Free The Willingness to Burn by J. P. London

takes so much more time,” was her favorite argument, but rather than an argument, it was more of a self-affirmation. When it became an argument, her favorite defense was, “You never went to college, what would you know about it?” but that was reserved for when her back was against the wall.
    Her parents were both intelligent and successful, yet she had them on that one. Neither of them had ever been to college. Her dad was a truck driver. He made good money and was able to start his family in a very affluent neighborhood. But he was a working man, as was his wife. He was an ambitious man who liked a good gamble and double downed on himself when he remortgaged their house to buy another truck and hire a driver.
    It was the start of his job becoming a business and he had two small girls in grade school, years when they still loved their daddy, and he didn’t want to miss those years driving around the country. Those were years to be cherished, before the hormone-fueled rage of an adolescent girl overtook his daughters and turned them against him. By the time Maddy was going to high school, he had eight trucks running all hours of the day. He no longer drove at all; he just managed the business and helped his wife with her jewelry store.
    Diane was a woman for which the word stunning was created for. She had a very classy, old school Hollywood look to her. Her legs were long and her features were light. She wore a gorgeous length of blonde hair. Growing up, everyone said that Maddy was a carbon copy of Diane.
    Diane was a soft-hearted individual with a snappy wit. She was artsy and had a natural inclination toward drawing and beading. That was what inspired her to start her jewelry store. It was before the times when the Internet ruled the world and a small store that sold homemade jewelry could do well. Especially one in a nice neighborhood that also carried an excellent diamond supply. Diane let her knack for beading growing into a knack for jewelry design. She was a natural. It was as though her beauty gave her sway over all things beautiful. All things except her daughter.
    Diane’s jewelry business began to really pick up right around Maddy’s 11 th birthday, and for someone whose stunning features, unmatched spunk, and gorgeous eyes matched her mother completely, the two mixed like water and oil. As a child, Maddy loved her mother for everything that she was, but as her age rounded into the double digits, she began to resent everything that she loved about her mother, as children do at that age. And although as an adult the wounds would heal, the scars would always remain. There were some stains left by hate that time just can’t wash away.
    Mid-way through her first semester of sophomore year Maddy’s mom, Diane was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her mom had been diagnosed in the beginning of November and decided to wait until Thanksgiving when Maddy was home to give her the bad news. Her plan was to keep it to herself until then, but Diane was never much of a poker player and her heart bled through onto her sleeve.
    The day that she received the diagnosis, she came home, sat in the kitchen, and wept. She tried to hide her emotions but was not able to and despite taking the day off of work to go to the doctor, she was not alone in the house. Maddy’s sister Sarah was home in-between classes and heard the crying. It didn’t take much to break the silent facade. After all, how do you not tell your daughter why you’re crying? Leaving a kid in college in the dark was one thing, but lying to the one in front of you was totally different.
    She broke down and confessed her grim diagnosis to Sarah, and Sarah sat and listened and cried with her mom. Then, almost against her will, Sarah swore to her mother not to say anything to her sister until Thanksgiving. That the holiday would be the day that they were all together and that was how they were going to get through all of it—together.
    Maddy’s last class was