The Mother's Threat by Susan Specht Oram

Author:Susan Specht Oram [Specht Oram, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

21

Flora looks beat when she comes back to the office. She’s got dark circles under her eyes from working long hours, and her hair lacks luster. If anyone was in need of a makeover, it’s all of us at Outrigger Services.

Flora is breathing hard. She wipes a sheen of sweat from her brow and says, “The anarchists are running down Commercial busting windows. Protesters are following them and helping themselves. Police officers aren’t around to stop the looting. And two people are spray painting buildings with messages like, Take control and Fight back.”

I hand her a water bottle, and she opens it and drinks.

I say, “They need more than five cops on the force for something like this. They’re understaffed and overwhelmed. I hope the Chief will call in reinforcements from other towns.”

Vincent rubs his forehead. “I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes facing angry activists.”

My phone rings, and it’s my neighbor, Marvin, from across the street.

I answer it and say, “Hello?”

His voice is hoarse, as if he’s been yelling, “I called the police about a disturbance at your place. But they said they’re too busy to deal with it now.”

My pulse quickens, and I grip the phone tight. My body breaks out in a sweat.

In a tight voice, I say, “What’s going on at my house?”

“People are dancing around a bonfire in your yard. I went over and told them to leave. But one woman said she was your mother, and she had permission. Is that right? Did you invite them to be there and raise hell while you’re away?”

I smack my forehead. Vincent and Flora watch me with wide eyes. My mom is making a tough week much worse. When I was young, she was often in the sunroom sitting on the floor, meditating with crystals close at hand. I made my own peanut butter sandwiches. Sure, I made a mess, but I tried to clean it up. I had to eat.

Blowing out a breath, I say, “My mother does not have permission to be there. I told her and her friends to leave yesterday. I’ll be over right away.”

“Bring help, because there’s a lot of them.”

I hang up and turn to Flora and Vincent. “There’s a group camped out at my house, and we need to send them away. The police weren’t able to respond to my neighbor’s call.”

Vincent says, “And your mother is there?”

I sigh. “Yes, she is, and I wish she wasn’t anywhere near this town. I didn’t need to deal with this, not this week and not tonight.”

The three of us pile into my car. As I drive, I keep an eye out for patrol cars, given that we’re violating the curfew. There’s no police presence. Away from downtown, the streets are quiet.

I roll the window down for fresh air and take a deep breath of briny sea air coming off Cedar Channel. The smell normally calms me, but there’s no hope of that now. Not when I’m about to confront my mother, Daisy, the threat.

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