Lonna walked to the restaurant her mother works at, still highly overjoyed. As hard as she tried she couldn’t wipe the stupid grin from her face. “I can’t believe he knows my name.” She said to herself over and over. Just as she was giggling to herself her phone rings. “Helllooo.” She said in a over happy tone as she answered the phone.

“Hey, Lonna.” Krystal’s voice hit her ear. “I am just calling to see if you found the letter.” The moment Krystal reminded her Lonna’s face fell. She didn’t know how she could have forgotten.

“Krystal, I didn’t find it.” Lonna practically screamed into her cellphone.

“You didn’t?” Krystal asked rubbing her temples to release the stress headache her friend was giving her. “Don’t worry, we can find it tomorrow.”

“Yea, tomorrow.” Lonna said gripping a patch of her hair in her hands in frustration at her own forgetfulness.

“Ok, see you tomorrow, bye.” Krystal said before disconnecting the call.

“God, please, I beg you to blow the letter as far away as possible.” Lonna begged waving her arms wildly, making the people passing her stare in confusion. Lonna didn’t mind them as her mood suddenly changed. “It’s fine, if I hadn’t lost the letter in the first place, I wouldn’t have gotten to talk to Jin.” She said smiling to herself and slightly jumping in excitement.

Lonna entered the restaurant and found it empty, which wasn’t hard to believe given it was close to closing. She walked up to the elderly lady that was wiping down some tables. “What’s up boss lady?” Lonna asked as she got close.

“Oh, Lonna, you’re here.” The elderly lady said as she finished her work and gave the girl a hug of welcome.

“I came to pick up mom.” Lonna said as the lady broke the hug.

“Oh dear, you just missed her. She went to a company around the corner to make a last-minute delivery.” Lonna shook her head in understanding. “I told her to go straight home afterwards.” Lonna bowed in thanks to the lady.

“Thank you, I will try to find her.” Lonna was turning to leave, hoping that she would bump into her mother before she made it home.

“Lonna.” Her mother’s boss called out to her, making her halt in her steps and turn back around. “Your mother has been really distracted lately, please take care of her.” Lonna was happy the woman was concerned for her mother. She didn’t find it odd since she had been working at the restaurant for a while now, but it still was a warming thought. However, the thought that her mother was worried about something raised concern in herself.

“I will, thank you.” Lonna said trying to hide the concern on her face as she bowed again to the lady and left. Lonna left the restaurant overly worried now for her mother. She racked her mind trying to think of what could be bothering her.

Author’s POV

Pamella walked the streets with nothing but thoughts in her head. She gripped the undelivered take out tighter in her hands as she walked alone on the dimly lit street sighing continuously. Lonna ran around everywhere looking for her mother, but she was nowhere to be found. Her worry only rose more making her panic. Pamella was so caught up in her own thoughts, that the step in front of her went totally unnoticed until it was too late.

Lonna’s POV

“Mom!” Lonna screamed as she watched the woman tumble down the steps, sending the take-out bags flying in the air from her sudden fall. Thankfully, she didn’t fall badly, but Lonna still ran to her mother’s side as fast as she could. She found the woman sitting sadly on the step she had missed, blowing helplessly on her poor scraped wrist. “Mom.” Lonna said as she reached her and sat on the step beside her.

“Lonna.” Her mother squealed out in an overly whiny voice.

“Are you ok?” Lonna asked as she grabbed her mother’s wrist to look at it.

“Ohhh, it hurts sooo much.” Pamella said as she continued talking like a over grown toddler. The mother and daughter made a long crying sound together before resuming to both blow on the wound.

After finally getting her mother home, Lonna went to the bathroom and got the first aid kit. She told her mother to sit down at the dinning room table, and started treating the scrap. “Ow, Ow, Ow, it hurts.” Her mother cried out making Lonna roll her eyes at her childish ways, before gently blowing on the scrape trying to relieve the pain, but her mother continued to cry.

“Ok, ok. I am done.” Lonna said throwing away the items she used to apply the medicine.

