Free The Game Changer by Marie Landry

graduated from high school, had always been into things she shouldn’t be—drugs, alcohol, partying—and after an incident where Ava was left alone overnight, Children’s Aid had finally stepped in and taken her away.
    Melody’s mom had been trying to get custody of Ava for years, and after extensive paperwork, Ava was finally able to move from Ottawa to Bellevue to live with her Grandmother. Because Jackie and Ava had lived in Ottawa and Melody didn’t have a car, she had only seen her niece a few times in the last decade. That made her practically a stranger, so as much as she wanted to help her mother and support Ava, Mrs. Cartwright didn’t think it was a good idea until Ava settled in and got used to her new life. Mrs. Cartwright said the young girl had more than her fair share of emotional issues, and they were working through them with a child psychologist.
    Melody blinked her eyes quickly, fighting back the moisture that threatened to spill over her lids. She and her mother had always been close, and Melody wanted more than anything to be there for her. But she understood mother issues—after all, Olivia’s mom brought new meaning to the words absentee mother. Shaking herself from her thoughts, Melody perched on a kitchen stool and took a cookie from the covered plate on the island.
    “Olivia and I are going out again tonight,” she told Angelica, examining the cookie and trying to figure out what kind it was. “I know you said you couldn’t go last night because of your mom, but you’re twenty-five and living on your own, surely she can’t expect you to stay in with her the entire weekend.”
    “Actually, she can and does expect that,” Angelica said with a bitter laugh. “But she’s usually in bed by nine or ten, and then I have to find quiet things to do so I don’t wake her up.”
    “Well there you go,” Melody said, waving to Olivia as she walked down the hall. She covered the receiver and whispered, “It’s Angelica. I’ve invited her out with us tonight, is that okay?”
    “Of course.” Olivia plucked the uneaten cookie from Melody’s fingertips and took a bite.
    Melody made a face at Olivia and uncovered the receiver. “Why don’t you come over here once your mother has gone to bed, and we’ll all head over to the club together?”
    “Well…” Angelica hesitated, and Melody could picture her worrying her lip on the other end of the line. “I guess that’d be okay. If she’s in bed anyway, what difference does it make, right?” Her voice rose slightly, sounding more confident. “I’ll take the last bus over and see you girls around ten. Thanks, Melody.”
    They said their goodbyes and Melody turned to Olivia. “She has one of those mothers,” she said, taking another cookie from the plate.
    “Oh, one of those ,” Olivia echoed, nodding her head in understanding. She climbed onto the stool next to Melody’s and turned to face her. “You’ve got that faraway look in your eyes. What’s wrong?”
    Melody considered denying it, but Olivia knew her far too well. “I was just thinking about Mom and Ava.”
    “Ahh.” Olivia nodded again, her eyes softening. “Do you know how they’re doing?”
    “Not really. I’ve called Mom a few times, but I always get the machine and she hasn’t called me back. I know she’s busy trying to get Ava settled in, and I know how hard and weird and scary it must be for Ava, but…”
    “You miss your mother,” Olivia stated simply.
    “Yes.” Melody wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. She had been living away from her mother for ten years, but she was used to seeing and talking to her on a regular basis. She realized now that she took it for granted that her mother would always be available to her, and when she wasn’t she felt like a little girl who missed her mommy.
    “It’s silly, really,” she said, leaning her elbows on the island and propping her cheek in her hand. “I’ve been independent for so long, but she’s