Labyrinth of Life

Chapter 6

"Why do you look so down, love?" my co-worker, Dianne, asked. Dianne is a middle-aged lady who's in her late fifties. Although she's told me her exact age when I first started working here, which was a year ago, I can't remember exactly how old she is. She's either two or three years older than my parents, which means that she's either fifty-seven or fifty-eight years old.

"Just had one hell of a weekend," I replied with a sigh. Dianne and I usually work the same shifts together, so since we see each other so often, it's hard to hide our emotions from each other. But at the same time, I enjoy my relationship with Dianne because of how easy it is to confide in her. "Do you want to talk about it?" Dianne asked as she looked up at me through her circular-shaped glasses and her green eyes. Her short blonde hair, which comes down to the length of her ears, covers half her olive-brown face, so I'm not able to see her properly, but since she has a strong Italian accent, I'm able to hear the concern in her voice without having to see it on her face.

"Not at the moment, but how was your weekend?" I asked as I placed orders for various books that had been requested. Dianne has been working here for a lot longer than I have, so everything I learned was taught by her. This meant that whenever there was a task that needed to be done, she was able to trust me to get the job done efficiently. So, while I work on one task, Dianne works on another.

"Good, my daughter and her boyfriend came to stay with us for the weekend." Dianne's daughter is a year older than me and lives on her own. From the many stories she's told me, I can tell that Dianne is the type of mother who is extremely supportive of all of her daughter's life decisions. And because of it, it seems as though the two of them have a close relationship. Dianne's son, from what I remember, is three years older than me and lives with his wife in British Columbia, so she only gets to see him over video calls or on holidays. Since both of her kids have moved out, it's only her, her husband, and their dog who live together.

I must admit, the relationship that she has with both of her children makes me jealous about the fact that I don't have that kind of relationship with my mom. But today, the thought of her happy family makes me exceptionally sad after yesterday's events. "That sounds fun, what did you guys do?" I asked in return.

"We drank all weekend while the men barbequed." Sometimes I wish my mom was half as lenient as Dianne is with her kids, and I do wish I could be as open and honest with my mom the way I can be with Dianne, but I know that that can never happen. There's no way my mom would let me drink alcohol with, or even around her. I've occasionally drunk alcohol with my dad, against my mom's knowledge, but if my mom were to know I drink, all hell would break loose.

My mom grew up with an alcoholic father who drank for the majority of his life and passed away just before I was born. So, I think the reason why my mom avoids alcohol, at all costs, is because she knows what it can do to a person and how addictive a person can let it become. Since my mom avoids alcohol, like it's the plague, she expects me to avoid it as well. My dad, on the other hand, enjoys his occasional cup of whisky or beer, but whenever he does drink, he does it against my mom's knowledge. "Oh wow, that must have been fun for you and Matthew." Matthew is Dianne's husband, and the two of them have been married for almost thirty years now.

"It was, we watched a movie, played some board games, and grilled some steaks out on the machine." While she continues to tell me what movie the three of them had watched, our conversation gets interrupted by someone, who needs help with one of the computers. So, while I continue my task of ordering books, Dianne leaves to assist the gentleman.

Although I want to tell Dianne about what happened with my parents, I don't want to make her upset with my unfortunate news. She just had a really good weekend, so the last thing I want is to burden her with my news. Normally, whenever I argue with my mom, the person I get advice from is Dianne. Since she's close in age with my mom, the advice I get from her is essentially the advice of a parent. She gives me her input from a parent's perspective, and how my mom could potentially be feeling about a certain situation, and it helps me get a better understanding of how my mom might be feeling about an altercation that took place between the both of us.