Rum and Coke

“Look who finally decided to show up!” Uncle Kale greeted her as she opened the door. “What happened to you last night? Jared and I were waiting for you for the longest time.”

“I had to get out of my costume. You know how complicated they can be,” she replied, flashing him a quick smile as she made her way into the kitchen

“Ellie,” Uncle Kale warned her.

“It’s nothing,” she said, waving off his remark. “Do you know when Mom will be home?”

“Around dinnertime is all she told me.”

She nodded in response as she went to grab a soda and an apple.

“Honey, is there something wrong? You know you can tell me, right?”

She shut the fridge door with her hip and shrugged. “I know that. I just need her help me on a history project.” She said, off-handidly.

His eyes went wide as he tried to stifle his laughter. “Danni? History? That’s funny. Ellie, you crack me up.”

Ellie glared at her Uncle. They technically weren’t even related.

“What is with the attitude today?” he asked as he followed her into the living room. “You know, yesterday I let it pass because you had two back to back showings, but today I’m not tolerating it. You’ve never been this cold and emotionless before. Normally, you’re jumping off of everything in this house. Now, it’s like you’re dead.

Ellie stopped in her tracks and slowly turned in her spot to look at him. “What?”

“It’s like you’re dead.” He repeated as he slowly approached his niece. “What’s wrong? Is it this?” he asked, picking up a certain colored envelope with a certain seal off of the coffee table.

“What are you doing with that? Did you go through my things?” she asked, her emotions getting the better of her as she ripped the envelope out of his hands.

“Calm down, Ellie.”

“That’s illegal, you know. You’re not my father!”

He looked as if a bullet had just pierced his heart. Coming out of his initial shock, Kale raised his hands up in surrender. “And I wasn’t pretending to be! Look, I was just cleaning up the house and I found this outside of your door. Okay? I didn’t read it or anything. I just wanted to know why you got one if you two broke up eight months ago.”

“I don’t know.” She told him calmly.

“You’re a good actress, Ellie, but you’re not that good. Tell me the truth.”

She squared her shoulders and stood a little bit taller. “Because the jackass claimed me as his fiancé when he enlisted. Are you happy now?” she nearly seethed as she ran up to her room. Once she got through the door, she quickly shut and locked it before moving over to the joint bathroom and locking that door, too. She then threw the envelope on the ground before throwing herself on the bed and screaming into the covers.

“Ellie,” Danielle’s voice called softly through the wood door several hours later. “Ellie, let me in, please. I want to talk to you.”

Slowly, the young woman got up and unlocked the main door before she jumped right back on her bed.

Danielle’s brown hair was a lot duller than her daughter remembered. The mother’s roots were graying and somewhat brittle. She had a lot more wrinkles, signifying years of laughter and happy times. Her hands were thinning and becoming gnarled, too, but the light in her eyes was just as bright as Ellie remembered and her smile was just as loving. There was no doubt that she still held most of the beauty she had in her youth. “What happened, Sweetie?” she asked maternally as she sat on the bed next to her daughter’s curled up form.

“I’m sure Uncle Kale told you-”

“But I want to hear your version.”

Ellie looked at her mother with large, baleful eyes. “He’s gone, mom. Matt’s gone for good.” Her voice cracked as tears rolled down her eyes.

Danielle immediately took her daughter into her arms and held her close. “I knew something wasn’t right last night. Adam could sense it, too.” She whispered to her daughter as she kissed the side of her head. “When did it happen?”

“Last week,” Ellie muttered into her mother’s chest. “I only just got the letter Saturday and I didn’t get the chance to read it until last night before the performance. Matt claimed me as his fiancé in it. Anyways, Kale found it when he was cleaning earlier and confronted me about it. We both said things that we shouldn’t have…and…yea, we’re back to present.”

Ellie had always loved her relationship with her mom. She felt as if she could say anything to her, and the older woman wouldn’t judge her at all. Most of the time, Danielle would sit there, contended with hearing her daughter’s opinions, hopes, and dreams…rants, too, when the situation called for it. Sometimes, Danielle would offer up some advice, but most of the time she just sat and listened. It amazed her how much Ellie was like her biological father, even though the two had never met. Danielle sighed and looked adoringly down at her daughter. “I’m so sorry to hear that. But, I’m wondering how did the letter get here?”

“I brought it here before the Saturday night performance.”

“You stayed here?”

“Yea, for the entire week. No offense, Mom, but that house is really creepy at night when you’re all alone.”

Her laugh was light and airy. “I know. I used to complain to Kale all the time when he would spend the night at Jared’s when they first met.”

“TMI, mom. TMI.”

She laughed again. “Anything else you want to add?”

Ellie briefly thought about her conversation with Uncle Kale. “No, Mom. Nothing.” She replied, pushing aside her guilt.

Danielle gave Ellie the look all mothers give when they know that they’re child is lying. Instead of calling her daughter out on it, though, she accepted the lie and escorted her daughter downstairs.