Green Card

19 Family Reunion (Piper)

Something had changed. And I was too afraid of acknowledging it to even mention it to Leah and Connor. A shift had occurred between Lucas and I. I hadn't noticed it until the night we'd gone to the club and what happened afterward. The way he'd looked at me, almost reverent. How gentle he'd been even in the midst of sex. And the way he looked at me now. Every time I walked by him, every time our arms brushed when I reached across him or our legs touched when we sat beside one another, he would smile and gaze into my eyes like that accidental touch was the only thing in his life that he needed to keep going.

I felt it too, the shift. Maybe that was why it scared me so much. I found myself watching him now. Even when he was only eating a muffin or scrolling through emails. Everything he did seemed to fascinate me. Like the man read an email hotter than anyone I'd ever seen read an email. But how ridiculous was that to even think?

Leah and Connor stayed the remainder of the weekend. We had gone to the club on Friday so we all hung around the house, mainly in the pool, on Saturday. Then, Sunday afternoon, Lucas and I took them to the airport and waved goodbye. After that, he had work to do. He locked himself in his home office for a few hours while I busied myself with catching up on my own emails. I hadn't checked in much with work and it was discouraging to see how little I was needed. Don't get me wrong. I was happy that they were able to handle everything without me but I'd been here over a week and the only time I'd interacted with anyone from work was the phone call in LAX where Gary had told me he hated my cheeseburger joke.

I collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. Serious career women did not spend their days making up jokes about ground beef.

I fell asleep while Lucas was still in his office and stayed asleep until after he left the next morning. When I finally woke, I padded through the halls in one of Lucas' dress shirts until I came upon Luisa and the omelet she was making me. I thanked her profusely and ate, sipping my orange juice and considering my options for the day. By the time I had finished eating, I'd decided. I had put off visiting my mother long enough. Today was the day.

After breakfast, I changed into some jeans and a modest black v neck. I slipped on my Birkenstocks and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, creating a headband with a white and black bandana. Then I left the house. Kevin was off in the city, waiting for Lucas to finish work, or maybe he was home. I wasn't sure what he did during the days. Nonetheless, I hadn't told him I'd be needing him so he hadn't hung around to see if I would.

Instead, I walked all the way to Lucas' high security gate and called myself an Uber. One of his neighbors passed by, walking their miniature something, while I was waiting and stared at me like I was doing the walk of shame. I looked down at my outfit and where I was coming from and sighed when I realized that was exactly what this looked like.

Luckily, my Uber arrived soon enough and I climbed inside and verified the address. As we drove away, I checked my phone. I hadn't warned my mother that I would be coming. I'd hoped to surprise her. But she'd called me last night while I was sleeping and I hadn't called her back. Leah had texted me that she was already missing the mansion. Connor had added that he was missing my Argentinian hunk. I just smiled and locked my phone, settling in for the long ride from the haves to the have nots.

My mother hadn't left the house I'd grown up in. Not even when we all had. So I knew the address, and the neighborhood, by heart. It wasn't a good one. A far cry from Lucas' Silicon Valley modern marvel, my mother's tear down Spanish style three bedroom house screamed lower middle class. But I didn't mind it. There were memories in every crack and tear. Some good, some bad. It was always bittersweet coming here.

I did not linger on the sidewalk to admire it when the Uber dropped me off. I just thanked the driver and opened the chain link fence next to the sidewalk. Then I hurried up the path before my mother could come running to the door. We used to joke that she could hear that chain link open from a mile away and I knew that, at least, hadn't changed.