes more than a year to really get attached to a place." I pictured Angela in my mind and said, "I beg to differ." She sighed, "Listen honey, I'm your mother, and I am telling you that you're moving back in with me. And your father. So you should just get comfortable with the idea, because there's not much you can do about it." I was silent, once again in shock, as she paused and then sighed heavily and said, "I have to take this call, honey. Tell Milly about our move. Oh, and tell her I love her. Love you, bye!"

"Love you," I whispered, but at the moment, that was not exactly the perfect wording I would have used for how I was feeling about my mother.

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