"Yes...I need your help with dinner before your father comes home."
"Umm...ordering it?" Sarah said. She wasn't even sure if her mother knew how to use a stove, much less make a meal.
"Really funny, Sarah," Susan said, grabbing a bag out of the back seat of the sedan she'd driven up in, taking out keys, and letting Sarah follow her inside.
As she entered, she saw a photo wall near the door. There were no photos in her entryway. Only strategically placed ones in the bedrooms. There had to be a certain look for when her parents entertained. Her mother also destroyed any potentially unflattering photo.
She spotted a picture of her parent's wedding. That looked similar. It had been before her father started his company. There were only subtle changes. Her mom's change in look for one. But everything after that was different. A photo of Susan holding a baby Sarah, looking tired but full of joy. Various pictures of the family and Sarah at different ages. This...new version of her without blond hair or the same figure. She couldn't believe the content of the photos. The McMillans going to Disney World. Middle School Sarah in a soccer uniform. High school Sarah at some school event.
But Sarah had never been to Disney World. Or played soccer. These photos must be staged somehow.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Her mother said. Susan definitely sounded like herself. Her mother was strict and demanding, and reserved niceties for when she was trying to manipulate people.
"Umm...sorry," Sarah said.
"Is something wrong?" Susan asked, unexpectedly aware Sarah was acting off. Her mother loved her, Sarah knew, but she often got caught up in other things, and didn't realize what was going on with her daughter.
Sarah wanted to say that something was wrong. But she was afraid of what this version of her mother might do. Commit her, scold her...hug her?
