{"id":172,"date":"2026-08-18T01:09:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/?p=172"},"modified":"2026-08-18T01:09:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T01:09:49","slug":"a-goth-girl-started-visiting-my-73-year-old-mom-every-saturday-after-my-moms-funeral-the-girl-handed-me-a-key-and-said-your-mom-told-me-to-give-you-this-only-after-she-was-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/?p=172","title":{"rendered":"A Goth Girl Started Visiting My 73-Year-Old Mom Every Saturday \u2013 After My Mom’s Funeral, the Girl Handed Me a Key and Said, ‘Your Mom Told Me to Give You This Only After She Was Gone’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I thought the young goth woman visiting Mom every Saturday was simply an unexpected friendship. After Mom died, I learned their bond had grown from something far more personal. The more I uncovered, the more I realized Mom had been carrying a regret none of us had fully understood.<\/p>\n

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Raven waited until almost everyone had left my mother’s funeral before she came near me.<\/p>\n

I had spent the whole service pretending not to watch her.<\/p>\n

She stood at the back in a long black coat, silver rings catching the light along one eyebrow and her nose. I’d seen her sitting at Mom’s kitchen table every Saturday for months like she belonged there.<\/p>\n

I’d never understood why.<\/i><\/p>\n

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She stood at the back in a long black coat.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Now my mother was gone, and Raven was walking toward me with one hand closed around something.<\/p>\n

“Maeve.”<\/p>\n

I turned.<\/p>\n

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Her eyes were swollen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Thank you for coming,” I said.<\/p>\n

She nodded, then opened her hand.<\/p>\n

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“Thank you for coming.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

A small brass key lay across her palm.<\/p>\n

“What is that?”<\/p>\n

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“Your mom told me to give you this\u00a0only after<\/i>\u00a0she was gone.”<\/p>\n

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I stared at her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“What does it open?”<\/p>\n

“She said you’d know when you found it.”<\/p>\n

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“What does it open?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

My chest tightened.<\/p>\n

“Why didn’t she give it to me herself?”<\/p>\n

Raven hesitated.<\/p>\n

“Maybe because she knew you’d put it somewhere safe and avoid finding out.”<\/p>\n

That hit harder than it should have.<\/p>\n

“You don’t know me.”<\/p>\n

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“Why didn’t she give it to me herself?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“No,” she said. “But Doris did.”<\/p>\n

For one ugly second, grief turned into anger.<\/p>\n

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“Why did my mother trust you with this?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Raven’s expression softened.<\/p>\n

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“I didn’t know her better than you did, Maeve.”<\/p>\n

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Raven’s expression softened.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Then why do you have the key?”<\/p>\n

“Because I knew a part of her you didn’t.”<\/p>\n

Before I could ask which part, my husband, Tom, appeared near the doors with my coat.<\/p>\n

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Raven stepped back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Don’t put it in a drawer.”<\/p>\n

Then she left.<\/p>\n

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“Because I knew a part of her you didn’t.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I stood there with the key digging into my palm and one question I couldn’t stop hearing.<\/p>\n

What had my mother been hiding from me?<\/strong><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The first time I saw Raven, she was drinking tea from Mom’s good china and sitting in my father’s old chair.<\/p>\n

I stopped in the kitchen doorway with two grocery bags cutting into my fingers.<\/p>\n

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“Mom?”<\/p>\n

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What had my mother been hiding from me?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

My mother, Doris, looked up. At 73, she was still happiest in that same little kitchen, with her garden outside and a book usually open somewhere nearby.<\/p>\n

“There you are, Maeve.”<\/p>\n

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The young woman beside her turned.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She couldn’t have been much older than 25. She wore black from neck to boots, tattoos covered both forearms, and several silver piercings caught the light when she moved.<\/p>\n

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“There you are, Maeve.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“This is Raven,” Mom said. “She’s a friend.”<\/p>\n

Raven stood. “Nice to meet you.”<\/p>\n

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“You too.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I set the groceries down, still looking at Dad’s chair.<\/p>\n

Raven noticed.<\/p>\n

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“She’s a friend.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Am I sitting somewhere I shouldn’t?”<\/p>\n

