Chapter 3

The hallway fell into an awkward silence.

Suddenly, Alesha started chuckling. "Mom, let her come in and sit. It's just one more chair. Let's not block the hallway and become a laughingstock in front of outsiders."

The tension immediately melted from Mom's face.

"You've always been very thoughtful, Ali," she said before shooting me a quick glance. "Come in then."

One of Mom's friends nudged me back into the private room, and I was steered to a seat in the corner.

Alesha's father smiled politely.

"Kathleen, is there anything you'd like to eat? We can have the server add a couple more dishes."

Without even looking up, Mom answered, "She's not picky. She'll eat whatever. But Alesha's favorite shrimp is almost all gone. Let's order another serving."

I gulped down a mouthful of cold water, swallowing the bitterness in my throat.

Just then, one of Mom's friends patted me on the shoulder.

"Why aren't you greeting your mother?"

I instinctively looked at Mom, suddenly finding myself tongue-tied.

During the first New Year's Eve after Grandma passed away, I'd hesitated for a long time before calling Mom.

When the call went through, I heard the noisy, cheerful sounds of the countdown on TV, accompanied by waves of fireworks exploding outside the window.

I took a sharp breath of the cold, lonely air around me and called out with a trembling voice, "Mom…"

Alesha's laughter rang out from the other end of the line. "There's no 'Mom' of yours here. Don't randomly go calling people that. Didn't your dad find you a new mom? What? Are you trying to steal mine?"

Mom's muffled voice drifted over in the background. "Who's calling so late on New Year's Eve? How annoying."

I'd ended the call in utter humiliation. It was then that I realized that the word "Mom" no longer belonged to me.

"If she doesn't want to greet me, then so be it," Mom said, her face darkening with displeasure. "She's always been like this—awkward and strange—just like her father. Unlikeable."

Alesha affectionately rested her head on Mom's shoulder.

"Then I must take after you, Mom. Otherwise, how could I be so pretty?"

Mom affectionately tapped the tip of her nose.

"Of course. We were always meant to be mother and daughter."

The air in the room felt as if it had been entirely sucked out, and I suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

Everyone began to raise their glasses in celebration.

Mom turned to Hubert with a smile. "Hubie, Ali told me you're both applying to the college here in Jethroville. I'll be counting on you to look after her then."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Callen. I'll take good care of Ali," Hubert answered, accepting the request with a smile.

I found it all inexplicably ridiculous.

Just yesterday, when we were submitting our college applications, Hubert and I had made a promise that we'd both go to a college in Granton—a city in the south—together.

It had been barely 24 hours, and that promise no longer counted.

My phone buzzed with a text message from Hubert.

"My parents made the call about college. They want me to stay in Jethroville since we have family and friends here."

"Mrs. Callen is one of my mom's closest friends. I can't just ignore her. You can understand that, right?"

I wasn't angry. I just wondered why he couldn't have told me sooner. If I had known, I wouldn't have mistakenly believed that he—the boy I had known for so many years—was the only person who hadn't abandoned me.

Another message popped up.

"You should change your application, too. Let's stay in Jethroville together. Doesn't that sound good?"

No, it didn't.

I looked around the room.

Mom was studying the menu with Alesha, discussing what else they wanted to order. Alesha loved her food to be on the sweeter side rather than the spicier side, and Mom remembered that very clearly.

Hubert had put on disposable gloves, carefully peeling shrimp for Alesha. In all the years I'd known him, I'd never seen him act so attentive.

I realized there was no place for me here. No one cared what I wanted to eat, and no one cared whether I stayed or left.

I quietly got to my feet and, without alerting anyone, slipped out of the room.

When the door closed behind me, their laughter and lively chatter were still going strong. Not a single person paid attention to me.

I went back to the kitchen, put my apron and gloves back on, and buried myself in the mountain of grease once again.

It wasn't until 9:00 pm that I finally left the restaurant, rubbing my sore shoulders.

"Kathleen!" Dad suddenly called out, stopping me in my tracks.

"Uh… Your grandma left some things for you. Wait here a minute."