After being forced to do the dishes, Emma was not happy. She had been grounded supposedly for being disrespectful to her mother. Deep down, she knew Mrs. Moran was right, and her behaviour had been inappropriate, but still, that didn't make her feel any better about anything that had happened.
She was in her room, once again flipping through old pictures when she heard a knock on the door. She didn't answer and hoped whoever it was would go away.
Mrs. Goodall walked in, to which Emma groaned.
"What?"
"I just wanted to apologize for what happened in the kitchen," Mrs. Goodall said. "I shouldn't have pushed it."
"Mom, I don't want anything to do with you right now," Emma replied without looking to Mrs. Goodall. "Why can't you just… get it?"
"Because I've made a huge mistake," Mrs. Goodall closed the bedroom door and she walked over to Emma's bed. She took a seat, telling her daughter she planned on staying until she could finish saying whatever she had to say. "They say, at the end of your life, you regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did. I regret not taking you with us on vacations. I regret not coming home for days or weeks at a time. I regret missing out on everything that shaped you into who you are today."
"You're all talk, mom…"
"Because you won't let me show you how much I want to change!"
"Maybe I don't want to see it. You had seventeen years, mom! You chose Paris over me!"
"And it was the worst mistake I've ever made. All those trips. All that time I spent away from you. I wish I had made better decisions. I wish I had spent more time with you."
"Well, you didn't."
"Emma, I wish there was a button I could press that would take us back seventeen years. Back before I turned into this sorry excuse for a mother, if I can even be called that. I'd change everything. I'd make it better. I'd be the kind of mother you needed."
"You'd be like Vanessa."
"I'd be more like Vanessa, yes," Mrs. Goodall said. "But a button like that doesn't exist. I can't take back those seventeen years. I've only got whatever years you and I have left. I know you want your space, Emma, and I'm sure you want nothing to do with me, but I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I've already lost seventeen years and I don't want to lose any more."
"So then why did you go to Paris?"
"I was an idiot."
"Yeah."
"I do love you, Emma. More than anything. It doesn't show, but I want it to, and I'll try every single day to make you understand just how special you are to me."
"You don't even know me," Emma rolled her eyes.
"I want to," Mrs. Goodall got up from the bed and reached into her back pocket. "I'm settling down. Vanessa is helping me find a house. Two bedrooms…"
"No."
"Emma…"
"No, I'm not moving. We've been through this already, mom, I want to stay here…"
"Emma, I'm not asking you to move," Mrs. Goodall said. She showed Emma the paper she printed from the internet, which had a picture of the house and description. "You're happy here, and Vanessa is much better for you than I'll ever be. I would never take you away from this. The second bedroom is yours though, in case you ever wanted to visit. In case we could ever just… be friends."
"You don't want me to go live with you?"
"More than anything, that's what I want," Mrs. Goodall said, "But I know that's not what you want, and that's not what you need. You've been through enough, already. Your father and I have put you through hell. If this is your home, it'll stay that way. I'm not forcing you to do anything."
"I don't want to move," Emma whispered. Mrs. Goodall looked down at her daughter and at first she couldn't tell what was hurting her so much, but after a moment it dawned on her. She knelt and wrapped her arms around Emma.
"You're not leaving here. Vanessa would never let me take you away. Gia would never let me take you away. You're not going anywhere."
"I moved in here because you and dad ran off," Emma said. "I needed a place to stay…"
"You moved in here because Vanessa and Joe thought it was best you have a stable, loving home," Mrs. Goodall promised her daughter. "That still stands, no matter what happens between us. I'm buying a house so I can be closer to you, not so I can take you away. I'm not forcing you to choose anything, Emma. If I did, I know I'd lose. All I'm asking is to be a part of your life. A part of all this. I don't deserve it, but please, Emma, if we can just be civil… I promise it'll work out."
"Vanessa and Joe have done everything for me. If you're here and you want me I can't… burden…"
"You're not a burden, Emma," Mrs. Moran said as she walked into the room. Neither Emma nor Mrs. Goodall had noticed she had knocked on then opened the door. "You're a pain in the ass sometimes, but never a burden. You're not going anywhere."
"I told you she wouldn't let me take you," Mrs. Goodall giggled. "The day you were born, the Morans came to visit, and when Vanessa held you, I couldn't convince her to let me take you back."
"You were adorable," Mrs. Moran nodded her head and then looked over to her best friend, "Though I'll bet wrestling her back from my arms was nothing compared to getting her back from Gia."
"Good lord, I thought I'd never get her back," Mrs. Goodall chuckled and then looked to Emma. "When we introduced you girls for the first time, we lay you next to Gia. You didn't do much, you were only babies, but when I picked you up to change you, all hell broke loose."
"Gia screamed," Mrs. Moran smiled. "She was not happy."
"We thought she'd settle after a couple of minutes, but she didn't. I finally put you back next to her and she cooed happily."
"We tried to separate you two several times that day. If we took you away, Gia would scream. If we took Gia away, you would scream."
"Really?" Emma asked and looked to her mother. Mrs. Goodall nodded.
"You've been like that ever since."
Emma smiled and looked down at her hands. She took a deep breath and faced her mother.
"You know… that's the first time you've ever… done that."
"Done what?"
"Talked about the past. What I was like as a baby. I didn't think you remembered."
"Of course I remembered, Emma. You're my daughter. I remember every minute I spend with you. I'm just sad there's not that many. But I know that's my fault. I know the mistake is mine. You deserve better, and fortunately, you've landed on your feet with this family."
"I have," Emma said and smiled at Mrs. Moran.
"But I'm back now," Mrs. Goodall continued, "And I'm not taking you away, I just want to… apologize for everything I've done to hurt you. Can we do that? Will you let me do that?"
"When I learned meat came from animals, and that many animals were mistreated before they died, I stopped eating meat," Emma said. "I don't like the idea of eating something that was once alive, I don't like the way some people treat their animals, and I don't think it's right. I can live a perfectly healthy life without sacrificing other lives, so why shouldn't I? That's why I decided to be a vegetarian."
"Thank you," Mrs. Goodall said with a smile before getting up. "I'll let you go back to…"
"Mom…"
"Yeah."
"Do you still have that new album?"
"Do you still need a new one?"
"I'll probably be taking a lot of pictures," Emma chuckled.
"It's downstairs on the coffee table," Mrs. Goodall answered. Emma smiled and hurried out of her seat to grab it. Mrs. Moran looked over to her best friend.
"I'll bet you that feels… are you crying?"
"No," Mrs. Goodall turned away. Mrs. Moran laughed as she came over and wrapped her arms around her best friend.
"You are crying. I thought you wanted this? She's opening up."
"I do. I do. I'm happy."
"Oh," Mrs. Moran laughed. She hugged her best friend a little closer, "That kind of crying. Aw, Claire, I'm so happy for you."