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“No,” I said too quickly. “It’s fine. So how do you two know each other?”<\/p>\n

“We met over coffee,” Mom said.<\/p>\n

“At the bookstore caf\u00e9,” Raven added. “She told me I was reading a terrible book.”<\/p>\n

Mom smiled. “It was terrible.”<\/p>\n

“I thought I was spending the afternoon with you.”<\/p>\n

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“She told me I was reading a terrible book.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Mom’s smile faded.<\/p>\n

“We can do that next Saturday.”<\/p>\n

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“You’re asking me to leave?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“We’re in the middle of something private.”<\/p>\n

Raven glanced between us. “I can go.”<\/p>\n

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Mom’s smile faded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“No,” Mom said too quickly.<\/p>\n

That stung.<\/p>\n

I picked up my purse.<\/p>\n

“Maeve,” Mom said softly. “I love you. But I don’t need you to manage every part of my life.”<\/p>\n

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“Saturdays are usually ours.”<\/p>\n

“I know.”<\/p>\n

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I picked up my purse.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I glanced at Raven, then at Mom.<\/p>\n

“Right. I’ll get out of your way.”<\/p>\n

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I looked at the small wooden box beside Raven’s elbow.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Mom followed my eyes and quietly pulled a dish towel over it.<\/p>\n

That did nothing to make me feel better.<\/i><\/p>\n

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“I’ll get out of your way.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Fine,” I said.<\/p>\n

Mom sighed.<\/p>\n

“There it is again.”<\/p>\n

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“What?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“That word you use when nothing is fine.”<\/p>\n

I left before I said something I’d regret.<\/p>\n

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“There it is again.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

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“She was there again,” I said.<\/p>\n

My husband, Tom, and I were sitting at the table together.<\/p>\n

Tom looked up. “Raven?”<\/p>\n

“Two Saturdays in a row.”<\/p>\n

“Did your mom seem upset?”<\/p>\n

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“Two Saturdays in a row.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“No. That’s almost what bothers me.”<\/p>\n

“Why does that bother you?”<\/p>\n

“Because she seemed happy. Comfortable.” I wrapped both hands around my mug. “And I still don’t know who this girl is.”<\/p>\n

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Tom waited.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“She’s 20-something, Tom. Mom barely knows her, and suddenly they’re having private conversations every weekend.”<\/p>\n

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“Why does that bother you?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Do you think Raven wants something from her?”<\/p>\n

“I don’t know.”<\/p>\n

“Has Doris given you any reason to think she’s being pressured?”<\/p>\n

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“No.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Tom leaned forward. “Then what’s really bothering you?”<\/p>\n

I stared into my tea.<\/p>\n

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“Then what’s really bothering you?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I feel shut out.”<\/p>\n

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“Because you’re worried?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Because I’m jealous,” I admitted.<\/p>\n

Tom touched my hand. “Then don’t guess, Maeve. Pay attention.”<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Raven kept returning, and soon Saturdays became theirs.<\/p>\n

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“I feel shut out.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Once, I arrived early and found birthday cards spread across Mom’s table.<\/p>\n

She swept them into a box.<\/p>\n

“What are those?”<\/p>\n

“Old things.”<\/p>\n

I started cleaning my mother’s kitchen.<\/p>\n

Mom reached over and touched my wrist.<\/p>\n

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“What are those?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Not everything needs to be yours to fix.”<\/p>\n

“I wasn’t fixing anything.”<\/p>\n

She gave me a tired smile.<\/p>\n

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“You usually are.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

Then one Saturday, I forgot my phone at Mom’s house.<\/p>\n

I went back an hour later through the side door and heard voices from the kitchen.<\/p>\n

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“I wasn’t fixing anything.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“You tell me to call my mother every week,” Raven said.<\/p>\n

“I know.”<\/p>\n

“Then call your sister.”<\/p>\n

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I froze.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She meant Aunt Elaine.<\/p>\n

Mom and Elaine hadn’t spoken in 11 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“Then call your sister.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

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By then, I knew Mom had been pushing Raven to reconnect with her mother after an argument about Raven leaving college to become a tattoo artist.<\/p>\n

