Uncharted

"You deserve a few days off, Bailey. Don't worry about it. We'll be alright without you."
"Are you sure, Mr. Alred? I know this is really short notice and I don't want to..."
"Bailey, stop. Enjoy some time with your mother. We'll see you in a few days."

I couldn't help but curse under my breath as I hung up the phone. Secretly, I had been hoping that my boss was going to tell me that he absolutely needed me for the next few days so I would have to spend as little time as possible with my mother. The thought occurred to me that I could just end up lying to my mother and hiding out at work for a few hours each day, but I didn't have the heart to do that to her.

My feet carried me quickly through the airport, trying my best to find my Mom's gate. Part of me hoped that she would get lost just as easily as I would and it would magically be Friday before I could find her. Sadly, this dream was quickly killed when a hyena laugh came from behind me.

"Bee-Bee!!"

I couldn't help but cringe. I wasn't sure if it was the heinous nickname from my childhood coming back to haunt me, or just my mother's voice. Taking a deep breath, I turned on my heels and forced a smile. "Mom!"

She pulled me in for a tight hug, and I tapped her shoulder softly, really not wanting to be touching her. "How are you doing, Bee? You look great! Minus the few pounds you've put on. Are you watching your diet?" Her hand reached out to touch my stomach, but I batted it away quickly.

"Good to see you too," I muttered under my breath, knowing that this was going to be the beginning of a long, long three days.

-x-

It had only been three hours since my mother had arrived and I was already ready to pull my hair out. She had made a comment on nearly everything in my life. My apartment was too small, my stomach was too big, my clothes were too old, anything she could pick apart, she was. It had gotten so far under my skin that I thought of taking my mother to the one person that could get her to shut the hell up; Sara.

"She just had a baby girl," I clarified as we drove into downtown Chicago. "And I know she'd love to see you!"

I could hear my mother huff in the passenger's seat, and it made me laugh. Sara and my mother were constantly at each other's throats. Unlike me, Sara wasn't one to take my mother's constant nagging and criticism sitting down. It wasn't so much that I wanted to subject Sara to my mother's torture, but my mom was usually a bit nicer after spending an hour or two with my best friend, and I knew that would help me greatly.

"That's great, but do we really have to go see her?" She questioned, looking at me with her puppy dog eyes.

"I have to drive her back to her apartment."
"What? The deadbeat father can't do that?"
"Trust me, Mom. Her husband is FAR from a deadbeat."
"Oh really? I assume you just adore him, don't you? I don't see how anyone could marry that..."
"MOM! Stop. This is my best friend you're talking about. And her husband is a professional hockey player, actually."
"You know my opinion on professional sports."

Of course I did. My mother hated the idea of professional sports. She thought they were the biggest waste of time. People who played them should just find a "real" job, as she would put it. When she was actually married to my father, his life was pro sports, and she hated every moment of it. Sadly for her, I had the same love as my Dad.

"He's a good guy, Mom," I tried to urge.

"Maybe for Sara. You deserve better. Promise me that you'll never fall for a hockey player." Disgust dripped from her voice as she spoke.

I shifted the ring on my left finger slightly. "Speaking of..." I began, but my words were quickly cut off.

"I think you need to make this turn, Bee."

-x-

Thankfully for me, my Mom decided to stay in the car while I went into the hospital to find Sara. When I walked into her room, she was busy packing up the rest of her things while baby Avery slept. Me, being the child I am at heart, sat down in the wheel chair they had pushed to her room and began to spin around in circles.

"You better not teach my child these things," Sara said without even turning her head in my direction.

"Well, not yet," I offered, stopping the wheel chair. "Though I promise I'll never teach her any bad things ever if you promise to piss my Mom off so badly that she decides she needs to go home two days early."

Sara couldn't help but laugh before shaking her head. "As much as you mother hates me, I highly doubt I have that ability. You're on your own."

She continued to rustle through her things while I pouted in the chair. I began spinning myself around again, a trick I learned when I tore my ACL and MCL in high school, before Sara started walking towards me. "Move," she commanded. I quickly obeyed and watched as she took a seat where I had been. "Oh, and here. Patrick gave these to me, but I can't really use them."

Taking the envelope in her hand, I pulled out two tickets to that night's hockey game. "What am I going to do with these?" I questioned.

"Take your mother," she demanded. "Bond, or something. You're going to have to get along with her sooner or later because I'm tired of fighting that battle for you."

"Some best friend you are," I huffed before sliding the tickets in my pocket. "And how exactly do I convince my mother to go to a hockey game with me?"

Sara pointed to her child before she started to speak. "Well, I assume she doesn't know about the engagement, since your mother is about as observant as...well..she's just not very observant. I doubt she has noticed that rock on your finger." I handed Sara her baby girl before we started down the hall and she kept talking. "Maybe this will give you a chance to introduce her to Jonny, get her to a hockey game, and knock out your engagement announcement all in one swing."

Sighing, I knew Sara had a point. My Mother didn't even know I had a fiancé, let alone that he was one of the best hockey players in the league. Maybe taking her to a hockey game would be the easiest way to ease her into this... or maybe it was suicide.