The next morning I woke up feeling like a total idiot. 

It's 10 o'clock in the morning and I'm still in bed staring at the ceiling going over the events of last night. I know that it was just sex, it's no big deal. But I'm not the type of girl that does wild things like that. This is a first for me, I'm trying to play it off and make it seem like it's not all I'm thinking about but I can't.

I close my eyes and mentally curse myself out for being so weak. Come on Elle, toughen up. I know that the last thing on Mason's mind right now is me laying under him last night, so I can't stress myself out over this. Today is a new day, who cares about what happened last night. I open my eyes and feel relief over my small little pep talk. 

I sit up and stretch my arms out wide before getting out of bed. I walk downstairs and head straight towards the coffee. When I'm awake before Amy is I like to grab a cup before she can lecture me on why it's bad to start drinking coffee so young. I grab a mug from the cabinet and pour some coffee in before wrapping my fingers around the mug. The warmth puts me at ease and I already start to feel more relaxed.

I should make time to call Aiden today, I know that we need to talk about us and thinking about it sends my mind racing. I take a sip of the coffee and try to block out all stressful thoughts from my mind. It's too early for this... well somewhat early. 

After I finish my coffee I begin to straighten up the kitchen. I clean the countertops, put the clean dishes in the cabinets and sweep the floor. I walk over to the dining room table and grab the mail that Amy must have left yesterday. I know none of them belongs to me, but I decide to look through the envelopes to double check. One slips through my fingers and falls to the floor.

"Shit," I look down at the piece of paper and my heart sinks. I already know what it is, and I take a deep breath before bending down to pick it up. Amy walks in from behind me and towards the coffee just like I did thirty minutes ago.

"Ah, you're up! Good Morning." She chirps. I twist my fingers around the edge of the paper and look over it one more time.

"Sorry I wasn't here when you left for the party," she says as she begins to pour herself a glass, "was it fun?" She looks up at me and sees the paper in my hands, as I set it on the counter in front of me. I look over at her and see her worried eyes.

"Yeah, it was." I say, as I walk over to the trash and throw it away.

"I'm so sorry, Elle. I forgot to look through the mail yesterday I was in such a hurry, I would have thrown it away-"

"No, no, don't." I say, "I'm happy she sends these." I lie, and I have a feeling Amy can tell I'm bullshitting her. "I like to see where she is." I finished. 

Even if it's not with me.

Amy nods slowly and I turn around and sit on the bar stools right next to the countertops and sigh.

"So, Greece, huh?" I question. "Sounds like fun." I should have added that to my stack of postcards she's sent me over the years, but my small little shoebox is already filled. Two and a half years of postcards, one almost every month (if I'm lucky). I wonder how many Amy has actually thrown away. I know I should be mad at the thought of her tossing them in the trash but I'm sort of thankful.

"I suppose," Amy says as she leans against the countertop and sips her coffee. A few moments pass by silently, and my mind wanders of all the things she could have been doing over the past two years, you know, besides being a parent to me. I know that I should feel grateful that she sends me anything at all but I'm really starting to hate the postcards. My thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell ringing, and I look at Amy in confusion.

"Who's that?' I ask. All of us were here, we shouldn't be expecting anyone this early. Amy's face drops and I know something's wrong. She looks at me with her mouth glued shut and I speak up again.

"What?" What could Amy possibly be hiding?

"I was going to tell you, I just forgot-"

"Tell me what?" I ask, starting to lose patience. The doorbell rings again and I make my way towards the door to open it.

"Wait," Amy whispers, but I ignore her and open the door. To my surprise, my grandmother Sylvia is on the other end of it. 

"Sylvia!" I say in shock as I bring my arms out to give her a hug. She smiles at me and walks over closer to me before slinging her purse on my arm instead. I smile awkwardly and grab her purse before putting it on the couch next to me.

"Hello, Mother." Amy greets and Sylvia nods with a smile across her face. 

She looks exactly how she did when I saw her last year, her blond hair is still pinned up as it always is, and her face is still brightened by makeup. I've never seen my grandmother never not look ready. She hates it when people don't look their best. I look at her up and down and am not surprised by the fact that she is wearing her usual pencil skirt and blazer jacket, followed by pantyhose and casual heels. She was always dressed to impress- something I never inherited.

"Your home looks so...." She started to say, as she looked around the house, her face making a sort of disgusted look, "homey." She finishes and I look over to Amy and try to keep from laughing.

