Hello,
Happy Wednesday! Part 2 of The taste of a smile won’t be out for early listeners until March 23. But we can still meet Lex this week, can’t we?
Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Sigrid
PS: Think we should have another community perk excerpt on Saturday? 😉
Lex decided to take the detour after all. The nasal voice of her mother was blaring through her headphones and she needed the fresh air to stay sane.
“Are you even listening to me?” her mother asked, clearly annoyed.
“Yes, mom,” Lex replied, her chest tight with frustration.
“Why not move to the West coast? You can start over at a different firm.”
Lex shook her head and turned the corner onto Fifth Avenue. “I don’t want to start over, okay?”
Her mother sighed dramatically. Lex pictured her sitting in her favorite chair by the window, staring at the Hudson River. She hadn’t seen her mother in a while.
“Your father says you have no chance of rebuilding your career here,” her mother said.
Lex adjusted her earbud so it wouldn’t fall out of her ear. Her mom, in the meantime, kept going.
“I still don’t understand why you chose to throw everything away. Why would you invest all those years and then … ”
“Mom!” Lex blurted out, fed up. A man passing by on the sidewalk gave her a startled look. Lex averted her gaze.
“We’ve gone through this too many times,” she jabbed, trying to rein in her anger. “I need to go. I have an appointment.”
It was quiet for a few seconds. Lex almost checked to see if she had accidentally ended the call.
“A business appointment?” her mother asked, her voice weary.
Lex squinted at the windows on her left. It was freezing cold with a clear blue sky and the harsh sunlight was bouncing off the glass.
“Lex?”
“Yes, business,” Lex relented. She found the shop she was looking for just ahead.
“What company?”
Lex stopped in front of the Leroy Chocolates store. She studied the shop logo while considering her reply.
“Doesn’t matter,” she mumbled. “I’m not sure I’m going to accept the offer.”
“You got an offer?” her mother gasped, sounding half shocked, half delighted.
“I’m still talking to her, okay? Don’t mention it to dad,” Lex urged, already regretting telling her mother about this.
“Her? Who are you talking to?”
Lex peered through the large windows. It was busy inside. A delicious, sweet scent wafted through the air every time the shop doors opened and closed.
“Mom, I need to go,” she said.
“I want to know more about this, Lex. Your father …”
“Told me he no longer wants anything to do with me or my career, so he shouldn’t care about this,” Lex snapped.
“Lex …” her mom soothed. “Come on, you know that’ll blow over.”
“Mom, I need to hang up now. I am going to be late. Bye.”
Lex tapped the earbud before her mother could say anything else. She felt terrible about hanging up on her, sure, but her mother had made her own bed.
Lex stood staring at her feet in the middle of the sidewalk, when someone nearly bumped into her. Intent on getting out of the way, she walked into the chocolate store without thinking.
She regretted it immediately.
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