Page 43 of Demure
“Mama, I’ll be back in a year and a half. You will be exactly 55.” Like most women of Hispanic descent born in the early 70s, Sierra’s mother had children very young and close together, meaning she was not an old mother, at all. Though anyone listening in on the conversation would think she was on her deathbed with the way she was acting.
“Even Maria makes time from being adoctorato come see me. But noooo, it’s too much formiSierra.”
Taking a deep breath to keep her cool, Sierra replied, “Mama, I am going through a similar program to Maria. Remember when she was in medical school how busy she was?”
“Si, but she became adoctora, and what are you becoming,hija? Do you even know?”
Sierra sighed. This was the same argument they had when she had entered the program a few months before. “I am not sure,mamá, but I may become a medical researcher. Something which is just as important as a doctor, I just won’t see patients.”
Sierra’s mother let out ahmphfrom the other end of thephone, and Sierra knew it was no use, so she tried to change the subject.
“How is Diego,mamá? Are things better?”
“Sí, sí, he has come to visit hismamáand make amends. And he will attend mass with the family on Saturday.”
Sierra pulled the phone away from her ear to look at the date. Saturday wasDía de Los Muertos, which is why her family would be attending mass. “Ahsí, mamá, that’s great. Light a candle for me,por favor.”
“You could come light the candle yourself.”
Just when Sierra thought they were making progress. “Mamá, it is a 13-hour flight to Dallas. I cannot just get on a plane for every holiday.”
“Y la Navidad?”
La Navidadwas Christmas. But Sierra knew at this point, she didn’t have the money to buy a flight to return to Dallas for Christmas.
“I don’t think so,mamá. I will come in the summer for a week or two, though.”
That was clearly not the right answer, as another sniffle came through the line, and this time, Sierra could tell her mom was crying on the other end. “I cannot believe you won’t be here forNavidad. What have I done to deserve this,mi hija?”
Sierra closed her eyes slowly. Her mother had always played the guilt card, but it seemed to be escalating lately. She just didn’t seem to understand that Sierra had her own life, which she had to be allowed to explore. Deciding to take the path of least resistance, Sierra muttered an apology in Spanish.
“Your apology means nothing. I do not understand why you can’t put your family first. Or at least before your studies,” she huffed.
Sierra knew it was no use, but she tried anyway. “Mamá, I am my own person. I love our family, I do, but I have to be allowed to be on my own for some time, too. This year, I am very far away,but once I finish this study, and have a job, I will be able to visit for more holidays.”
“Hmph. Fine,” Sierra’s mother replied. “I will see you later then.” And with that, the line went dead.
Sierra scrolled through her contacts, debating on contacting Maria or Diego to see if they could talk any sense into her mom, but she was exhausted and didn’t have the mental space to speak to one of her siblings tonight.
Though it was early, Sierra didn’t much feel like dinner, and doom scrolling on her phone in bed sounded heavenly. With a click, she shut off the TV and slipped on her pajamas. She would worry about how to deal with her mother’s dramatics tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day at work, the hours dragged on forever, the hand on the analog clock in the employee room barely seeming to move. Sierra couldn’t tell if it was because she was excited about her date with Aodhan later or simply because it was a slow day in the library. She was so distracted by her dreamy thoughts that it wasn’t until a blond girl came into the library dressed as Little Bo Peep that Sierra realized it was Halloween.
As she had told Tyler, Sierra hadn’t really cared about Halloween, well, ever, but as she looked around and noticed that even some of her coworkers were wearing fun jumpers and hats that represented various book and movie characters, she wished she had paid just a little bit more attention so that she could’ve done something fun too.
Ah, well, there was always next year.
Other than realizing too late that it was Halloween and feeling like someone had purposely slowed down time, the day went smoothly; Sierra reshelved books, took her lunch break, then reshelved some more.
Sierra was shelving what would probably be her second to last cart of books when a man approached her.
“Excuse me, miss?”
Sierra turned, catching her breath as she realized the man was wearing a black beanie. As quickly as her mind flashed to Aodhan, the thought dissipated as she realized the man was nothing like Aodhan. First of all, he was wearing some type of old-fashioned sweater, which definitely didn’t match his hat. He was also quite tall and looked a bit older than the average student. Sierra surmised he was possibly a Ph.D. student. “Are you looking for something?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, I was wondering if you had any books in old Gaelic?”
