The Deviant by Tiana Laveen

The Deviant by Tiana Laveen

Author:Tiana Laveen [Laveen, Tiana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: The Lions Den
Published: 2020-11-15T18:30:00+00:00


CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Brave the Elements

Suri placed the old metal TV tray holding a bowl of vegetable fried rice, chopsticks, and wonton soup in front of her mother, then patted her shoulder. Mom sat on the sunken in couch she refused to replace, in her dark, sullen living room with dated, lopsided, cheap gold framed art of abstract black people swaying to music no one could hear.

“Mom, I have to head to work.” She yawned. “You know I have to stop and get my Starbucks first, my liquid crack, and then I’m on my way. Do you need anything else before I head out?”

“Nah.” The handsome woman with hair like black silk, skin like flawless mahogany satin, and the mischievous smile of a child winked at her. “I told you not to bother coming over here this morning. I can’t believe you did that.”

“You hadn’t returned my last call, so you get what cha got. You only called me this morning to stop me from coming and it was too late then. For all I knew, you could’ve been in here incapacitated. Maybe you fell on your cactus again, or something silly like that.” Suri grabbed her green scarf from the hat rack by the front door and wrapped it around her neck.

“Clyde, my cactus, survived that fall and so did I. See if I confide in you again about such an embarrassing thing.” Mom chuckled as she readjusted her fuzzy pink robe. “You treat me like I’m one step away from a nursing home sometimes, Suri. Don’t hear from your ass for two weeks straight, then when you want me and my attention, I’m supposed to be front and center. Kids. I swear.” The woman sucked her teeth and dramatically rolled her big eyes, exactly like her own. “You bangin’ on my door like I owe you money.”

“You do. I won our last game of Spades, remember? Never did get that ten dollars. You can make it up to me by fixing me some of your delicious, but seldom made, roast duck pad thai instead.”

Her mother grinned as she slowly stirred the soup, round and round in the bowl. “Now you done made me Chinese food for breakfast, this good smelling soup and hot green tea. I hate tea and you know it.” She chuckled. “Tastes like rancid, old sewer water that had a sock boiled in it.”

“Now how would you know what sock boiled sewer water tastes like, Mom? Doesn’t matter. Please drink that tea if nothing else. You don’t take care of yourself. That’s why you keep getting colds.” She grabbed her oversized sweater jacket and slid it over her head, then seized her purse.

“Suri, you better stop being so nice to me. I could get used to this. You could move in with me instead of stayin’ in my sister’s apartment while she’s galivanting in Canada. Better yet, I could move in with you. I know you’re excited just thinking about that.” They both laughed. “We’d try to kill each other before the first week was over.



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