Serendipity Read Free Page A

like wild fire. By the end of the day, I was receiving farewell wishes from everyone I passed and someone even brought in a cake and threw me a small party. I tried hard to keep the tears at bay while I hugged and thanked each of my co-workers.
    On my walk home, my box of belongings resting against my hip, I thought about how I was going to break the news to my mom. On Fridays she works a later shift so I’ll have more time to discuss the move before she has to run off to work.
    I climb the steps slowly, one at a time, and breathe in and out trying to calm my nerves. I open the door to the apartment and set my box of things down by the door, glancing around at the things that make this place home to me.
    “Mom?” my voice echoes through the apartment.
    I plop down on the couch when I hear the shower running. I have probably five minutes before I have to tell my mom that our lives are about to change, and I’m not sure how well she’s going to take it. I’ve been dealing with change since I was young so I’m used to it, but not my mom. She did what she had to do but I could always tell that it bothered her.
    The water shuts off and breaks me from my thoughts. I sit and stare at the bathroom door, waiting for her to emerge.
    She comes out with a towel wrapped around her small frame and her short blonde hair is wet and slicked around her small heart-shaped face. My mom has always been a petite little thing. I always see her as this fragile woman but I know that she’s not. She’s proven that time and time again. I just hope that she’ll take this news well.
    “Hi, Phoebe,” she pauses when she notices my expression. “Is everything okay, sweetheart? You look like you’re about to cry.”
    At her words, I can no longer hold back the tears that have been welling in my eyes. I put my face in my hands and let the dam break. I feel my mom wrap her arms around me, pulling me into her without saying a word.
    “Oh, Mom,” I cry and wrap my arms around her waist.
    “You can tell me anything, Phoebe. What’s wrong?”
    I manage to get everything out in the midst of sobbing on her shoulder. “I got the job but it starts in a week and we have to move.”
    Stroking my hair she tells me that everything’s going to be okay, but I know that it won’t be.
    “Mom, you don’t understand. We have to move next week!” I lift my head up and look into her emerald-green eyes. I’ve always loved her eyes. I had always wished mine were like hers, but I got my dad’s ocean blue eyes which are equally beautiful.
    “We’ll work it out just like we do everything else. There is no need to be rash or worry about anything,” she says in a calming tone.
    She’s taking the news better than I am.
    “You’re coming with me, right?” I ask as I snivel.
    “Why don’t you calm down and then we’ll talk about this.” She loosens her grip and stands to silently walks into her room.
    I stride into the steam filled bathroom and grab a Kleenex. Blowing my nose, I use my free hand to wipe off the condensation on the mirror. The sight of my puffy red eyes does nothing to calm my nerves. This is all so sudden.
    I hear the click of a door and turn to see my mom walking out of her bedroom, dressed in her uniform, her head hung low. What a great way to start the weekend.
    “Mom?”
    She looks up at me, her face void of emotion.
    “Come on out when you’re ready Phoebe, and we’ll talk about this.” She walks past me and into the living room. She smoothes down her black skirt and straightens her shirt, before taking a seat and waiting for me.
    I dry my eyes and grab more tissues from the box before returning to the couch.
    “Phoebe, everything is going to be okay. Why don’t you tell me again what’s going on and we’ll work through this.”
    I nod and continue to tell my mom everything, from start to finish. When I’m done, she pushes the hair off my shoulder and strokes my arms to soothe me.
    “Phoebe, I’m not going to be able to