Zoe had gone straight to Athena's house after school with Zelda and Melissa, and Mikey's Robotics Club ran later than cheer practice, and the bird sanctuary had gotten a call from the local aquarium about an incident with a backpacker trying to camp in the cetacean area, so for owls in tents in porpoises David would be occupied until late at night. Which mean that Jocelynne was actually the first one to arrive at home and greet her mother working in the living room.
But when the words "Hi Mom," left her lips in the foyer, two voices from the living room replied at once.
Confused, Jocelynne pursued the sounds, only to find two women sitting on the living room sofa, looking at each other with accusation in their eyes.
One woman wore a neutral lipstick with no other makeup, her dark hair secured in back with an alligator clip. She wore a simple purple pullover and a pair of jeans. A string of false pearls was draped over her neck.
The other woman wore a bright pink lipstick with a full face of foundation, precisely-applied blush, and a subtle-but-noticeable eyeshadow over lined and mascara'd lashes. Her blonde hair was in a french braid. She wore a white cut-off tank top that exposed a good inch of her belly. Below that was a pink skirt that hugged her hips and thighs before flaring out just above the knee. She wore a simple gold chain with a heart-shaped pendant that sat precisely above her tank top-exposed cleavage.
"I'm Jocelynne's mother," this second woman declared. As Jocelynne looked at her face, seeing through the makeup, she agreed that this was Linda Gibson, Jocelynne's mother, although she was wearing a style Jocelynne had never seen her in.
"This isn't funny, Linda," the plainer woman replied with more authority. Jocelynne couldn't see her face from this angle, but that was Sarah's voice. "This is my home, and that is my daughter."
For as long as you're a cheerleader, you are going to do everything you can to be a good cheerleader, and you're going to do everything you can to support me.
Jocelynne was a cheerleader. She was going to do everything she could to support Sarah. She sat down on the sofa and hugged the purple pullover, burying her face in the shoulder. "How was your day, Mom?"
Linda stood up, scandalized. "Now wait just a minute. I've been taking pity on you, Sarah, but this is too--" Linda trailed off. Here eyes lost focus. She brought a hand to her forehead as the other reached for the arm of the sofa for support.
And one of the two laptops disappeared from the coffee table.
Sarah turned to the remaining computer and unlocked it with her fingerprint. "It's always nice to have you visit, Linda," she said as she returned to her spreadsheet, "but I've got a lot to catch up on here, and Jocelynne needs to do her homework. I think it's time for your to leave."
Linda blinked, her head not yet entirely cleared, and nodded as she turned to exit the living room. "Goodbye Mrs. Gibson," she said without conviction before turning to Jocelynne. "See you at school tomorrow." Her face seemed almost confused at the words that were coming out of it. But, lifelessly, she walked out the door and into the Miata parked in the driveway, and drove off.
