Alice

"Something smells nice!"

"Morning baby!" my mom's smile welcomes me in to the kitchen. I hug her and she plants a firm kiss on my cheek. "Morning mom, whatcha' making, smells like-

"Bacon and eggs baby, your favorite!"

"Oh..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it's nothing; I just...haven't had your bacon and eggs in so long."

Her smile flickers as I see the reality that she hasn't cooked for me in years set in. "well, baby, what do you like?"

"Its fine mom, I love it still."

She lets out a forced chuckle "well, baby, I hope you enjoy it."

"Yea mom, but why are you cooking, I would expect that someone as rich as jack would have a chef or something."

"He does, this was just, my way of welcoming you back, seems like I've not done a very good job, huh?"

"Mom, don't be like that, I love bacon and eggs still, maybe it's no longer my favorite dish but the fact that you were so thoughtful is more than enough."

She looks down at the sizzling pan in front of her and sighs, "I know baby, it's just that, I want things to be as comfortable for you as possible because you're my world, you know that?"

"I do mom..."

"Okay baby."

We chat for a bit longer and catch up on the time I missed in my mom's life. She seems the same woman I left except softer, younger almost. When I had left for university, things were hard with us. She was a single mom supporting her single daughter. She had to be two parents in the place of one. That's the woman I'd grown up with. Now, with Jack, it's like she isn't as burdened.

The thought of Jack carries me back to last night... "Baby I have a meeting to attend today at work so I have to go get ready. Jack will be up soon just tell him I left his food in the fridge if you see him."

"Will do," she walks past me heading toward her room, "oh... and one more thing," I turn to her, "have fun today, explore okay."

"Okay, I will." I smile, she looks so beautiful on mornings, she always did. I take out my phone and there's an unexpected text message, a warm feeling engulfs my body as my eyes grace a lovely good morning text from Brice. He's such a loving boyfriend. After reading it I send a message to my long time friend Laura, I haven't seen her in almost nine months. We chat a little and I decide I'll invite her over some time after I've better settled in.

I finish up eating and the urge to explore finally rears its head. The house is exquisite; whoever designed it must have been quite the architect. It has such a modern, city like feel to it, yet somehow Mother Nature is intertwined in its neat finish. The array of chandeliers and lamps shaped like leaves and bell flowers coupled with the pastel colors, mainly mint, aqua and some hints of smoke and beige breathe trees in to the stone, wood and steel of the housed city. I suspect the small flower garden outside to be my mother's doing, she always loved gardening, she said it cleared her mind, but we never had room for one in any of the many small apartment buildings we frequented when I was younger.

I make my way through the flowers and come upon the pool. It's not as intricately designed as the rest of the house but as in this instance, I often find there to be beauty in the simple. It's circular with steps going down in to the water like a submerged coliseum. It's large, but not so large as to become daunting. The sleek grey stony look of the tiles contrasts superbly against the turquoise water, it makes me annoyingly aware of the clothes I have on. I have to take a swim today, maybe later when the sun is in its full bloom; I desperately need some color in my skin. Three years in the European grey makes it easy to appreciate the orange California heat.

My phone vibrates, it's a text from Brice saying that he wants to come visit, I reply inviting him for lunch. I smile because soon I've missed him. A voice cuts through my thoughts. "Karen! Baby!"

It's Jack, I don't know why but I start to worry about my appearance, I try to smooth my hair and fix my t-shirt and pajama pants but I know my attempts arefutile. Jack enters shouting for my mom, midway through calling her name, hiseyes fall on me, and he stops dead in his tracks