Battling the Loss You Live For.

“What is it, Mom?” I asked, my eyebrows crunched together, slightly confused. She’d asked us both to come down, to sit at the table and have a ‘chat’. She looked uncertain, on edge.
“…Okay, now don’t take this the wrong way, but…” Mom started, pulling her reading glasses off. She laid both her arms on the table, resting her head in her hand, then sighing, sitting up straight.
“Well… Sazzy, you’re going to be four months pregnant soon, and Frank, you’re about to start college… and… well…”
“Mum, this is actually painful,” Sazzy said a light smile on her face.
Over the last couple of weeks, Sazzy had gotten into the habit of calling Mom… Mum. It was cute, weird and… it was just, right. Sazzy had told me that that’s the way she saw her – like a Mom, and nothing less.
Also – Sazzy had started getting sleepier and feeling groggier than usual. She still had no signs of her baby bump yet, which she was awaiting.
“Okay, okay,” Mom started again, sighing. “Well, I was thinking that it would be best for you both – and the baby – if you find a place of your own.”
“You’re kicking us out?” I asked a mock offended expression on my face. Mom rolled her eyes, throwing me a sarcastic smile at me.
“Shut up, Frank. I’m being serious. If you move soon, it would be best for you two and the baby. And you could both have all the space you need,” she explained, her eyes averting to Sazzy. She shrugged.
“I think it’s a good idea, actually,” Sazzy said, nodding. Mom smiled at her.
“My only concern is… well, when Frank goes to college, you’d be alone and stuff, so-”
“You’d come and visit me?” Sazzy asked, finishing off Mom’s statement with hopeful eyes and eagerness.
“Of course!” Mom laughed, nodding. Sazzy beamed.
“Wait, hang on, but if this is really going to happen-”
“Don’t worry… I’ve pre-planned and re-thought,” Mom said, smiling fondly as she pulled a few bits of paper from the small pile on the table in front of her, handing them to Sazzy. I lent over, looking over them and taking the first one, scanning it.
“Flats…?”
“Flats, bungalows and maisonettes,” Mom corrected pointing to the papers. Sazzy sifted through them, stopping at one second to last.
“Oh! This one is a three-bedroom!” she said excitedly, touching my arm to gain my attention. I looked over, a little wary. I wasn’t really sure – where was the rent money going to come from? I would work, yeah, but I wouldn’t allow Sazzy to. She gets tired walking up the stairs, let alone working in her condition.
“Yeah, I really liked that one too; see, it’s only down the road, so-”
“Hang on… Mom, this is to buy, not rent,” I said, pointing at the price of the flat in red lettering.
“Yeah… so?” she said, her eyes narrowed in confusion.
“But… how would we pay for that? I don’t have that much saved for-”
“Frank… me and your father are buying it for you two.”
“What?” Sazzy said, her eyes widening and her mouth slightly agape, my expression matching hers.
“What are you talking about? We can’t-”
“Frank. We are not going to kick you two out of the house into a rented flat, we wouldn’t do that to our kids,” Mom explained, a soft smile on her face. I looked at her, and she sighed.
“We’re selling up the house in England, and using that for the flat here for you two,” she stated, answering my mental question.
“You’re selling the house…? But we… we can’t let you do that for us, Linda, we’d rent-”
“Nonsense. What are we going to do with a house there, anyway? If and when we do visit, there is always friends’ houses to stay at, if not, hotels,” she explained, then adding, “We don’t want you to worry about it. And we’re going to pay for it, whether you like it or not. So don’t argue.”
“But Mom-”
“Frank. Don’t argue,” she said, shaking her head.
“We love you guys,” I said, smiling, and Mom grinned at us.
“Pick a flat, kids,” she said softly, pointing back to the papers. Sazzy smiled at her in thanks, looking back to the papers in our hands.