“Use this.” She heard her mother say as she held up a bright pink hello kitty bandage.

“Are you serious?” Lonna asked silently judging her mother in her head. She gave the bandage another look, before staring back at her mother who was now shyly shaking her head. Lonna roughly grabbed the bandage from her mother’s fingers. “Okay fine.” She said wondering which of them was the actual grown up in the room. Her mother had always acted like an over grown child since she could remember, but Lonna was used to it by now. Her mother clapped excitedly as Lonna opened the bandage to apply it. “Why couldn’t you be more careful?” Lonna scolded the woman beside her.

“What a waste of perfectly good takeout.” Pamella said as her happy face instantly turned into a pout.

“Mom, is there something you want to tell me?” Lonna asked. Her mother looked everywhere but at her. Lonna knew this was her mother’s way of avoiding the truth. She really was like a child sometimes, but thankfully Lonna knew she could get her to talk. “Nothing to say?” Lonna’s mother bit her bottom lip and quickly shook her head still trying to avoid making eye contact with her daughter. “Really, because you boss said you have been distracted lately.” Lonna leaned closely to her mother as she watched her fight with herself, trying to quickly come up with a good excuse.

“Well, I…” Pamella finally turned to face her daughter only to come nose to nose with her stern glare. The fake excuse she had made up instantly forgotten.

“Didn’t you say we shouldn’t keep secrets from each other?” Lonna said making her mother look away in shame. Her mother acted like a toddler being scolded each time Lonna tried to get a better look at her shamed face. “Aish, let’s go.” She said giving her mother no time to argue before pulling her up and running out of the house with her following behind her.

“Where?” Was all her mother could ask in her shocked state.

The park looked so abandoned and lonely in the cold night, as the two women ran into it. Lonna finally stopped running and looked at her mother, who looked back at her confused. “I remember when dad died, we were broke.” Lonna said making her mother’s expression change to one of sadness. “We couldn’t even afford me to go on my class field trip. I remember around that time there was a theft at the school, and I was the one blamed. Even with no proof, no one believed me, and they started bullying me. They tore up my homework, and threw my backpack in the trash.” Pamella looked at her daughter with a sad smile on her face as the memory she was speaking of popped in her head.

“I remember you didn’t tell me anything, because you didn’t want me to worry.” Pamella said giving Lonna a warm smile. “Instead you skipped school and hid in this park. When I finally found you, you still refused to tell me what had happened.”

“I remember you told me…” Lonna’s mind drifted to the semi-happy memory.

‘Lonna’s mother stood in front of her and lifted the umbrella that she held over her head, to try and stop the rain from falling on her anymore. “Lonna, no matter what happens, I hope neither of us will keep secrets from each other.” She said as she placed her hand on her daughter’s knee trying to comfort her.

“Mom, I just didn’t want to worry you.”  Lonna said with tears starting to well in her eyes.

“Lonna, we only have each other to lean on. You worry about me, just as I worry about you. Right?” Pamella said looking into her daughter’s face trying to get her to understand her words. “Lonna, I want us to be close. I want to share in all your happy and sad times, forever.”

“Fine, no more secrets.” Lonna said smiling happily at her mother’s words. Her mother returned her smile as she gripped her hand tightly in hers, as they silently made the promise to each other. ‘

“From then on, whenever we had something we couldn’t say, we’d come back to this park.” Lonna said staring lovingly at the woman sitting across from her. Tears took over her mother’s eyes as she let the guilt take over her.

“Lonna, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to keep anything from you.” She said.

“Mom, what’s wrong, please tell me.” Lonna begged hoping her mother was finally ready to open up. “We can solve it together.”

“I…” Her mother started but bit her lip trying to find the right words to say. “I have fallen in love again.” She said finally laying the secret out in the open for her daughter to know.

“What?” Lonna asked her voice slightly raised. “Your secret is that you have fallen in love again?” 

A/N: I know this story has started slowly but I promise it gets better the real fun is about to start soon, so please look forward to it.

I hope you are enjoying it still.