When my grandmother became ill, Mom handled most of her care and resented that Elaine, who lived farther away, wasn’t there more.<\/p>\n

During one awful argument, Elaine told her, “You don’t help people because you’re generous. You help them so they owe you.”<\/p>\n

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“You don’t help people because you’re generous.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Mom told her to leave.<\/p>\n

Their mother died soon after, and neither sister called again.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Now, standing outside the kitchen, I heard Raven say, “You ask me every Saturday if I’ve called my mom.”<\/p>\n

“I know,” Mom said.<\/p>\n

“Then why haven’t you called your sister?”<\/p>\n

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Mom told her to leave.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Silence followed.<\/p>\n

“That’s different.”<\/p>\n

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“How?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Mom sighed. “It just is.”<\/p>\n

Raven didn’t let her escape that easily.<\/p>\n

“Have you ever tried to fix it?”<\/p>\n

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“That’s different.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Once.”<\/p>\n

“What did you do?”<\/p>\n

“I picked up the phone.”<\/p>\n

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“And called Elaine?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“No.”<\/p>\n

Raven paused. “So you just picked up a phone.”<\/p>\n

“And I put it down again.”<\/p>\n

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“I picked up the phone.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“That’s not exactly taking your own advice.”<\/p>\n

Mom gave a short laugh.<\/p>\n

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“No. It isn’t.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Raven’s voice softened.<\/p>\n

“Then why keep telling me to call my mother?”<\/p>\n

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“That’s not exactly taking your own advice.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Because you can be right, or you can have family, Raven. Sometimes you don’t get both.”<\/p>\n

“That’s rich.”<\/p>\n

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“I know.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

My hand was already on the kitchen door.<\/p>\n

I could’ve walked in.<\/i><\/p>\n

I could’ve said Elaine’s name and forced the conversation into the open.<\/p>\n

Instead, I backed away.<\/p>\n

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“That’s rich.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

That night, I typed:<\/p>\n

“I saw Mom today. I think she misses you.”<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

I stared at the message until the screen dimmed.<\/p>\n

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Then I deleted it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

Two months later, Mom had a stroke.<\/p>\n

Tom met me outside her hospital room after the doctor left.<\/p>\n

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“I think she misses you.”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Maeve?”<\/p>\n

He pulled me against him, and for one stupid second, I reached for my phone.<\/p>\n

“I need to call Mom.”<\/p>\n

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Then I remembered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I stepped back and opened my contacts.<\/p>\n

“I have to call Elaine.”<\/p>\n

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“I need to call Mom.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Tom squeezed my hand.<\/p>\n

Elaine answered on the fifth ring.<\/p>\n

“Maeve?”<\/p>\n

“Mom died this morning.”<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

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“Mom died this morning.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Then, “Oh, God.”<\/p>\n

“The funeral’s Friday.”<\/p>\n

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“I don’t think I can come.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Normally, I would’ve said I understood just to end the discomfort.<\/p>\n

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Instead, I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n

“I want you there.”<\/p>\n

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“The funeral’s Friday.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I can’t promise that.”<\/p>\n

“Then don’t promise. Just think about it.”<\/p>\n

She didn’t come.<\/strong><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

That night, I stood at my desk with the key over the drawer.<\/p>\n

Tom watched me.<\/p>\n

“You’re putting it away?”<\/p>\n

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“I can’t promise that.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I was.”<\/p>\n

“But what changed?”<\/p>\n

I closed my hand around it.<\/p>\n

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“I’m done just keeping things safe, Tom. I need answers.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

We drove to Mom’s house.<\/p>\n

After checking her desk and sewing cabinet, I went upstairs.<\/p>\n

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“But what changed?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Behind a stack of blankets in her closet sat a wooden box.<\/p>\n

The key turned.<\/p>\n

Inside were dozens of envelopes, all addressed to Elaine.<\/p>\n

Tom picked one up.<\/p>\n

“Eleven years’ worth of them?”<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

“She never sent them.”<\/p>\n

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“Eleven years’ worth of them?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

