Chapter 19 : When Mom Comes to Town

**Cat POV "Cat, honey!" my mom gushed she shoved her phone in her pocket and jumped at me, hugging me around the neck. "I've been so worried about you." "You've been calling me non-stop all day. I've been working," I said, patting her back slightly. "I've been calling because I'm worried. I can't get Aaron or Barbs on the phone, either." "Why are you calling now?" I asked. "Is something wrong?" "That's what I was going to ask you," she said. "You've been so distant." "No more than usual." I shrugged and stepped back. My mom looked rough. I noticed for the first time that she looked tired with big, purple bags under her eyes. Her hair wasn't shiny or brushed, and her clothes were crumpled. Ever since she started dating, she'd never let her appearance look that messy. "You know, I drove three hours to get here. I even went to the hotel where your development firm is. That's how worried I was," she said. "Mom, you didn't have to make the trip," I said. "I've got to get back to work. I'll let the two of you catch up," Adelle muttered in the background. I turned to her, searching for excuses to call her back so I didn't have to be alone with my mom. Whatever news she was bringing, it couldn't be good. Not with how messy she appeared. "The receptionist at the firm told me you were working all the way out here. She gave me directions, but I got lost. This place is massive, and I've never been to the city before," my mom continued, not even acknowledging Adelle's absence. "Mom, can you calm down, please?" I asked, grabbing her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Cat. I've been worried about you. Barbs told me that you and Aaron got in a huge fight. She wouldn't tell me anything else, and I couldn't get anyone on the phone," she said, throwing her arms in the air. "Oh, I didn't know you'd talked to her," I said. I felt a little betrayed, again. Barbs had told Aaron where I was staying. Now, she'd talked to my mom and gotten her all worked up. "Don't be mad at Barbs. I pushed. She wouldn't tell me more than that because she didn't want to feel like she was betraying you," she added. It was like she was reading my mind. "I know I should have called you sooner to talk about Aaron and everything. I've been dealing with a lot, getting used to working at a new job and that situation," I added. My mom shook her head and brushed her fingers through her hair. She sighed and grabbed my hands, giving me one of those "mom" looks. I hadn't seen her give me a "mom" look in so long I'd almost forgotten what it was like to get one. "Aaron and I have had fights before. Why are you so worried about this one?" I asked. I pulled my hands from my mom's and rubbed them on my thighs. "Not like this," she said, shaking her head again. "How can you tell, Mom? Has Aaron said something?" I asked, testing the waters slightly. For the time being, she wasn't accusing me of anything, which meant Aaron hadn't blamed everything on me. At least, that was a plus. "Wedding vendors," she said, snorting softly. "What about them?" I asked, crossing my arms. My mom sighed and shook her head. "Honey, they've been calling me because you missed appointments with them this week. That's not like you, not even a little bit." "Oh…" I looked down and bit my lower lip. In all the confusion, I'd forgotten to follow up with wedding vendors that the wedding was off. I'd even forgotten that I'd made appointments with them for when I arrived in the city. As the mother of the bride, my mom was the backup contact if they couldn't get in touch with me. "Right, I'll start calling them back tomorrow," I said, instinctively reaching for my phone. My mom didn't know what had happened. She still thought that the wedding was happening. I'd have to break the news to her. I glanced out the living room window. It was a nice day out. The sun was shining, and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. "How about we go for a walk? I can show you the development, and we can catch up on everything?" I suggested. I held my arm out to the door. "You're scaring me, Cat. Something is going on, and I need to know what," my mom said, stamping her foot. "I know. I'll tell you everything, but I think we should get out and get some fresh air," I suggested. My mom sighed and shrugged helplessly. I grinned at her. "There are a lot of hot construction workers out there." Smiling lightly, my mom put her hands on her hips. "Okay, okay." We headed out into the development. I walked my mom down a sidewalk where a lot of construction workers were pouring a new foundation. My mom's mood instantly lifted. She smiled and quickly brushed her fingers through her hair and pinched her cheeks. "Mom, you look fine," I assured