Free Love Emerged by Michelle Lynn Page A

me in the chest. “Promise me.”
    I take her thin finger and remove it from between my breasts. “I got it, but let’s wake her up.” I weave by her small stature and walk directly to my mom’s room.
    Lucky for me, she’s up and ready to tell me why she’s returned to Detroit. She might be a little more disheveled than usual, but she’s coherent.
    “What’s up, Mom?”
    “Beatrice,” Helen says from behind me, “I asked you.”
    “Thanks, Helen. I’ll take it from here.” My mom holds her hand to halt her five-foot bodyguard.
    “Beatrice you see me before you leave,” she says and retreats back to her room.
    I sit down in the chair in the corner. “Why are you back?”
    “Can’t I see my daughter?”
    There have been other times when men have left her, and she never called me, let alone visited.
    “Are you this upset about William leaving you?”
    “Yes, and no.”
    “What exactly does that mean?”
    “Let’s go to the sitting room.” She leads with her lighted up joint and a bottle of bourbon in her hands.
    She sits down in the same spot she was in two weeks ago while I stand next to the window to keep away from her while she smokes her joint. I thought for sure she’d be onto her next victim by now.
    Her lips turn down, and she smashes the end of the joint into the ashtray, extinguishing it. “Your grandmother called.”
    “From the grave?” I walk over to snatch away her bourbon.
    Her eyes pierce into mine, and I place her bottle back down.
    “Your father’s mother, June.”
    “Why?” My heart speeds up like a race car on the final lap, gearing up for something bigger and badder.
    “Sit down.” She eyes the chair across from her.
    Since she’s done smoking, I take a seat. “Just tell me. What’s going on?”
    I’m not close with my father, or his family. I’ve only had a few phone calls with him this year, and our talks are brief and superficial with mundane conversations about the weather, jobs, and if I needed money. His family doesn’t recognize me as a part of their family, and I don’t really care to be associated with a family bearing an embezzling grandfather, a hooker-loving uncle, and a coke-addicted cousin. Each has been through the gamut of the online gossip. That’s to be expected when someone has agreed to have his or her life taped every day. My dad’s family owns Vitron’s Entertainment, a popular restaurant chain company. My aunt thought it would be good publicity to have a reality show.
    Of course, I wasn’t asked to be a part of it. Not like I would have accepted anyway.
    “He’s sick, and he would like to see you.” She pours another glass.
    I mentally remind myself to stop her after this one. “Why didn’t he call me himself?”
    “Because you told him you were done with him two months ago.”
    “No, I didn’t. I never said that. I told him I was busy with my new job and didn’t have enough vacation time.”
    “Well—”
    “Well, what? Those are two completely different things.” I sit up a little straighter in the chair, my feet preparing for my getaway.
    “You’ve always had a strained relationship with him.”
    Does she not see our own relationship as strained?
    “Just”—I shake my head—“what’s going on with him?”
    “I told you, he’s sick. It’s his liver. It’s not a surprise. The man drinks like a damn whale.” She rolls her eyes.
    I refrain from pointing out the similarity between my parents as she gulps down the rest of her bourbon.
    “Like, he needs a transplant?” I’m growing impatient from her lack of information.
    “I think so. June didn’t go into many specifics. Just that they both would like you to come visit. He’s at his condo in Chicago. So, I’ll escort you, and we’ll go this weekend.”
    Her glass clinks to the table, and she reaches for the bottle again, but my hands and reflexes are faster, so I win out and tuck it between me and the arm of the chair.
    “I think you’ve had enough.” I