A Mother's Bond

57

Solo, Mama, and Jay were a ways down the hall. They appeared to be having a very serious conversation. You could feel the tension in the air.

I tried to close the door softly behind me, but the door was heavier than I thought, and the resulting sound echoed through the hallway. Mama's eyes quickly found me. She did not look pleased. I winced.

Blue looked up from her iPad and saw me, her eyes widening. At least someone was happy to see me. She hopped up from her seat and sprinted towards me. Carla stood up as well, smiling at me. I offered her a small wave before leaning down to catch Blue in my arms.

"Mommy, Sarayah woke up!" Blue exclaimed, her eyes shining in wonder.

I gave her a small smile, walking us back down the hall. "I know, baby."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Then why didn't you come see her?"

I cleared my throat, focusing on Carla. "Hey Carla, thanks for coming."

Carla smiled kindly. "Of course. I'm always glad to help."

"Are you going to answer the child's question, Beyoncé? Or are you going to ignore her?" Mama piped up, her eyes still glued on me.

I sat in the chair and put Blue in my lap, taking my time to answer. "I had to handle a few things before going in."

Mama pursed her lips. "Handle a few things? Well. Good to know what's important to you, Beyoncé."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I tried to swallow down my frustration, but I'd had enough.

Carla, sensing my growing irritation, turned to talk to Blue. "Hey, why don't we go exploring?" She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I bet we could find a wheelchair to race with."

Blue's eyes widened. She looked back at me for permission, and I nodded. Carla held out her hand which Blue gladly took before hopping off my lap. I mouthed a quick thank you to Carla before she walked away, disappearing around the corner. When she was gone, I turned back to my mother, trying to keep my cool.

"I would really appreciate it if you would stop talking down to me. You don't even know what I was doing, and yet you're already judging me."

"You're right." Mama said, pointing at me. "I don't know what you were doing, because I can't imagine what in the world could be more important than seeing your daughter after she's come out of a coma. You said yourself that you've barely left her side, but when she wakes up, where are you? Handling business? Okay, Beyoncé. Handle your business while your home life falls apart."

"Mama," Solo cut in. "Go easy on he–"

Mama's head snapped around. "Go easy on her? You can yell at Sarayah about her problems, but you can't tell your grown sister the truth?"

I raised my eyebrow in shock, turning to Solo.

She colored, scratching at her hand. "Yes, I let my emotions get the best of me, but I was wrong, and I've admitted that."

"Why were you yelling at Sarayah?" I asked, confused. "She just got out of a coma, Solo."

"I was trying–"

"No," Mama interrupted Solo, glaring at me. "You don't get to ask questions like you care. If you cared, you would've been in that room your damn self."

"You think I don't care?" I asked, my voice raising. "I am so tired of you pretending like you know what's going through my head–"

"Oh, I don't even want to pretend to know what's going through that thick-skulled head of yours, Giselle," Mama shot back.