The phone rang.

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"Lisa? It's your mother," she said from across the country, her voice slurred with sobbing. "I'm coming to visit you." 

It had been a long time since I heard from my mother. Still, it was always a little upsetting when she called for help or attention and then left without any warning - not even so much as a goodbye. But this call felt different. She sounded like things were finally starting to get better for her in life - that maybe she'd be able to take care of herself now more than ever before; that she might actually make it on her own without me making sure everything was going alright all the time.

She sounded like she had found a way to handle all the things troubling her, and she had finally been able to express herself fully, without being so sad. I was happy for her.

"Oh wow, Mom! That's great! I'm happy you're coming," I said with genuine enthusiasm - because this time around actually gave me hope for the future of our relationship.

"Yeah... I've been doing a lot better lately. You won't even recognize me now, honey," she said, laughing to herself. "I'm really sorry I haven't visited you in so long."

And it actually sounded like she meant it this time around - not that she had ever come out and said as much before.

"No, it's okay," I said back to her. "I'm just glad you're feeling better."

Now that she was doing so well, I couldn't wait for her to see how far I'd come since we last talked - how grown up and responsible I was now. I was going to be a great host. I just hoped she could stay for the long haul this time around - not cut her visit short again without notice.

"Alright, well... I've got to run now," she said quickly. "But I can't wait to see you in a few days, honey! And also - uh... I have some stuff to tell you. "

"Oh yeah?" I asked, a bit nervous from her tone. She sounded kind of serious again all of a sudden.

"Yeah... Listen, just promise me that whatever happens - you're not going to get mad at me," she said with a flustered voice like she was trying to distance herself from the words she was about to say.

"Okay, I promise," I said, trying to be as encouraging as possible - even though it sounded like this could get a little bit tense. "What's going on?"

"Well... Uh... Remember when you were younger, and we had that maybe-psychic neighbor who used to tell your fortune for free?" she asked nervously.

I remembered her well - Mrs. Tilley next door with her thick southern accent and crystal ball. She looked like an extra from Auntie Mame. My mom would take me over there every weekend and watch me while Mrs. T did my reading for me: all about life, love, and happiness for the whole family! And Mrs. T would act all mysterious like she was privy to some kind of secret information that we couldn't ever know about - no matter how many questions we asked or how curious we got. I remember begging my mother for weeks to get me a reading done to find out what it was all about - why this old woman had such an interest in us and the plans that fate had set aside for us.

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"Yeah... She told me my fortune when I was young too," she said quickly, trying to avoid the subject because it made her uncomfortable still. "She did yours, didn't she?"

I remembered being seven years old and having my palm read by a stranger who knew nothing about me but everything about the way I would end up living my life - as if she were privy to some secret information that no one else knew about. And here was the same thing again in a phone call from my mother - after all of these years!

"Yeah... She did," I said back, not knowing where this was leading but suddenly curious nonetheless.

"Well... Uh... It turns out she's related to me somehow. She and her son are cousins with your aunt - that makes them my second cousins or something like that," she said quickly, stumbling over her words and trying to change the subject yet again. "But anyway..."

I wondered why it made her uncomfortable when it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with what Mrs. T had been saying all those years ago - like it was somehow bad news to have a psychic relative living right next door. And now that I thought about it, there were actually a lot of strange things that happened when we lived in that house with her as a child:

My mom and dad suddenly fighting after they seemed so peaceful for the past few months.

An old dresser from my aunt showing up at our front door one day out of nowhere, and my mom hugging me close while crying into my hair;

And then - when I was nine or ten - an even stranger thing occurred: My mother told me she'd be taking me aside for some advice on my future career later on during the week. She said she'd be taking a few days off of work and asked me if I'd mind spending the night at my friend's house so it would just be her and me for a change. So, when she came to pick me up that Sunday, we went grocery shopping together - and then back to the house for dinner. Afterward, we sat down on the couch with cups of tea, and my mom began asking me about what I wanted to do with my life: whether or not I might like being an artist (like she was) or maybe even a writer. And every time I told her that all I ever really wanted out of life was simply to be happy - whatever that meant - she'd smile and kiss me on the forehead and tell me that I was her special little girl.