Chapter 6

                                    

                                          
When I woke up I was a little disappointed that Dimitri wasn't there, but I knew that I couldn't expect him to be there. I yawned as I thumped down the stairs, turning into the living room.
"Hey," I said when I spotted Mom on the couch. Mom looked up from the array of papers spread out on the coffee table.
"Morning, mo chridhe," Mom yawned, running her hand through her hair. I smiled and walked over to the couch and sat down. I laid down on my side and rested my head in her lap. She chuckled and ran her fingers through my hair before going back to her work.
"What is this for?" she asked. 
I shrugged. "Just wanted to," I said quietly. Mom hummed and leaned forward so she could go back to her papers, her stomach brushing against the back of my head. I scanned the papers in front of us but none of them made sense to me. Probably why Mom had them out in the open. Even if someone looked at them, they wouldn't be able to figure them out.
"What are you working on?"
Mom didn't speak right away, instead stroking my shoulder. "Homicide. It's the fourth family in Portland. We're most likely going to be called in to work on this. I'm hoping that it will be after the holiday. I've missed out on too many Christmas' without you," she explained as she dropped the papers in her hand back on the table. 
I rolled a bit and looked up at her. "Mom. You don't need to put your work on hold just to spend Christmas with me."
Mom frowned a little and let out a small sigh. "When you were in your accident, it put everything into perspective. I missed out on so much of your life, and I don't want to do that anymore."
I swallowed thickly and worried my lip. "Do you know about all of what happened with my car accident? Did Dimitri tell you?"
"About the real reason why you and Dimitri were fighting?" Mom asked quietly. I nodded and she sighed.
"He told you everything?"
"You mean that I died?"
Mom grimaced and her brows pinched together. "I wish you never needed to know that. I could barely breathe when Dimitri told me. I couldn't believe it when he told me. It was part of why we tried to push the two of you back together. We knew you were angry but we understood why as well."
"I'm sorry that you had to know that," I said quietly. Mom nodded and tapped her finger against the tip of my nose gently.
"I know hunny. Have you invited Dimitri to Christmas dinner?"
I rolled my eyes. "I figured you already had," I said dryly, "Speaking of. The Ekons are having some kind of gathering and it's formal. Any ideas on where I should get a dress?"
Mom looked thoughtful for a moment. "I know of a few places, that is, if you want your Mom tagging along?"
I grinned at her. "I wouldn't say no to that. We rarely get to go shopping together," I said with an encouraging tone. Mom smiled at me, her eyes crinkling at the sides. I couldn't help but think that even in her forties with wrinkles starting to form in the corners of her eyes, she was gorgeous. 
After all the stress of her life between her job, being a wife and mother, and then the events of the last few months, she still looked great. I could only hope that I aged as she did.
"I'm going to go get dressed?" I said as I sat up.
Mom nodded and started gathering up her papers, stacking them neatly before sliding them into her appropriate folders.
"Sure. I will get dressed in a few minutes. Maybe we could stop at Molly Bloom's for breakfast?"
I chuckled as I climbed the stairs. "You must have heard my stomach growling."