“Hey, babe…”
Dan’s voice came over the phone that crisp afternoon, unusually strained. I, Layla, sat at my kitchen table, barely touching my sandwich, bracing for news I could already sense was going to upend my quiet routine
“What’s up?” I asked, trying to sound calm even as my heart raced.
He sighed deeply. “I just got off the phone with Mom. She’s… uh… having a really hard time right now. She lost her place and doesn’t have anywhere to go. I told her she could stay with us for a while.”
I nearly dropped my fork. “Wait. What? YOUR MOM IS BROKE??”
Dan’s tone softened, as if trying to cushion the blow. “Yeah. She didn’t want to tell me at first, but apparently she’s been struggling for a while. She’s embarrassed, Layla. And she wants to move in with us.”
I sat back, disbelief swirling inside me. “Irene? Struggling with money? Dan, we’re talking about the same Irene who just last month posted a selfie flaunting a $500 scarf because she ‘needed something to brighten her mood’? That Irene is… BROKE?!”
He groaned. “I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but people go through tough times. She’s still human, Layla.”
I rubbed my temples, trying to make sense of it all. “Dan, I’m not saying we shouldn’t help her, but don’t you think this is a little… sudden? How do you go from flaunting Louis Vuitton on Instagram to suddenly being homeless overnight?”
“She’s too proud to admit how bad things are,” he replied, frustration creeping into his voice. “Layla, she’s my mom. What was I supposed to do? Tell her no?”
I sighed, torn between suspicion and guilt. Dan wasn’t entirely wrong. Irene and I had never exactly been besties, but she was his mom. What could I say?
“Okay,” I finally conceded, “she can stay in the guest room—but Dan…”
“What?” he asked, a hint of impatience in his tone.
“Just promise me you’ll keep your eyes open. Something about this doesn’t feel right. And it’s only temporary, alright?”
He exhaled a long sigh. “Thank you. I know this means a lot—to her and to me.”
I glanced at the clock and muttered, “I just hope we’re not opening Pandora’s box here.”
He chuckled nervously, but neither of us truly laughed.
Little did I know that in just a few hours, my world would be turned upside down.
