“What’re you doing here?” Kasey asked the human in her house. Her heart burnt with fury and the cool of winter did nothing to tame the flames that ravaged the peace within her.

“What a question, love. I should be allowed to come over whenever I want, Kasey.” The human Kasey stared at with disdain said. 

“Well, this is my home, so it’s only right that you let me know, if you’ll be stopping by.” 

“Stopping by? That’s a good one, love. I’m paying you a visit. Don’t make it sound like I’m only here, because I had other things to do in this area and suddenly remembered you.”

“Sure, sure. Please just say what it is you have to say and leave.” Kasey said completely worn down by the human in her presence. She threw her handbag on one of the sofas in her living room and though she’d had breakfast at Jeremey’s home earlier that day, Kasey walked into her kitchen and tore open a bag of chips.

“Leave? That’s no way to talk to your mother, Kasey Bianca Jones.” The unexpected visitor in Kasey’s home said. Arrayed in a white A-shaped dress with multi-colored layers, Kasey’s mother, Gina Jones, sat on one of the sofas in her daughter’s home.

“I’ve always spoken to you in this manner, mother. Don’t act like its new. I’m really not in the mood for idle chat.” Kasey told her mother, while her fingers dug into the bag of chips. 

“You could at least change the way you speak to me.” Gina told her daughter.

“Maybe I will if you stopped barging into my home unannounced.” Kasey said with a mouth full of chips.

“Barging? What an outrageous word! I’m your mother, Kasey and if I walk into your home at any time, you should be excited. Not irritated.”

“Oh, you mean the same kind of excitement I had when I got into Fashion School, which I paid for on my own and with Grandma’s help? Or the same kind of excitement I had during my graduation from college, which you didn’t attend though your office was just ten blocks away? Or the excitement I had when I got a job at the hottest fashion magazine in New York, and you called me a ‘disappointment’ at a family dinner? I have every freaking right to be irritated whenever you show up, mother and you know that better than anyone.” Kasey glared at her mother with eyes that only belonged to one ready to kill.

“Kasey, the sponsorship for your desire in Fashion wasn’t part of my agenda for you. That amount of money for a three-year tuition was too sudden at the time.” Kasey’s mother explained. Her perfectly silky blonde hair maintained its perms, though it twisted and turned as she spoke with exaggerated emotions. The click-clack of the white stiletto heels she wore echoed on the marble floor in her daughter’s home.

Kasey threw a few chips into her mouth and threw in some more. She opened the fridge in her kitchen and gulped down a bottle of orange juice. Her stomach felt constipated. 

“You shouldn’t eat like that, Kasey. You’re a lady.”

“I’m stress eating, mother.” Kasey replied. She stared daggers at her mother.

“Why?”

“I’m stress-eating, because of you mother. You stress me out! And what’s that about my tuition fees? Too sudden? Are you freaking kidding me? You’re the President of a huge jewelry company. Your company’s on par with GOG. Game of Gold products are only sought by the richest of the rich and your company’s literally GOG’s freaking rival. If you wanted to pay my tuition fees, it’ll be like taking out a penny from a wallet filled with a thousand dollars. It was nothing to you, mother. I’ve had enough of your excuses. I’m not a kid anymore. You just wanted me to go to business school like my boring-to-the-bone cousins.” Kasey opened another bag of chips.

“I just wanted what was best for you, Kasey and Business school seemed like a much better option compared to a career in the fashion industry. I had everything planned out for you. I’d asked my colleagues at Harvard and Stanford to write recommendations. You had everything, Kasey. The determination, the intelligence…You were an all A’s student in Junior High, then suddenly you took an interest in art. That didn’t bother me much, because you graduated with the best result and ended up your school’s valedictorian. I heard you gave a beautiful speech, on that day by the way.” Gina said, while her eyes admired the silent fall of white confetti from the skies through the window walls in her daughter’s home.

“Yeah, right. A graduation you couldn’t attend because, of work as always.” Kasey rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Kasey. I had to put my all into my company. The results show, Kasey. As a business woman your company grows from being an idea you penned down, to your only reason for living. Surely, you must understand this?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you asking me, a woman with a career in Fashion, a question about business? I thought such questions were only reserved for individuals with MBA’s from Ivy league schools?” Kasey took a long gulp of orange juice. A belch was stuck on her throat. Her chest hurt. She hated being this way.

“Make all the snarky comments you want and hate me as much as you can, Kasey. Everything I did was for you.” Gina turned to her daughter.

