page9 (1/2)

"Rise and shine Tiet up"

I bolt upright in bed, holding my covers to my chest while Linc Caldwell stands inside my bedroom I don't have es, but he radiates sex appeal nonetheless That I can see well enough And it doesn't help that he woke me up out of a sound sleep where I had just happened to be dreahty way

"What the hell are you doing in here?" I hopeand glad my first conscious reaction was to pull the blanket up I'ht now

With disgusting cheerfulness, he says, "We got places to go, people to see Get up and get dressed Breakfast is in ten minutes"

I glance at the clock on the table beside me It's freakin' 6:30am

Stifling a yawn, I ask, "What could you possibly need to do this early in the ? Aren't you like on vacation until hockey starts back up?"

He rolls his eyes atabout professional hockey Coo over my schedule with you"

Linc walks out, shutting the door behind him

I lay back onback to sleep Despite the lovely dreao, I had tossed and turned all night, replaying over and over inthat has happened to me in the last few days I'n nore the fact that the article I wrote got me in this situation Linc may be a slime ball but he didn't make me write that story And while it was an opinion piece, I arded his wishes about keeping the shoe story off the record

And the guilt froh on itiot my panties in a twist? It was beyond reprehensible and I' very low about myself

I think about my mother My dear, sweet, sweet mom She's a miracle of life and my inspiration She's been in remission from breast cancer for close to five years now She's had her body brutalized by chemo and radiation She's had her breasts removed She faces the uncertainty that death may be around the corner, and yet she refuses to let any of that get her down

As a true southern wo is, "When life hands you lemons, make le that right now but it won't coht now

Rolling over, I grabbeside the bed I dial her nu it's not too early to call

"Hello, Buttercup" My mother's voice is soft and sweet, with a lovely Carolina lilt

"Hi, Mom Did I wake you?"

"You did, but I can't think of a lovelier way to wake up How are you doing, sweetheart?"

Just her voice infusesto dump on her

"No, you're not I can hear it in your voice Tellyou"

And that's all it takes I pour everything out, starting fro until Linc woke o

"Oh, honey You have a lot on your plate right now, don't you?"

"That's an understatee career opportunity all because I letto follow this frustrating uilty for what I did on top of everything"

"Well, I'ive you mom advice now When--"

"Don't give me the lemonade speech, Mom"

She laughs on the other end and just that soundto say that, ss happen that we don't expect, and when situations seem crazy and out of control, sometimes you need to just sit back and enjoy the experience Soreatest lessons will come from those times"

Seriously? I want to roll ain so I would have ever thought onI take to heart

"Maybe you're right, Mo to me You always seem to know just what to say to motivate me"

"You don't need my help with motivation, honey You just sometimes need a little perspective"

We chat for a fewup, my mom sours my mood just a little