The Stalked Assistant (Chapter-9)

About 35 minutes later I'm walking into my apartment, traffic was horrible tonight, and by the time I lay my purse on the kitchen counter, I'm completely exhausted.

I hear a few soft meows coming towards me and I see poohbear rounding the corner, my poor baby isn't used to me being gone all day. I bend down to my knees and scoop him up into my arms when he gets within reach and I give him some cuddles.

"You missed mommy today, baby? Mommy is sorry I was gone all day but you want that yummy cat food and all those toys I buy you don't you? Yes, you do" I talk to him while I pet him, and he runs his head along my neck purring loudly.

Yes I talk to my cat and yes I call him my baby, I found him outside my apartment building last year, it was cold, I couldn't afford to take him to the vet and I couldn't leave him there so I had quickly run to the closest pet store I could find and grabbed him a few containers of baby cat milk.

I hand-fed my baby for about 2 weeks before he started to get interested in the soft kitten food I had bought him.

Remembering that I need to call my momma, I set pooh bear on my kitchen counter and dig out my phone, he will jump down when he's ready, he likes to take his naps on here even though I know I have fussed at him hundreds of times over it.

I'm feeling nice today for being away from him so I'll let him be for tonight, he's going to have to get used to his momma being a working woman.

Unlocking my phone, I scroll through my contact list until I find my mother's number and press call.

It's around 5:40 so they should be inside for the day, well I say they but mainly my mother will be in the kitchen around this time cooking supper and my father is probably double checking making sure all the animals are okay before heading inside.

My father would stay outside all day and all night if my momma let him but being that he was getting older, she likes him inside for nighttime.

She answers on the third ring.

"Hey, sweetie, I was hoping you would call back tonight. I was wondering how your first day went" she says, and sure enough she is in the kitchen, I hear pots banging around.

"Sorry momma, I was in my office, neck-deep in misplaced files" I apologized, feeling bad for not talking to her more.

"I figured you were busy baby, no worries, but tell me. How did it go?" She asked.

I chuckle softly, not even knowing where to start, I don't want to rush her off the phone, not when I have not talked to her in a few weeks.

I know I'm a horrible daughter.

"You want a short or long version, momma?" I asked her knowing, even if I was offering a short one she would pick the long one. 

I walk towards the fridge as I ask her and peek my head inside the freezer, it's too late to start cooking anything and after my first day I will admit, I'm a bit tired.

"Long of course." She snorts out as if to say you know me, she likes to gossip.

"Well, I was late. I didn't give myself enough time for the traffic and then once I got to work I met this rude girl that basically told me my job was to play dog!" I whined like a damn child.

"A dog? Well, what's her position?" My mom asked, sounding put out about the whole thing.

"She answers phones and points the way basically" I snort out, actually rolling my eyes and the thought, I bet I walk around more during the day than she does.

"So who's the real dog then?" She asked, which caused me to gasp in fake shock.

"Momma" I laughed out, she always could make me laugh when I was feeling down about something.

"Go on, finish the rest. I want to know everything honey" she says and I hear her running some water in the background, probably thawing some meat out. 

That's one thing about my momma, she doesn't skip the meals, whenever you cook you know you're going to be full afterwards and she always has something sweet for dessert.

"I made a new work, friend. Her name is Amanda. She seems pretty cool" I tell her, I decided to start with that because I don't know what to say about Claiborne yet.

"Oh, really? Oh, sweetie, that's wonderful. It's about time you find someone to hang with" she says making me smile, I don't know how many times I complained to my mother that I was bored on the weekends, of course, she always suggested that I go home for a visit but I didn't want to spend most of my days off from school on an aeroplane.

"Yeah, I know. We went out to eat. I got a burger and momma let me tell you! Guess how much the burger was. I'll just tell you because I know you won't be able to guess. It was 15 dollars and it tasted like McDonald's"! I tell her, still very upset that I spent almost half of my weekly grocery money.

"What? 15 dollars for a burger? That's outrageous!" She shouts, completely understanding the reason I'm upset, growing up we didn't have much, you know the life of ranchers and there isn't any way that my momma would have ever paid for a burger that cost 15 dollars. "How's your boss? He is nice?"

She changed the subject too quickly, I know that's what she has been wondering most about and she can't hide it.

"Well we had a couple of disagreements today," I say, trying to sound light about it but as a mother knows she knows I'm keeping something from her.

"Hmm. What happened?"

"First he said my dress wasn't good enough, then he freaking said something about my sticky notes!" I growl out still, annoyed about that.

Sticky notes are perfectly okay to use.

"I'll have him know that I still use Sticky notes for even the important things!" She huffs out, sees? She gets it. She understands.

"Yeah, but he ended up paying for my lunch today, so I guess the day ended well. I'm going to try not to be late tomorrow." I tell her, as I pop a microwave pizza into the oven real quick.

I'm starving and I shouldn't be because I ate way too much today for lunch, but I wasn't going to waste 15 dollars.

"Well, that's the least he could do" she hums.

"Whatcha making?" I asked, I do miss her cooking, I haven't had one of her meals in years and I miss them, she is the best cook I know and I'm not just bragging because she is my momma.

"Your father is actually baking some ribs on the barbecue pit, and I'm working on the potato salad." 

Ugh that's my favourite thing that she makes, it's so good when I was younger she would leave it inside the house while she joined my daddy outside and I would sneak so much, that when it came time to actually eat supper, I was too full.

"Mail me some?" I asked as a joke but then I realized my mistake, why did I even bring something like that up for goodness sake?

"If you came home more, I wouldn't have to send you my food, Izzy," she says in a stern voice I know it's just because she misses me and I know my dad does too.

"I know mom, I know. I promise I'll come for a visit soon, okay?" I try to assure her, but I know she won't believe me.

I have been saying that for a very long time and she probably doesn't believe me at all, I don't know how many times over the years I have said that.

"Yeah. I hope so. Your father misses you."

"I miss yall. I promise momma. As soon as I find the time, I will come okay?" I tell her gently but also try to make her understand it's not that I don't want to go home and see my parents, it's just that I don't have much time to be able to spend days at a time states away.

"I hear your father calling for me. I'll go fill him in on your first day. Love you, baby"

"I love you too, momma, give daddy my love," I tell her, now I really missed my parents. They have always been so good to me, they never missed anything in my life, not a school play, not one single volleyball game, nothing.

They are seriously the best parents.

"I will. Bye-bye," she says before hanging up the phone leaving me in silence, I lay my phone down and rub my forehead. 

I will make my way back home one day soon.