My phone was already in my hand.<\/p>\n

I called Elaine before I could talk myself out of it.<\/p>\n

When she answered, I said, “I found something Mom spent 11 years hiding from both of us.”<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Elaine came the next afternoon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Tom opened the door, greeted her briefly, then left us alone. I led her upstairs.<\/p>\n

She stopped in Mom’s bedroom when she saw the envelopes spread across the bed.<\/p>\n

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“I found something Mom spent 11 years hiding from both of us.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“You found those?”<\/p>\n

I turned. “You knew about them?”<\/p>\n

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“Not those.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She stepped closer and picked up one birthday card.<\/p>\n

“I have a box too.”<\/p>\n

I stared at her.<\/p>\n

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“You knew about them?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“A box of what?”<\/p>\n

“Letters to your mother. Birthday cards. Christmas cards. Things I wrote and never mailed.”<\/p>\n

“Why?”<\/p>\n

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Elaine looked down at the envelope in her hand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Because every time I finished one, I imagined Doris sending it back unopened.”<\/p>\n

“So both of you spent 11 years writing to each other without actually speaking.”<\/p>\n

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“Things I wrote and never mailed.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Her mouth tightened.<\/p>\n

“Apparently.”<\/p>\n

I started arranging the cards by year.<\/p>\n

Elaine watched my hands.<\/p>\n

She set the card down.<\/p>\n

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Her mouth tightened.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Do you remember my call five years ago? On your mother’s birthday?”<\/p>\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n

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“You asked how she was.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I asked whether she ever talked about me.”<\/p>\n

I already knew where this was going.<\/p>\n

“What did you tell me, Maeve?”<\/p>\n

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“I asked whether she ever talked about me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I looked at her.<\/p>\n

“Not really.”<\/p>\n

Elaine’s eyes filled.<\/p>\n

“Do you know what I heard?”<\/p>\n

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I didn’t answer.<\/p>\n

“I heard that my sister had moved on.”<\/p>\n

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“Do you know what I heard?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Aunt Elaine…”<\/p>\n

“Was it true?”<\/p>\n

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That was the question I couldn’t smooth over.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“No.”<\/p>\n

She went still.<\/p>\n

Mom had talked about her often. Once, she’d held up a blue sweater and said, “Elaine would wear this until the sleeves fell off.”<\/p>\n

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“Aunt Elaine…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Elaine swallowed.<\/p>\n

“So when I asked if she mentioned me…”<\/p>\n

“I gave you the easiest answer.”<\/p>\n

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“Why?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Because I was tired of being in the middle.”<\/p>\n

Elaine’s face hardened. “I wasn’t asking you to fix us, Maeve.”<\/p>\n

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“I gave you the easiest answer.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I know that now.”<\/p>\n

“You let me believe she was done with me.”<\/p>\n

“I did.”<\/p>\n

She stared at the cards.<\/p>\n

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“I need to go.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Aunt Elaine…”<\/p>\n

“Not now.”<\/p>\n

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“You let me believe she was done with me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She walked out before I could stop her.<\/p>\n

I sat alone on Mom’s bed for a long time.<\/p>\n

When I finally started putting the envelopes back into the box, I found one wedged beneath the lining.<\/p>\n

It was sealed.<\/p>\n

Elaine’s name was written across the front in Mom’s handwriting.<\/p>\n

I turned it over once.<\/p>\n

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I sat alone on Mom’s bed for a long time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I could’ve opened it.<\/p>\n

I didn’t.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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That night, I asked Raven to come over.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She sat at Mom’s kitchen table in the same chair where I’d first seen her.<\/p>\n

“How did you two really become friends?” I asked.<\/p>\n

“She insulted the book I was reading.”<\/p>\n

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I could’ve opened it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Despite myself, I smiled. “That sounds like her.”<\/p>\n

“We started talking. I told her my mom and I weren’t speaking. She told me about Elaine.”<\/p>\n

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Raven’s smile faded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“So she pushed you to call your mom?”<\/p>\n

“Every Saturday.”<\/p>\n

“And you pushed her to call Elaine.”<\/p>\n

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“So she pushed you to call your mom?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n

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“Why didn’t she tell me?”<\/p>\n

