“I have enough,” Grace nodded at her mother. “But I’m not sure if I’m ready yet.” The two women sat in the kitchen of their small home during their weekly visit. Grace lived with her parents, but work kept her busy. The Saturday morning coffee had become their time to connect.
“Why not?” the elderly woman asked. Her silver right eyebrow raised upward as she stared at her daughter. Grace blushed a blonde bang out of her eyes and sighed. The 24-year-old woman had long since learned that she could not lie to her mother.
“Because I’m not coming back,” the young woman said. Her mother nodded.
“You’ve known that,” the wrinkled woman said. She placed her hand on top of her daughter’s. “What changed?” Graced turned her hand over to squeeze her mother’s hand. She gave a sad laugh.
“I thought you’d be dead before I saved up that much,” she replied. She chuckled awkwardly. “It’s easier to leave if I don’t leave anyone behind,” Grace said. She felt her mother squeeze her hand in return.
“Mija, you’re ready. Sure, you can wait until your dad and I are gone..,” the old woman looked her daughter in the eyes. “…but I know I didn’t raise my daughter to be that selfish.”
“Selfish?” Grace sat up straighter at the offense. “Mom, I want to take care of you guys.” The woman smiled at her daughter’s reaction but shook her head.
“I took care of your dad, and him me, before you came along. We’ll be alright IF we get to see our daughter start on her dreams. You’ve wanted to be a knight since you could walk. We’ve given you all the support we could and you want to wait until we die before you leave? We’ve wanted this for you too, let us celebrate it with you.”
“Okay,” Grace replied and squeezed her mother’s hand. She nodded her head and tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. “You’re right, I didn’t think about it that way. I want you and dad to see me off.” She stood from the table then hugged the elderly woman. “I better go pack.”
