BY THE TIME I STUMBLED OUT OF BED THE next morning, tired and bleary-eyed, my mother had already left for work. There was a text waiting for me. So sorry about last night. You shouldn't have seen that. Dinner tonight?

I responded with, See you tonight.

But when I arrived home after practices, I found her rushing around, slipping earrings into her ears. She wore a short skirt and a flowy blouse, and her dark hair was flipped and curled in an abundance of volume.

'Hi,' she said, out of breath, hopping into one of her heels and almost falling over. 'Um, I hope you don't mind, but I forgot I had plans tonight. I made them a while ago, you know, before I knew that you'd be here.' She stopped, awaiting my reaction with her face scrunched in apology. 'But I could cancel them. I mean.... I could stay.'

'No, go,' I encouraged her. 'I'll be okay, really.'

'Are you sure?' she asked again, battling with her decision. 

'Yeah, I have a ton of homework to do,' I said, exaggerating in an attempt to make her feel better. 'Have a good time.'

'Okay,' she replied, staggering on one foot to pull up the strap of her heels she grabbed her purse. 'Well, help yourself to the freezer, I guess.' She took out a mini Altoids mints tin and opened it, propping a small white pill down with a toss of her head. 

'Don't wait up,' she advised, removing her jacket from the ball closet next to the stairs. 'I'll probably be pretty late.'