Lonna looked at her watch at thought that this could only be Lauren. She remembered what had happened when Lauren had called her Mom earlier that afternoon. She hoped that Lauren would be all right talking to the woman who had been her Mom at the start of the week. Time to put her game face on and try to help Lauren, she only hoped that she was good at improvising. Here goes she thought as she went to answer the door.
Lonna opened the door to see her one-time pupil now teacher Lauren standing there in what had been one of Lonna’s favourite dresses that she owned, well she had owned it on Monday but now it was Lauren’s and not her’s. This brought the thoughts about clothes back to the front of her mind. She was just about to ask Lauren how they were able to wear each other's clothes when Mrs Rodriguez walked into the hall.
“Ah you must be Ms Tran,” Mrs Rodriguez said to the woman who at the start of the week had been her daughter.
“Yes, I am Lauren Tran.” Came the reply from the now 28-year-old standing at the door.
“Do come in I am Dalia Rodriguez, Lonna’s mother. I must say I was a little bit surprised to get your call this afternoon. ” Dalia said gesturing for Lauren to enter the house that had once been her home.
“I am surprised Lonna is a good student and has some of the best grades that I have seen in all my years of teaching,” Lauren answered following her former mother inside. This was the one thing that she was not sure she wanted to do. She had not been inside this house since leaving it on Monday morning and was not sure how she would react as she walked inside. She knew that she could not come up with a reason to say no to Mrs Rodriguez so walked inside.
“I called the school just after our conversation to double-check everything, you can’t be too careful these days,” Dalia told her.
“Too true, too true, and what did they tell you?” Lauren asked as she looked around the sitting room. She saw the pictures dotted around the room that appeared to show Lonna at various ages throughout her life and put on display by a proud mother.
“Oh, they confirmed your identity and said that you had been teaching at the school for several years now,” Dalia told her in reply.
“It is nice to know that I am memorable” Lauren joked.
“Yes, it is. I wish I could say the same about my employer. They only seem to remember me when they need me to do something.” Dalia said.
Lonna stood in the corner of the room listening to the two women talking to each other. She was watching Lauren’s face to try and read her thoughts as she stood there talking to her mother who was talking to her as if she was a stranger and not her daughter. She must be going to pieces behind that expression of politeness that had been fixed on her face since Lonna had opened the door to her a short time ago.
“I would love to stay and chat with you this evening Mrs Rodriguez but the lecture starts at 8.30 so I am afraid it is time for me and Lonna to go,” Lauren announced
“Its Dalia please, I understand Ms Tran. Lonna, are you ready to get going?” Dalia said turning to look at Lonna.
“See you later Mom,” Lonna said as she and Lauren made their way to the front door.
“Try not to be too late back Lonna,” Dalia told her apparent daughter as the two of them left the building and made their way to Laurens’ car.
Lonna almost climbed into the driver's seat out of habit before stopping herself and taking the passenger seat instead. “Are you ok Lauren? I know that couldn’t have been easy.” Lonna asked as Lauren took her seat and started up the car.
“I had no idea just how far the changes had gone. There is no sign of me at all.” Lauren answered.
“No sign?” Lonna asked her
“There was nothing that showed that anyone else but you had ever been her daughter. I thought that things would be a bit different but not that much. She didn’t even know me. Her daughter, I was standing in front of her and she treated me like a stranger. Sure she was polite enough but there was nothing …..” Lauren answered Lonna almost breaking into tears.
Maybe the whole idea of the two of them going to see the lecture from this professor despite it being Laurens’ idea was not the best thing to do. Lonna had been the one who had found out about the professor but having Lauren come around to her home and meet her Mom was taking things just a little too far.
“You do look at little different from the last time you saw her. I mean you were not wearing a dress and heels.” Lonna said trying to make Lauren smile at least.
“I suppose you are right. I think that your mother would have fainted if she had seen my feet in them before tonight.” Lauren replied with the start of a smile on her face.
Lonna had noticed that she had said that Mrs Rodriguez was Lonna’s mother and not her own but she was not going to point that out to her she had only just managed to get her to stop crying. “I love the dress by the way,” Lonna told her trying to mask her concern over the statement.
“Oh, this old thing I found it in my closet. Do you really like it?” Lauren asked
“Might not be my kind of thing but it looks good on an old lady like you,” Lonna replied in jest. The compliment had worked Lonna thought it had brought Lauren out of the funk that she had been in.
“You watch your mouth, young lady,” Lauren told her now with the smile that had been forming on her face broadening.
“Yes Ms. “ Lonna said returning the smile with one of her own that was equally as wide.
“Thank you, Lonna, thank you. I needed that.” Lauren told the now younger woman her eyes showing just how much she had needed to laugh at something anything at that moment.
“Since we are talking about clothes any ideas on how I can fit into yours? I mean we are not the same size are we now?” Lonna asked.
“I was thinking the same thing. I suppose now that I think about it there is only one answer.” Lauren said.
“The Stone,” both of them said at the same moment before bursting into giggles.
