After spending 20 years drawing pictures of the mother who abandoned her, Alexa finally got her chance at reconciliation. But sometimes, a person\u2019s love comes with hidden motives, and the truth behind her mother\u2019s sudden return would force Alexa to make a hard choice.<\/p>\n
The memory of that day is crystal clear in my mind, even after 20 years. I was five, clutching my stuffed bunny on Grandma Rose\u2019s front porch as my mom knelt in front of me. Her mascara left black streaks down her cheeks while she explained why she had to leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetie, Mark doesn\u2019t want children in his new home,\u201d Mom said, her voice wobbling. \u201cBut I love you very much. This is just\u2026 the best thing for everyone right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t understand much at the time. Mark, her new husband, had come into the picture after my own dad passed away a few years before. He never liked me. Even as a child, I could tell. But I couldn\u2019t understand why we were at my grandmother\u2019s (Dad\u2019s mom) porch.<\/p>\n
My tiny fingers gripped the bunny tighter as my mother kissed my forehead. The smell of her flowery perfume lingered in the air long after she walked to her car. That\u2019s when I realized she was leaving me\u2026 for good.<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, please don\u2019t go!\u201d I called out, but she didn\u2019t turn back. The sound of her car faded into the distance, and I was left alone with my tears.<\/p>\n
Behind me, the screen door creaked open. \u201cOh, my word! She couldn\u2019t even ring the doorbell?\u201d Grandma Rose wondered, looking back and forth to the street with her hands on her waist.<\/p>\n
Her gaze landed on me, and immediately, her warm arms wrapped around my shaking frame. \u201cOh, sweetheart,\u201d she whispered, pulling me close. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, sweetie. You\u2019re staying with me for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
I buried my face in her soft cardigan, but nothing could stop my sobs. Despite my confusion, I knew that my mother had abandoned me.<\/p>\n
That night, Grandma tucked me into bed in her guest room, which would become my room for the next 15 years. She read me stories until I fell asleep, exhausted from crying.<\/p>\n
As the days turned into weeks and months, Grandma Rose became my entire world. She walked me to school every morning and never missed a single play, always sitting in the front row with her proud smile.<\/p>\n
The smell of a home-cooked meal was almost permanent in her home, and Grandma would always listen to every detail about my classes and my friends while we ate.<\/p>\n
But I still missed Mom.<\/p>\n
In secret, I started drawing pictures of her. In my childish scrawls, we were always together and happy. Mom pushing me on a swing. Mom and I having a tea party. Mom braiding my hair.<\/p>\n
I kept these drawings in a shoebox under my bed, adding new ones whenever the ache in my heart grew too strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mom loves you in her own way,\u201d Grandma would say whenever I asked about her. \u201cBut sometimes people don\u2019t know how to show love properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The years passed, turning Grandma\u2019s brown hair with gray streaks to almost completely white. My life moved on, too. I graduated from high school and then college, eventually finding a job in marketing and moving into my own apartment in the city.<\/p>\n
Through it all, Grandma remained my rock, my compass.<\/p>\n
Then last year, my world shattered. The call came on a Tuesday evening while I was working on a presentation. Grandma had suffered a massive heart attack. By the time I reached the hospital, she was gone.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t even remember the funeral. I was just happy that one of Grandma\u2019s friends stepped up to organize it. For me, everything was a blur.<\/p>\n
The following weeks were hollow, and I felt like a ghost in my own apartment. Life was meaningless. I kept reaching for my phone to call Grandma, only to remember I couldn\u2019t anymore.<\/p>\n
Then one rainy afternoon, someone knocked on my door. I wasn\u2019t expecting anyone, but I dragged myself up to answer it. There, on my doorstep, stood my mother.<\/p>\n
Twenty years had left their mark on her face, but I recognized her instantly. Her hair was styled expensively, and she wore designer clothes instead of the simple dresses I remembered. But her eyes were the same deep brown as mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlexa,\u201d she said softly. \u201cIt\u2019s so amazing to see you. I\u2026 I heard about your grandma. I\u2019m so sorry I couldn\u2019t go to the funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood frozen in my doorway, unable to speak. A thousand emotions crashed through me at once. I didn\u2019t know what to say to the woman who had abandoned me so long ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I come in?\u201d she asked. \u201cI know I don\u2019t deserve it, but I\u2019d like to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart screamed no, but some small part of me, that little girl who\u2019d spent years drawing pictures of her absent mother, whispered yes. I stepped aside.<\/p>\n