"Always a pleasure, Mother." Amy says raising her cup of coffee and I smile at her response. The tension in the room was small but thickening by the second so I assume it's my turn to say something.

"So, what brings you to California?" I ask.

"Well," Sylvia says as she walks over to the kitchen to be closer to Amy. "I am getting my home remodeled- the whole thing." Her eyes sparkled with excitement and I hear Amy sigh from the kitchen.

"You should see your room when it's complete. It'll be lovely." Sylvia says and a smile appears on my face.

"So how long will this remodeling take?" Amy asks as she tightens the straps from her robe.

"Just about a couple of weeks." Amy's mouth drops but she quickly picks it up before Sylvia notices. 

A couple of weeks? I want to bang Amy on the head for not telling me that she's coming but I can tell by her facial expression that she's not happy either.

"Well, I better go clean myself up before we go to brunch." Sylvia says.

"Brunch?" I question.

"Honey, it's almost 11 o'clock, what are you still doing in these pajamas?" She asks me as she eyes my tank top and pajama pants up and down.

"She's an adult, Mother. Give her a break." 

"Well, why don't you go get ready while I hop in the shower, my flight was excruciating."

"Yes, because First Class is always so gruesome." Amy jokes and I couldn't help but laugh before shutting my mouth. Sylvia rolls her eyes and steps closer to me. I feel myself getting anxious at her inspecting me. She brings her fingers to the ends of my hair.

"It's so good to see you, dear." She says to me while she strokes her hand through my hair. I nod and smile at her words. She lets go of my hair and begins walking away from me.

I look over to Amy but before I can say anything Sylvia returns.

"Where's your restroom?" She asks.

"Upstairs on your right." Amy answers and Sylvia nods and heads up the stairs. We both wait until we can hear the bathroom door close before saying anything. Right when I hear the door click to a lock I look over at Amy.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me she was coming!" I whisper yell as I walk over to her in the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, I was going to, I just forgot. I've been so busy with work and-"

"Well why didn't you make up some lie... like we'll be out of town or something." I say. 

It's not like I hate Sylvia, I love her of course. But sometimes... Well, most times, she can be a handful. And it's not what I was expecting this summer. I would hear stories growing up of how much of a pain she was to my mother and Amy and ever since I've gotten older I've seen the truth to those stories.

"I can't," Amy said, "No matter how much I would love that, I can't. She's my mother, you know? And if she wants to visit me I can't say no."

Hearing Amy say those words made me realize how right she is. Sylvia is her mother and if mine ever showed up I don't know if I could object no matter how much I want to. Even if she can sometimes be a burden, Sylvia raised Amy, shaped her into the woman she is today. Amy can't say no.

"You're right," I say, taking a step back from Amy. I leaned onto the counter beside me and tore away my eye contact. "She's your mother."

"Elle, I'm sorry I didn't-"

"No, please, you're right." I say again. "Brunch won't be so bad," I downplay. I know Amy can see right through me, she always has.

"I just feel like maybe if she stayed, she'll see the woman I've become over the years. She won't just see me as her last child who didn't want to go to Law school. I can show her that I made the right decision."

"She thinks you made the wrong decision in looking after me?" I ask.

"No of course not. It's just... I know she wanted me to finish school her way. She never got to actually see the woman I've grown up to be."

In some ways, I feel sorry for Amy. Sylvia's grandfather, father, and uncle were all Lawyers. And since Sylvia didn't have any boys, she pushed becoming a lawyer onto Amy. Amy on the other hand, has always wanted to become a nurse. And when she majored in Nursing Sylvia was devastated. Now in her eyes, Amy will always be the child that disappoints her the most.

"How come they never pushed my mother?" I asked.

"Well... she was just... " Amy looked down at the floor and took a deep breath before looking back up at me. "Different." She finished.

Different how? I wanted to ask but I don't want to push it. I know this subject is a touchy one for Amy and I appreciate her having the courage to open up to me.

"Well, we'll show Sylvia how amazing you turned out to be." I said. "We'll go to brunch and Sylvia will see all the things she's missed out on, and how she should be proud of you." Amy brings a smile to her face and it warms my heart.

"Or, you know maybe she'll be so disappointed in you she'll just leave us." I joke as I cling my arm around Amy's and begin walking upstairs to start getting ready. Amy flings her head back in laughter.

"That would be nice too." She says and we both laugh all the way up the stairs, and start to get ready for brunch.