“Don’t oh my lord me. I’m your mom,” Elodie couldn’t keep a straight face. “Alright, so maybe not a potato. It’s good to have you home. You keep me from making bad, impulsive tattoo decisions.”
Neera shook her head. She looked down into her coffee cup instead of at Scarlet, which was a little bit strange. She seemed suddenly shy, or maybe she was just tired after a long flight and a crappy month. Scarlet knew all about Neera’s girlfriend cheating on her and their subsequent breakup. She felt every bit of that pain for Neera, having gone through a humiliating time herself and dealing with the fallout of her divorce.
“How’s the boutique going?” Neera asked, still not looking up.
“It’s fine. Actually, it’s doing great,” Scarlet replied. She tried very hard not to look at Neera’s lips. Why am I looking at her mouth? What is wrong with me? “The store was protected in the event I ever got divorced, so I didn’t have to worry about that. Bryan makes tons of money, and he didn’t want me to go after it, so he left me the house without a fight. He took everything else, but I was fine with that. I didn’t want any of his things or his money. I just wanted to move on.”
“Good riddance,” Elodie echoed. “Although I must say, you should have taken out the Bryan trash a long time ago. Or flushed him down. That’s where turds belong. In the sewer.”
Scarlet forced a smile. There was no reason not to be honest with her best friend, and Neera was also used to hearing all the details of her life. Why did she feel flustered, like she’d said far too much? She passed it off as being uncomfortable talking about the divorce. It wasn’t a pleasant time, and since it was done and the papers were officially signed, she just wanted to put it behind her. Digging up old, uncomfortable, shitty memories never helped anyone.
“Well, now that we’ve talked about the uncomfortable, humiliating parts of our lives, we can get onto the good stuff.”
“The New Year’s party, your first month of freedom, random tattoos, or Neera being back?”
Neera nearly choked on her coffee. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing,” she muttered.
Elodie shook her head. “Trust me, it’s a good thing.”
“Don’t be like me and waste your life with someone who doesn’t love you, who you also don’t love. Don’t make the mistake of getting trapped into something that you feel like you can’t get out of. It’s better to start over and be happy than waste half your life doing the opposite because you’re afraid.” Scarlet nearly dropped her mug when she went to pick it up, her hands were trembling so badly. “I— I wish that I’d had more courage a long time ago. I wish that I’d known myself better.”
“I don’t know that I know myself at all,” Neera said softly. “It was just— well, finding out sooner than later, which mom already said. I didn’t choose it. I didn’t even know. I would still probably be blissfully unaware, thinking that I loved Steph. Was that love? Did she love me? Was it ever right or what did all those years we spent together even mean?”
Elodie wrapped her arm around Neera’s shoulders and drew her in. “Those are hard questions for a Sunday morning. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to answer them.”
Neera offered her mom a shaky smile. “Sorry. I’m being morose. I just need more time, I guess.”
“You need more time and more fun in your life, starting with the New Year’s party. Let your hair down. Rock out a little. Take a chance and get a potato tattooed on your butt cheek. This isn’t just starting over. This is living life to the fullest. We’ll help you figure out how to do that! I’m not just your mom, I’m also your best friend, and you’ve been away for a good long time. I’m sorry you’re back because you got hurt, but this is the start of something new and awesome. I’m going to make sure of it!”
“Okay, Mom.” Neera hugged her mom and moved back onto the couch. “Now, coffee. For all those cold, woeful mornings. Or just the woeful ones. And, also, because sleeping well isn’t an adult thing.”
Elodie set her hand on Neera’s knee. “You’re both single now. New Year’s is a great time to meet people.”
Neera’s eyes widened. “The party is with people we all know!”
“I didn’t mean the party,” Elodie clarified. “I just meant that it’s a whole new year in general. A time to start fresh. A time for great things to happen. So what if we’ve all had shitty shots at love? We haven’t been broken. We are strong, independent women. Everyone needs their practice run.”
“Maybe single is the way to go,” Scarlet finally said. “At least for me. Truly independent.”
“I second that,” Neera said, but for some reason, she barely met Scarlet’s eye. There was a strange current of tension in the room that Scarlet didn’t quite understand.
Neera was probably just out of sorts. Her breakup had been messy and painful. Scarlet had the past year to get her ducks in a row and her divorce finalized. Neera had just quit her job, lost her long-term girlfriend, and moved back across the country, and none of it was of her choosing. Not really.
“I don’t think I’m ready to find someone,” said Neera. “I’d rather just focus on finding a job and getting my own place. No offense, Mom. I love being here and I love you.”
Elodie smiled softly. “Oh, honey, I know that. Plus, it’s always when you’re not looking that you find someone. You can stick to that and be hopeful.”
“We’ve been crazy busy at the boutique,” Scarlet said, jumping at the opportunity to change the subject. “If you were looking for casual hours until something else comes up, I could use a hand.”
“Oh, I-”
“She’d love to.” Elodie interrupted before Neera could finish. “That’s a very generous offer. What days and what times?”
Scarlet could tell that Neera actually didn’t want to, though her face was totally neutral. She wasn’t giving off I hate clothing and boutiques aren’t my thing vibes. There was just a subtle shift in her posture, a slight stiffening that Scarlet definitely didn’t miss. “I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s fine, I was just—”
“Nonsense! You’re a nurse,” Elodie told her daughter cheerfully. “But until you get another job, you need something. That training won’t go to waste if you put in a few shifts helping people find awesome outfits.”
“I already sent out some resumes before I got here,” Neera protested. She paused when she saw how disappointed Elodie obviously was and turned to Scarlet. “But if it’s just casual and you know that I could get another position at any time, I could help.”