Mina

Nail Polish

I leaned my head on Chelsea's shoulder, sipping my black coffee I'd managed to make before I bolted out of the house late this morning. Penny was already mad at me, accusing me this morning of not loving her because I had accidentally slept through my alarm. Owen's dad had gotten home around 11 at which point I left. But as usual when I got home, I couldn't go straight to bed. I had laundry to do, Penny had dropped a plate of food on the floor which I had to clean up and the bathroom was a mess. I also had to send in a homework assignment to one of my professors before midnight. I think I finally managed to crawl in bed around 2, it was no wonder I slept through my 4 am alarm.

"You need a vacation." Chelsea murmured to me.

"No time." I mumbled back.

"Here comes Max, brace yourself." She warned.

I couldn't get my eyes to open, my body preferring to stay slumped against Chelsea on the bench near Max's locker.

"So..." he said way too perky for first thing in the morning. He was bouncing up and down as his body collided with the side of mine. "How was it? What'd you do? Did he mention me at all?"

"Why would be mention you?" Chelsea asked.

"We're friends!" He defended. "I think."

I forced my eyes open, my vision a little blurry. Max had his hair perfectly combed, as usual. Out of the three of us, he always looked more put together, even on the rare occasion Chelsea and I tried.

"I took him to your uncle's bar and we played pool." I mumbled. "He sucked."

Max barked out a loud laugh, slapping his knee. "Perfect. I can teach him!"

"I don't think he likes it." I told him. "But be my guest."

"Damn it." He muttered. "So did he say anything about me?"

I righted myself, Chelsea shaking her head at Max.

"I don't remember." I did, for some reason I remembered everything Owen said last night.

"Seriously!? Mina, come on." Max whined. "What are you good for if you can't remember?"

If I stayed sitting, I'd definitely fall asleep. Shoving myself off the bench, I turned around looking at Max.

"Absolutely nothing." I said with a roll of my eyes. "I'm going to class."

I started walking away before either of them answered. I had no idea how I was going to make it through today.

———————

At some point during the day, I had hit a second wind. By the time I walked through the door at home, I knew that I'd make it through my class at five. I also knew that as soon as my head hit my pillow at the end of the night that I'd sleep like the dead. And I was already prepared, having lined up Chelsea and Max to blow up my phone if they hadn't heard from me by the time their alarms went off. It was full proof and relatively common that I had full faith that one of the two would succeed in the off chance I overslept, again. Two days in a row.

I closed the front door behind me, TV blaring some show that had Penny riveted.

She barely glanced at me as she said, "how was school?"

"It's was good." My standard reply.

"I'm starving, baby, make me some food."

I hadn't even gotten my shoes off, my book bag loaded down with books still on my shoulder.

"What would you like?"

I hefted my bag into one of the dining room chairs that never got used, discarding my shoes there as well as I headed straight into the kitchen.

"What are my options?"

I pulled open the door to the refrigerator and the freezer at the same time, listing everything for her. I hated seeing all the frozen, processed meals, the quick fixes, loaded with preservatives and lacking nutrients. But that was the world today. Penny a bi-product.

"How about those frozen buffalo wings, jalapeño poppers, some fried potatoes with queso and I've been craving chili." She listed.

The thought of eating that much food repulsed me, but regardless, I pulled everything out. Starting the oven, I moved around the kitchen, my mind wandering to everything I needed to be doing. If Penny wasn't so disabled by her weight she could make her own meals. She still did, if absolutely desperate. But as bad as it was, I tried to make sure she never got to that point. Only because I then had to shoulder her wrath.

"Baby?" Penny called from the living room.

I hadn't noticed she had turned the volume down on the TV. Glancing over as I put a tray of frozen carbs into the oven I said "yeah?"

"We haven't spent any time together lately."

I'd been busy. When Mr. Savas had asked me a few weeks ago if I'd consider helping Owen out at home when he or Jase couldn't be there I had originally declined. Surprisingly not because of Owen but because I wasn't sure if I could possible add anything more to my plate. But the longer Mr. Savas stood there, his features so much like Owen it was like a glimpse into the future, I felt myself thinking of all the time I spent with Penny. All the time I hated spending with Penny. I knew I was a terrible daughter, having those thoughts. And then Mr. Savas offered to pay me for my time and I needed the money, so I said yes.

A perfect reason not to be at home. I could justify that to Penny, we needed money. Her latest stint in the hospital, while covered by Medicare mostly, didn't come without other expenses. And she loved food, her habit was expensive.

"I know." I pulled off the oven glove, looking at the chipped polish on them. "My nail polish is chipping."

Penny's face lit up, her swollen cheeks squishing her eyes into slits. "Go pick out a color baby girl."

I smiled, setting the timer on the stove. "Okay, one second."

We kept a plastic bin of polish in the bathroom. I pulled it from the cabinet, plucking a color from the collection without looking at it. I didn't actually like having my nails painted. It always chipped shortly after being applied, leaving my nails looking unkempt. But painting my nails was one of the few things that I remembered Penny always doing with me when I was younger. When I was really young, we'd go to a salon, eventually though, Penny got more and more bed ridden. So now, once a week, I selected a color and I let Penny paint my nails.

I walked back out to the living, a giant grin spread across her face as she patted the space beside her. She already had polish remover out, it's home in the drawer of the table next to her bed. Sitting down, I handed her the little bottle of polish.

"What a pretty color." She said. "It'll look so nice with your skin tone."

I smiled as she took my hand in hers. "I thought so too."

Like most things in my life, I did it for her, not me.

                                 ———————

I ended up driving to Detroit twice yesterday. So much time in the car 😫. First I went there for the zoo and then I came all the way home just to turn around the drive the hubs to the airport. I don't like driving that much.