How to Stay Afloat

~33: Where She Has an Unexpected Visitor~

I assumed it was Nelly who'd forgotten something or one of the neighbors asking to borrow something.

Never in a million years would I have expected the person standing in front of me.

"Mrs. Hastings?" I breathed out in shock.

~~**~~

"What are you doing here?" I stuttered in shock as I stared wide-eyed at Archer's mother standing before me.

"May I come inside?" She fidgeted uneasily as she eyed the peeling wallpaper and the dirty hallway carpet.

I stepped aside to allow her space to enter and watched as her eyes studied my apartment. I could feel my shoulders stiffening defensively.

It was clear that she didn't approve of this place but to her credit, she didn't say anything.

For a moment my mind wandered. Archer was someone who was born in privilege but he had never made me feel like I was beneath him. Sure, he'd been surprised when he'd first seen where I lived and he had been upset that someone had to live in such conditions but his response had been out of concern not a sense of superiority.

I recalled how Archer's father had behaved when he had last seen me with his son. How he had made me feel I was worth less than nothing.

And how Archer had stood up in my defense against a man who raised him.

How he had chosen to give up everything to defend me.

It got me thinking- if someone could have more empathy and respect for others than the person who raised them, then maybe ignorance was a choice.

"I heard that my son was here." Mrs. Hasting's soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I was tempted to lie, tell her that I didn't know where Archer was. But even through her seemingly composed exterior, I could see the desperation behind her eyes.

I knew that Archer had deliberately been ignoring her calls and messages.

"Is he here?" She said her eyes filled with hope.

I ran my tongue over my parched lips.

"He's not here," I told her.

I watched her expression fall. I could practically see the hope inside her shatter. Her lips trembled.

She took a shuddering breath "I see-"

She was just a mother who was worried about her son, terrified that something bad had happened to him.

Just as she was starting to leave I heard myself speak,

"Right now."

She paused, "What?"

"He's not here right now," I shrugged "But yeah, he's staying here with me."

~~**~~

I sat down across Mrs. Hastings on the kitchen table as I offered her a cup of coffee. She eyed the cup momentarily before finally accepting it with a polite thank you.

She started down at the steaming cup. Her eyes didn't meet mine when she asked, "Has my son been staying here since . . ."

"Since his father kicked him out of his house?" I completed the sentence for her.

She winced but nodded.

"Yes, he has."

"Thank you for letting him stay with you." She said.