“That’s the thing. You did nothing and you don’t get! It’s like you need some type of time-travelling machine to show you, the kind of mother you were. You were never there, mother. Grandma Ruby was basically I and Mindy’s mom. All you did was work! I understand you had to make provisions for the family but at some point, it was like you just thought of your kids, the same way your father thought of you. We were freaking trophies to you. Your real child, was your company. Grandma Ruby thought me everything I knew. From tying my shoelaces to using a tampon…she was my mother, not you.” Kasey took off her trench coat and shoes. She paced around the kitchen for a while, consumed by thoughts of the past and an out-pour emotions.

“All you ever did was come home at midnight, and leave for work the next morning. The only time you spent with Mindy and I was whenever we went shopping for dresses, so we could look ‘presentable’ at family dinners. You were never interested in our lives. Our friends, our hobbies, our fears were none of your business and you made that clear, if we ever spoke of such. Your only concern was our report cards, so you could have something to brag about to your father and siblings at family dinners.” Kasey dropped into one of the sofas in her living room. Her chest still felt stuffed, even after the sudden explosions of emotions in words. She thought she’d been free from the shackles of her past, but her mother’s appearance in her home was a sore reminder of the anger she’d forgone.

“Those things were unnecessary. If you’re successful, you’ll have humans lined up to associate with you. Even your enemies will count it a privilege to be in your midst. Life is a competition, Kasey and only the successful can consider themselves winners. Love, fun, all those unnecessary values society clings unto are just excuses to shy away from perfection. Imagine a world without blemish, Kasey. A world with total perfection. A world where humans aren’t moved by emotions.” Gina gazed at the ceiling of her daughter’s home, as though lost in epiphany. 

“That! Right there! Why do you do that? Why do you act like an alien who’s not in touch with her emotions? That’s why you were never first choice whenever Mindy and I needed someone to talk to. That’s why Mindy rebelled but you didn’t even care!”

“Mindy! Mindy! Mindy! Would you please stop calling that name?”

“That’s the name of your second daughter, mother!”

“That disgraceful lass isn’t my daughter anymore and I made that perfectly clear when I took her name off my will.” Gina scoffed.

“You’ve always been this crazy, mother. That’s why no one ever related with you. You know, sometimes I don’t even blame dad for what he did.” Kasey said, her head began to ache. 

Gina laughed.

“Your father was scoundrel, true and true. But you see, Kasey his behavior was expected. After all, he was the only decision I made out of a surge of emotions, which I do regret and yet I do not. Unfortunately, Mindy is a product of my relationship with your father, but so are you.” Gina said while she walked towards her daughter, who stood up quickly like one approached by a hungry lion.

“Don’t try to flatter me. I followed my dreams and thankfully it all worked out. If it didn’t, you won’t give a rat’s ass about me.” Kasey said. She walked back to her kitchen and searched the fridge for nothing and everything.

“It’s not flattery. You did turn out good. But you are right, if you did end up a failure, I’d want nothing to do with you. My father and siblings still raise their noses around me with disgust, because of that sister of yours. No one likes a failure Kasey. I knew that and yet I let my foolish emotions take over me when I met your father. The man was a mere jeweler and creative director in my company. I should’ve known better and married the men father, recommended. I married your father instead and you know the rest of the story. The only reason, your Grandma Ruby stayed around to take care of you and sister, was because she knew her son’s worthlessness.” Gina said. Her eyes glowed red with hate and her fists were clenched.

She took in a deep breath “I couldn’t divorce him for the sake of my reputation, but I could make his life a living hell. Your Grandma Ruby begged me not to. She occupied the position of a nanny in our household as a sort of compensation for her son’s shortcomings. You may think me a terrible person but your father was much worse. The bastard still retained his disgusting habits, in the same house his mother lived in. Thankfully, he stayed more at motels than at home. You curse like him which is inappropriate for a lady. You should stop it Kasey.”

“I swear, you give me more headache that an all-nighter at work. Would you please, stop telling me what I can and cannot do as a lady. It’s the freaking 21st century, mother. Just tell me what you want. I’m too tired for this.”

“Fine. The family would like you to come over for dinner this month. It’ll be a gathering of the children and grandchildren of your grandfather and you should be there.” Gina told her daughter.

“Yeah, I skipped the dinner last year for a good number of reasons and I’m skipping it this year as well. Thanks, but I’m not interested.”

“But Kasey the family wants you there.”

“You mean, you want me there!”

“What?”

“Come on, mother. Enough with the cunning excuses and lies. My racist grandfather of a jerk doesn’t give a damn about dad, Mindy or me. I remember how he used to abuse dad verbally and make a mockery of him, because he’s an African American.” Kasey paced around the living room while flashbacks of previous family dinners came to her like lucid images on a HD TV screen.