her, shaking my head. "I can never be too sure," she said. I rolled my eyes and looped my arm through hers so she'd stop playing with her hair. "This is the development you're working on?" she asked. "It is. I'm coming into the project kind of in the middle, but Mr. Carter, the company owner, likes my ideas and wants to actually use them to make changes here," I explained. "Mr. Carter, how old is he?" my mom asked, giggling. "Mom, he's my age. Don't even go there," I groaned, glancing at the construction workers. My mom waved to them and blew a kiss. Most of them didn't take notice of her. A lot of them were young, anyway, my age. They wouldn't be interested in a woman old enough to be their mother. She didn't seem to care, just waving and winking at them. "Can you stop, please?" I asked. I grabbed her hand to stop her from waving at them. "Oh, you don't have to be such a hard a*s," my mom whined. "I'm just trying to have some fun." "You came here to talk to me, so let's talk. I don't think you came all this way to check on my wedding plans," I muttered. "I did come to check on that. Especially since you haven't been answering my calls," she argued, looking at me with accusing eyes. "You think I don't care about your wedding and well-being?" "I'm sure you do, Mom, in your way. But you weren't texting and calling me nonstop days ago," I pointed out. My mom sighed and looked at her feet as we walked. "You're right. Things have been… well, not ideal," she said. "What's going on?" I asked. I pulled her to a stop and stared at her. Whatever was going on with my mom, I was glad I didn't have to tell her about what happened with Aaron, yet. "My house is going into foreclosure," my mom blurted. "What!?" I asked, loud enough to get the construction workers to look over. I shook my head at them, and they got back to work. "How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me before now?" I asked. I put my hands on my mom's shoulders and shook her a little until she looked at me. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," she admitted softly. "What about your retirement? Dad's pension? What about his life insurance?" I asked urgently. My mom shrugged and looked away from me. "You never told me you were having issues. If the house is close to foreclosure, this has been going on for a while," I said, trying to get her to talk to me. She'd shut down as quickly as she'd blurted things out. "Mom, talk to me!" I demanded, shaking her a little more. "I didn't want to worry you. My retirement funds are barely enough to cover the cost of living. The money from your father's pension and life insurance has slowly dwindled," she said, keeping her eyes down. "I don't understand. How is that possible?" I asked. "Pensions aren't meant to be paid long-term. Your father has been gone for so long, and the pension plan is maxed out," she went on. "You knew that the life insurance money was almost gone and that the pension would max out. Why didn't you look for help or anything?" I asked frantically. I couldn't figure out why she'd lie. I was in school and wasn't making a ton of money, but I would have helped out as best I could. She was infuriating! For most of my adolescence, she didn't want to take care of me, and now she was trying to protect me? It seemed so backward. "I have a really good job now. I can cover your mortgage payments until something better comes along," I offered. My mom smiled at me weakly. "That's why I didn't want to tell you. You're not supposed to be taking care of me." "I'm not going to let your house get taken away. Not when I can do something about it. I might have been busy with school, Aaron, and everything, but I'm capable of helping you," I insisted. My mom's eyes turned glassy, and she sniffled. "You're sweet." "Why did you wait until now to tell me?" I asked, creasing my brow. My mom sighed again and pulled away from me. She started walking away, and I followed her. "The wedding vendors that called me, they reminded me of payments I had due to them. I've already put a lot of money into the wedding," she reminded me. I stopped dead, my eyes pricking with tears. Turning away from my mom, I covered my face. I was definitely helping with her mortgage now, seeing as some of her financial issues were tied to the wedding I wasn't having anymore. "Cat?" she asked. "Mom, the wedding is off. Aaron and I aren't getting married," I said. "WHAT!?" she cried. I turned around. My mom's hands were shaking, and her face was pale. "You and Aaron aren't…?" her breath quivered, and she crumpled to the ground. "Mom?" I asked. I dropped down beside her and patted her face. She didn't respond. "Mom!" I heard the construction workers running closer. My mom couldn't open her eyes. She was unconscious.