Episode 911: Listen To Your Heart

“We’re about to watch a movie,” she announced as she stepped inside. “I made popcorn. Your bowl is extra buttery and salty as you like it.”

“Thanks, but I don’t feel like it,” Tansy said, flipping through th epages of a textbook laid out in front of her on the bed.

“Seems like you haven’t felt like doing a whole lot of things lately,” Justine said.

“I’m doing homework. Nobody feels like doing homework, you just have to, nobody does a happy dance over it.”

“True, but for a few months you were doing a happy dance over working with the animals. You were bursting with stories about the dogs and about your friend Enid, too. I notice you’ve hushed up lately.”

In retrospect, Justine had noticed only after Enid had enlightened her. It was a challenge not to let the guilt of failing to notice her own daughter make her feel like an irredeemably bad mother. Justine clung to the idea that it was never too late.

“Is there some reason you haven’t been mentioning the animal shelter?

“It’s just old, that’s all,” Tansy said. “Hero doesn’t get so excited every time he has his spiderman cup anymore because he’s had it a long time now. It’s the same with the animal shelter. I’m used to it now, it’s not such a big deal anymore.”

“If it’s something that made you so happy and now it doesn’t, and that is a big deal. I want you to be happy.”

“I’ll be happy if I get my homework done so I don’t get in trouble at school.”

After awhile Justine said. “Well, okay. I’ll bring in your popcorn bowl to snack on while you work and then leave you to it. But whenever you do want to get back to telling your dad and I about the animal shelter or anything else, we’re here, we’ll listen.”

Episode 912: Hold Up