“Your grandfather only said the things he said, because your father was a mere employee at my company. He wanted me to get married to a CEO or a President of some other company at least. I chose to marry your father instead. Your grandfather only expressed the fact that your father was beneath me.”

“A fact you always held unto.” Kasey said under her breath. 

Gina sighed deeply “If you do not wish to come to the family’s dinner, so be it. It is a tradition and though you, your sister and your father have been absent for years, I think it’s best if you came this year. You could represent, you three. More importantly, I talked you up to your grandfather and I think he may have a gift for you. You’re the most successful of your cousins, Kasey and I might not say it as much, but you’re a child anyone would be proud of. You came this far on your own, you should at least show it off. I’ll text you the address of this year’s dinner. Good day.” 

Gina walked out the door. 

“You mean, you’d like to show me off, like one of your freaking jewelries at the family dinner! Screw that damn dinner! Screw Grandpa Simon’s gift! I don’t need anything from you or your family! Never have, never will!” Kasey yelled after she threw one of her shoes at the door.

“That’s some rage.” Cindy Lee said. She walked into the living room, dressed in a pink onesie.

“Where have you been and why’d you let her in?” Kasey turned to Cindy with tears in her eyes.

“Hey, hey, you’re getting older now. I know it hurts but you shouldn’t let her get to you like that.” Cindy ran to Kasey and gave her a tight hug.

“I just hate everything about her and that stupid family. In ninth grade I fell down the stairs in school and fainted. My scalp and knees were injured badly. I was rushed to the hospital and of course my parents were called over and over, but do you know who came running after one call?” Kasey asked. Tears slid down her cheeks.

“Your grandma, Ruby.” Cindy answered a question to a story she’d heard a hundred times. She knew the story well, but being a good friend, she paid attention while her arms were wrapped around Kasey Jones.

“My Grandma Ruby! The old woman had a bad leg, but you should’ve seen her run into the emergency room, calling out my name. My dad may be a jerk but even he showed up a few hours later. And my mom, where was she? What did she do? She came back home later that night and told me how disappointed she was at me for tripping! She was disappointed at a kid, for freaking tripping over a flight of stairs. She said she never wanted to receive such ‘disturbances’ from my school, ever again. And now, what? She finds out about my magazine from a ‘Forbes 30 under 30’ interview and now I’m of value to her again. I hate her!” Kasey cleaned her tears. Her tears were gone but her heart still ached.

“Kasey you can say you hate her, but she’s still your mum. I know all about parents who expect nothing but perfection from their kids. Believe, me I know. It’s hard to cope with the toxicity but if you don’t forgive them, you’ll never forgive yourself and you’ll never be able to move on.” Cindy told her friend.

“Is that why you let her in?” Kasey sniffled. Cindy stepped back.

“I…I…I had to Kasey. It’s Gina! She hates me already and you know it. Those eyes of total despise just send chills down my spine.” Cindy said. Kasey laughed.

“That’s why you should’ve been here, instead of eavesdropping from your room. If you were here in the living room, wearing that, she’d get so pissed, she’d leave.”

“I was wearing this when she came in. Why do you think I ran into my room?” Cindy asked, her hands spread apart to show off her pink onesie with bunny ears.

“Well, if you were here during our talk, she’d have more to say about you and my past wouldn’t have been a subject.”

“Wow! What a friend. You’re just going to throw me under the bus like that, huh? You know, besides being a workaholic, you have a lot in common with your mom, Ice Queen.” Cindy scoffed playfully.

“At least if I were a mom, I’d ask my daughter where she’s coming from with a freaking slutty red dress and heels.” Kasey said. She walked to the minibar behind the countertop in her open kitchen.

“Speaking of where you’re coming from, you’re late. You had a good time last night?” Cindy asked. Her eyebrows moved uniformly in an up and down motion, like a mischievous cartoon character.

“Yeah, Jeremey and I…”

“Save it lying Linda. I talked to Jeremey about an hour ago. He was with a client. He left you in his house under the care of his roommate, whom according to him, you seemed really acquainted with.” Cindy smiled slyly.

“I don’t have time for this. I need to take a shower and…”

“No, you don’t. What you need to do is spill. I told you I perceived a man in your life. I’m a freaking bloodhound when it comes to these things. So, spill.” 

“I’m going to have my bath and you’re letting me be.”

“No, Kasey.”

“Yes, Cindy.”

“No, Kasey.”

“Yes…”

Cindy Lee and Kasey Jones walked into Kasey’s room while bickering like children would over a piece of candy. 

Though her past had made an appearance in her life that morning, Kasey was grateful for the early hours of that morn spent with Luca Brandon and the late hours of the noon, spent with Cindy Lee. Their existence in her life, was beyond worth it.