In A Country Of Mothers by A. M. Homes

Author:A. M. Homes
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Granta Books
Published: 2012-12-27T05:00:00+00:00

Jody lay on the bed in the final motor court of the journey paralyzed by the same thoughts that had frozen her five days before.

“You know,” her mother said from the tub, “we’re not going to be able to talk on the phone as much as we’ve been doing. It’s very expensive to call California, so let’s try and make it every other night from now on.”

Alone in the room, Jody started to cry. She didn’t mean to. Crying wasn’t her specialty. She lay there bewildered, the tears running down her face. Her mother was deserting her. She was taking her to Los Angeles as a kind of final favor, then leaving her. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

“What’s wrong?” her mother asked, coming out of the bathroom, two towels wrapped around different parts of her body, her feet leaving damp tracks on the tan carpet.

Jody sniffled. “Why did you drive twenty-six hundred miles just to be mean to me?”

“Mean to you?”

“You drove me out here. You know I’m scared, and then you say ‘By the way, don’t call home anymore.’ Who the hell am I supposed to call, the National Guard?”

“Stop it.”

Jody got up, went into the bathroom, and slammed the door. Two glasses fell off a shelf and shattered on the floor.

“What’re you doing in there?”

“Nothing,” Jody said, bending down to pick up the glass.

“Come on. Let’s find a nice place and have a decent dinner.”

“Not hungry.”

“Dont do this. I’m trying to help you. I’m not forcing you to go to Los Angeles. You wanted to come. I’m not the one who applied to graduate school. You’re scared, that’s all. Try and control yourself.”

After a few minutes her mother said, “I’m hungry.”

“So eat. Who’s stopping you?”

“Be nice. I’m your mother. Now, come on. Let’s go somewhere.”

“McDonald’s,” Jody said.

“Is that what you’re dying for?”

“McDonald’s represents certain standards, certain givens. You know what you’re getting before you even get it. They make everything in one place and then ship it all over the country. No matter where you go, the pieces are all exactly the same.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.