To Caress My Day

Twigs never made it back home to her apartment that Friday night.

It all came boiling down to finances really and what she could spare during the weekend of her mother’s covertly planned Intervention relating to her cancer. Simply put, she couldn’t afford the drive back to her London apartment from her mother’s home all the way in Tewkesbury.

Seeing no other option for her to take, Twigs tried to convince her step-father, Luther, who had come over to visit her in London to talk about her mother, to take her back with him to the country. All she needed was to make a quick stop to her apartment to pack a lightweight weekend bag before they left and then they could be on their way with no added deflections!

Luther didn’t need her to beg and plea for a favor. She was his beloved step-daughter! Of course he’d gladly take her back with him to Tewkesbury.

However, the consequence that could bring was ruining the secrecy of Araceli’s intervention, specifically about her attitude towards her cancer. She couldn’t know her daughter was there in Tewkesbury, it could destroy everything especially since she had no reason to drop by for a visit, not to mention it was so out of character for her not to call first! Hating to have to shelter his own step-daughter apart from them, Luther instructed Twigs to research lodging outside of their house. She hadn’t gotten an hour in her research before a light bulb popped on in his head. Luther promptly informed her of a good friend of his who was at present renting out her cottage at an agreeably cheap price.

It was a place called Olive Cottage due to the olive tree growing in it’s backyard.

The brick structure was a 19th century small cottage that contained the host’s bedroom, a guest room with a double bed and dresser, a very clean updated tub and shower, a huge kitchen that would have be shared with the owner of the cottage, of course, a small closed-off lounge room for guests that contained a small black fireplace for warmth, and finally a fenced-in backyard.

Every inch of the place, according to the pictures on the website Luther directed Twigs to, was utterly cozy and completely updated to perfection. The size was excellent for Twigs and all of her needs, and was pretty cheap at only 43 pounds a night.

Twigs prayed she’d be able to manage the low price for at least the weekend.
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Twigs was sitting alone on the gray couch in the lounge room of the Olive Cottage that Saturday morning. She was quietly reading a book to herself that she’d selected from the built-in shelves when she heard a knock at the front door. With the owner, Patty, away for the day, she was the only one left in the whole cottage to answer it.

Setting her book aside on a light wooden table between her couch and its matching twin, Twigs rose from her seat to head for the front door wearing an oversize Tupac shirt, and baggy jeans with her silky curls plopped on top of her head in a messy bun style. She lingered to sneak a peek through the windows at her visitor and spotted her step-father. Paranoid, Luther was glancing over his shoulder, his brown eyes suspicious of all of his surroundings, and she knew precisely why. Opening the door for him, Twigs quickly stepped aside and hurriedly waved him in. “Come in, quickly, before someone sees you!”

Swiftly, Luther entered the Olive Cottage and shut the door behind him. Still leery of being both seen and overheard of the information he wanted to deliberate over with his step-daughter, he scanned the entryway of the small home. “Where is Patty, Tahliah?”

“She went into town for the day to visit friends and to grab some ingredients for dinner tonight.” Twigs informed him of the owner’s whereabouts while securely locking the front door. “Don’t worry, we have the entire property to ourselves for most of the day.”

The two chose to congregate in the living room where Twigs had been reading before his arrival. Their mission today was to go over the arrangement of Araceli’s Intervention and smooth out all the details. After shedding his coat and Twigs shut all the curtains, Luther began. “I still feel like this intervention should take place as soon as possible, Tahliah. The longer it takes, the more paranoid I seem to be becoming and it’s showing. I’m almost convinced somehow your mother knows how to read my mind, and so it makes it difficult to be around her in fear I might be the one to blurt out our plan and ruin it!”

“As long as we promise to keep things calm when we do it, I don’t have a problem with initiating it right away, dad.” Twigs conceded with a nod, trying to keep calm herself too. Hearing how paranoid her step-father was becoming was only feeding into her own paranoia. She too had strange fears that her mother might somehow know what they were up to behind her back. It wasn’t at all possible she’d know, but that didn’t stop Twigs from feeling so nauseous over it she couldn't bring herself to eat breakfast this morning. “I’m just gonna drop by and ‘surprise’ her with a visit and then very gently veer the subject into her cancer.”

Luther couldn’t withhold the weary sigh he expelled at his step-daughter’s game plan. It wasn’t that he thought it was stupid approach, it's just…he knew his wife and so he knew exactly how she was gonna respond to it. It truly got under his skin because he himself had seen it a trillion times already himself! “But Tahliah, you know what your mother is gonna say. She’s gonna tell us she’s fine, like always!”

Simultaneously, the two rolled their eyes in mutual awareness and condolences. Of course that was what Araceli would say!

Running a hand over her face, Twigs lamented. “God, I’m sick of hearing ‘I’m fine’ all the time!”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing!” Luther mimicked his wife with a furious shake of his head.

“Everything is gonna be fine!” Twigs added in, trying to parrot her mother’s voice this time.

“It’s nice to hear we’re on the same boat when it comes to your mother. I too am sick to death of hearing ‘everything will be fine’ from her. I’d rather rest easy KNOWING everything will be fine!” Luther vented, his beefy hands curling into two powerless fists on his lap. “But that might not happen anytime soon. I’m sure the only way my heavy heart will finally get some rest is through Seth’s medical connections. With money and power like his, he has to have access to something greater we can offer your mother.”

“I believe that too.” Twigs agreed with him, trying to keep her mind solely on her mother right now instead of floating to her handsome boyfriend. She’ll be facing a formidable obstacle soon, and will need all the strength she needs in order to exceed it. Seth…he would only make her incompetent from longing after him. She couldn’t allow herself to be helpless right now, her mother needed her! “I’m afraid until then we only have our plan to rely on, and that is to convince her to sit down and hear us out! If we’re lucky, she’ll finally listen and see things our way.”

“I pray she will.” Luther sighed again. Leaning back against the couch, he asked Twigs. “Are you busy at all today, Tahliah? If not, do you wanna pick up some lunch with me? It might be my last meal alive especially when your mother found out I’ve been plotting an intervention behind her back.”

Twigs had to laugh at how over-dramatic her step-dad could be at times. Her mother wasn’t an abusive person, physically or verbally. She was the strongest and most fascinating woman Twigs had ever known and everyday she was honored to have been chosen to be her daughter. She knew Luther felt just as lucky to have her in his life too. Still, it was funny to see them bicker at times in the harmless adorable fashion they do, especially when her step-father acted like her mother was the type of person to whip her man into shape anytime he talked slick or did something wrong.

When Twigs thought about her and Seth, and where they might be years from now, she prayed they’d be like her parents. She wanted that bond with him, the love, the marriage, and growing old together. She didn’t care how many arguments they would have to get there, she just wanted forever with him.

“Jesus, dad, give it rest!” Twigs laughed at her step-father as she got up to put on her black platform boots and a long brown shaggy coat.

“What? It’s true!” Luther defended with a playful grin as he shrugged his own coat back on.

“Mom is not gonna kill you.” Twigs promised him, grinning back. “Maybe she’ll threaten she will, but for the many years you two have been together she has yet to murder you in cold blood!”

“Perhaps I haven't pushed all the right buttons yet.” Luther shrugged, watching Twigs undo her messy bun and cram her hair under a cap in an attempt to conceal her identity better. The people of Tewkesbury knew them, and so they didn’t want anyone to recognize her and go mentioning it to Araceli. If that were to happen the intervention would be corrupted.

Slipping on her thick black shades, Twigs giggled. “Whatever you say, dad, whatever you say.”