Mom, who I now thought of as Evelyn, sat on my couch and told me her story. Apparently, her marriage to Mark (the man who never wanted children) had fallen apart after only five years. She said she\u2019d regretted leaving me every single day.<\/p>\n
But she\u2019d been too ashamed to come back for me. I didn\u2019t know how true her words were, but I listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I can\u2019t make up for lost time,\u201d she said, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. \u201cBut I miss you so much. When I heard about Rose, I realized life is too short for regrets, so I found your address. Please, give me a chance to be your mother again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to believe her. God, how I wanted to believe her. So I did something that would have made Grandma Rose shake her head: I let Evelyn back into my life.<\/p>\n
At first, it seemed perfect. She called regularly, took me to lunch, and asked about my job and friends. She cried when I showed her old photos of me and Grandma Rose during my teenage years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I\u2019d had time to ask for her forgiveness, too. She did me a huge favor by raising you after losing her own son,\u201d Evelyn said, squeezing my hand. \u201cI hope that, wherever she is, she\u2019s happy that we\u2019re together again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded, wishing for the same. But I was not an innocent girl.<\/p>\n
Despite letting her into my life, my intuition screamed at me during every interaction with Evelyn. Because no matter how genuine her words seemed, several things felt off.<\/p>\n
She was always on her phone, texting constantly. She\u2019d also take photos of us together, making me pose and smile, but I never saw these photos posted anywhere. She never shared them with me either.<\/p>\n
And I didn\u2019t know anything about her life since Mark. When I asked, Evelyn always avoided the subject, deflecting with questions about me.<\/p>\n
Finally, one night, we were having dinner at my apartment, and she went to the bathroom. Her phone buzzed on the table. I shouldn\u2019t have looked, but the screen flashed with a notification.<\/p>\n
The message preview made me frown:<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t wait to meet your daughter\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
It was from someone named Richard.<\/p>\n
With shaking hands, I picked up the phone and discovered it had no lock. I clicked and pulled up the full message thread. The first thing I saw was a photo Evelyn had just taken of us.<\/p>\n
She had sent it to this Richard earlier that evening, according to the timestamps.<\/p>\n
Under it was her message:<\/p>\n
\u201cJust me and my daughter having the best time together. I told you, I\u2019m all about family\u2764\ufe0f\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach lurched. She was lying to him, pretending to be a doting mother. But why? I scrolled up a bit and discovered the reason.<\/p>\n
Richard had two young kids, and he was looking for a woman who would become a maternal figure in their lives because their biological mother had disappeared.<\/p>\n
Evelyn clearly wanted him, so she faked having a close relationship with me. She wasn\u2019t here because she missed me or regretted leaving me. She was using our \u201creunion\u201d to impress some man.<\/p>\n
I put the phone back down and stared at the wall. She\u2019ll pick any man over me. Every time.<\/p>\n
When Evelyn came out of the bathroom, I didn\u2019t confront her. Instead, I went to my bedroom and returned with the old shoebox full of childhood drawings. I handed it to her without a word.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d she asked, opening it. Her eyes widened at the stack of faded paintings. \u201cOh, Alexa\u2026 did you draw these?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery few weeks,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cFor years after you left.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hugged me tight, tears streaming down her face. \u201cBaby, I\u2019m so sorry. I\u2019ll never leave you again,\u201d she promised. \u201cWe\u2019re family and that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
My arms didn\u2019t wrap around her. But she didn\u2019t notice\u2026 or I suppose she didn\u2019t care. I let her stay over, and the next morning, she left with more promises to call soon.<\/p>\n
But I made no such commitments in return, and the fact that she left the shoebox in my guest bedroom was more than enough confirmation that this was just a means to an end for her.<\/p>\n
When she called, I didn\u2019t answer. When she showed up at my apartment days later, knocking and shouting my name, I sat silently until she gave up and left.<\/p>\n
I felt better when she wasn\u2019t around. So, one night, I took the shoebox of drawings to the dumpster behind my building.<\/p>\n
As I threw it in, I remembered something Grandma Rose once told me:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are a strong, capable young woman, Alexa. Never forget your worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was right, so I chose not to be part of whatever Evelyn had planned. I wouldn\u2019t be part of her life either. I was choosing myself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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