didn’t have any money to go out with.
Hope died when I saw the name that was flashing on the screen.
“Hi Mom,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could find in me.
“Hi Mom? That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself?”
I sat up straighter at the sound of my mom’s scolding voice. She hadn’t spoken to me that way in years. I ran through all the possibilities in my head. What could I have forgotten? Mom’s Day? Her birthday?
“Well, Melody? You don’t have anything else to say to me?” she hadn’t loosened her tone any.
I couldn’t think of what she wanted from me, so I gave up trying. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
She sighed loudly into her phone. “I can’t believe you, Melody. I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me about this. Imagine having to find out about something like this on the television.”
Clearly, I had not missed a holiday. Other than that, I was clueless what she was going on about.
“Mom, I don’t know what you’re talking about. What did you see on television?”
There was a long pause. She was probably standing in the kitchen, wearing her apron, and leaning against the sink. I had seen that many times before in my youth, but all those times I had known why she was upset.
“I saw your video on the news today,” she said sharply.
My eyes widened and my face reddened. My mind was flooded with the memory of the time Stephen, my ex, had set up a camera in the bedroom. My whole body seemed to be simultaneously frozen and on fire. How in hell had that video made it onto the news?
“I didn’t even know that you and Josh were dating, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw him proposing to you on the news today!” She was practically shouting at me.
Relief washed over me. I didn’t want to think about my mom watching a sex tape, especially one starring me.
I flopped back in my chair and sighed loudly.
“Wait! What?”
I sat up and shouted into my phone.
Someone from another cubicle shushed me and Bobby, the nosiest person in our office, stuck her head out from around her cubicle to stare at me.
I lowered myself in my seat and leaned closer to my desk so that my face couldn’t be seen.
“I saw Josh proposing to you on the news, and I must say that I am extremely disappointed that you didn’t even bother to call me and your father to share the good news.” Her voice had changed from anger to disappointment.
Normally I would have preferred the anger, but I was too busy wrapping my mind around what she had said.
“Hold on. Can you explain to me again exactly what you saw on the news?” I had lowered my voice, but it still had an air of panic.
She groaned, but obliged. “You know how at the end of the news they always show a feel good story?”
I tried to hide my increasing frustration and impatience, “Yes.”
“Well today they showed a video that they said was a virus hit.”
“You mean viral, not virus.”
“Right, viral. Anyway, they showed a heartwarming video that someone had captured on their cell phone. It was a young man proposing to his girlfriend in a SuperMart of all places. It really was cute, but then they zoomed in on the people and there you were! I couldn’t believe it! Josh was spinning you around and people were cheering.”
“Someone caught that on camera?” I scanned my memory of that night for cameras or phones, but couldn’t picture any.
“So it was you?” the disappointed tone in her voice was back. “Why wouldn’t you call us and tell us? The news said that the video had been seen over a million times, and yet, your own mother didn’t know about it. It’s not as if it’s a big surprise. We always thought you and Josh would make a great couple, but we always assumed you’d tell us when it finally happened.”
My fingers were typing keywords into a search engine as she tried her hardest to lay a guilt trip on me.
Hope died when I saw the name that was flashing on the screen.
“Hi Mom,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could find in me.
“Hi Mom? That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself?”
I sat up straighter at the sound of my mom’s scolding voice. She hadn’t spoken to me that way in years. I ran through all the possibilities in my head. What could I have forgotten? Mom’s Day? Her birthday?
“Well, Melody? You don’t have anything else to say to me?” she hadn’t loosened her tone any.
I couldn’t think of what she wanted from me, so I gave up trying. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
She sighed loudly into her phone. “I can’t believe you, Melody. I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me about this. Imagine having to find out about something like this on the television.”
Clearly, I had not missed a holiday. Other than that, I was clueless what she was going on about.
“Mom, I don’t know what you’re talking about. What did you see on television?”
There was a long pause. She was probably standing in the kitchen, wearing her apron, and leaning against the sink. I had seen that many times before in my youth, but all those times I had known why she was upset.
“I saw your video on the news today,” she said sharply.
My eyes widened and my face reddened. My mind was flooded with the memory of the time Stephen, my ex, had set up a camera in the bedroom. My whole body seemed to be simultaneously frozen and on fire. How in hell had that video made it onto the news?
“I didn’t even know that you and Josh were dating, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw him proposing to you on the news today!” She was practically shouting at me.
Relief washed over me. I didn’t want to think about my mom watching a sex tape, especially one starring me.
I flopped back in my chair and sighed loudly.
“Wait! What?”
I sat up and shouted into my phone.
Someone from another cubicle shushed me and Bobby, the nosiest person in our office, stuck her head out from around her cubicle to stare at me.
I lowered myself in my seat and leaned closer to my desk so that my face couldn’t be seen.
“I saw Josh proposing to you on the news, and I must say that I am extremely disappointed that you didn’t even bother to call me and your father to share the good news.” Her voice had changed from anger to disappointment.
Normally I would have preferred the anger, but I was too busy wrapping my mind around what she had said.
“Hold on. Can you explain to me again exactly what you saw on the news?” I had lowered my voice, but it still had an air of panic.
She groaned, but obliged. “You know how at the end of the news they always show a feel good story?”
I tried to hide my increasing frustration and impatience, “Yes.”
“Well today they showed a video that they said was a virus hit.”
“You mean viral, not virus.”
“Right, viral. Anyway, they showed a heartwarming video that someone had captured on their cell phone. It was a young man proposing to his girlfriend in a SuperMart of all places. It really was cute, but then they zoomed in on the people and there you were! I couldn’t believe it! Josh was spinning you around and people were cheering.”
“Someone caught that on camera?” I scanned my memory of that night for cameras or phones, but couldn’t picture any.
“So it was you?” the disappointed tone in her voice was back. “Why wouldn’t you call us and tell us? The news said that the video had been seen over a million times, and yet, your own mother didn’t know about it. It’s not as if it’s a big surprise. We always thought you and Josh would make a great couple, but we always assumed you’d tell us when it finally happened.”
My fingers were typing keywords into a search engine as she tried her hardest to lay a guilt trip on me.
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