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Raven hesitated.<\/p>\n

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“She was embarrassed. You’d been telling her for years to call Elaine. Then I said the same thing, and suddenly she wanted to try.”<\/p>\n

She leaned forward.<\/p>\n

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“Why didn’t she tell me?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Maeve, she didn’t choose me over you. It was just easier to admit she was scared to someone who hadn’t watched her refuse for years.”<\/p>\n

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I let that settle.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

The next morning, I drove to Elaine’s house with Mom’s sealed card in my purse.<\/p>\n

When she opened the door, her face tightened.<\/p>\n

“I told you I needed time.”<\/p>\n

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“Maeve, she didn’t choose me over you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I know.”<\/p>\n

“Then why are you here?”<\/p>\n

I held out the envelope.<\/p>\n

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“I found this after you left.”<\/p>\n

Elaine stared at her name on the front.<\/p>\n

“Did you read it?”<\/p>\n

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“I found this after you left.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“No.”<\/p>\n

Her eyes lifted to mine.<\/p>\n

“There’s nothing left to fix, Maeve.”<\/p>\n

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“No. There isn’t.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She frowned.<\/p>\n

“But Mom died before either of you found the nerve to speak. I can’t change that.”<\/p>\n

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“There’s nothing left to fix, Maeve.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Then what do you want from me?”<\/p>\n

“Nothing.”<\/p>\n

That surprised her.<\/p>\n

“I came because I need to say something without making excuses.”<\/p>\n

My throat tightened.<\/p>\n

“Five years ago, when you asked whether Mom talked about you, I knew she did.”<\/p>\n

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“Then what do you want from me?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Elaine’s face went still.<\/p>\n

“I knew she missed you. And I gave you the easiest answer because I didn’t want to deal with what came next.”<\/p>\n

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“So you lied.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Yes.”<\/p>\n

“You let me think she didn’t care.”<\/p>\n

“Yes.”<\/p>\n

Anger flashed across her face.<\/p>\n

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“I knew she missed you.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I didn’t defend myself.<\/p>\n

I didn’t change the subject.<\/p>\n

I didn’t leave.<\/p>\n

“I’m not asking you to forgive me,” I said. “But I’m done pretending silence doesn’t cost anything.”<\/p>\n

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I placed the envelope on the table beside her door.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“This belongs to you.”<\/p>\n

Then I walked away before I could tell her what to do with it.<\/p>\n

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I didn’t leave.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

Three weeks later, Elaine sat across from me at Mom’s kitchen table.<\/p>\n

The wooden box rested beside her chair.<\/p>\n

“I read the card,” she said.<\/p>\n

I waited.<\/p>\n

“She said she’d spent years waiting until she knew exactly what to say.”<\/p>\n

Elaine looked down at her coffee.<\/p>\n

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“I read the card.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“Then she wrote that maybe waiting was the problem.”<\/p>\n

“What else did she say?”<\/p>\n

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“She missed me.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I reached for Elaine’s hand, then stopped before touching it.<\/p>\n

“I’m sorry.”<\/p>\n

She nodded. “I wrote almost the same thing last year.”<\/p>\n

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“What else did she say?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Raven texted that evening.<\/p>\n

“I finally called my mom. Dinner tomorrow. Wish me luck.”<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n

I smiled, then set my phone down.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Elaine turned one of Mom’s old cards between her fingers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

“I don’t know what happens with us now,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Neither do I. But I’d like to see you again, if you’ll let me.”<\/p>\n

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“I finally called my mom. Dinner tomorrow. Wish me luck.”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Elaine looked at me.<\/p>\n

“No pressure,” I added. “I think I’ve done enough of that in my own way.”<\/p>\n

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Her expression softened.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

I thought about how jealous I’d been of Raven, a woman half my age, simply because Mom had shared something with her that she hadn’t shared with me.<\/i><\/p>\n

Maybe I had known my mother well. I just hadn’t known every part of her.<\/p>\n

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Elaine looked at me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Elaine reached for her coffee.<\/p>\n

“Call me next week.”<\/p>\n

“I will.”<\/p>\n

And for once, I was ready to work on myself instead of trying to fix everyone else.<\/i><\/p>\n

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