It hadn’t occurred to me that my mother might not recognize me, even though it had been eight years and I had purposely not sent her one picture. I approached from behind, a lit cigarette twisting in my hand, and tapped her shoulder. She turned around and stared at me for a second before shrieking.

“Jacqueleeeeeeene!” she cried, hugging me to her. I smelled marijuana. “You’re all grown up!” She squeezed and patted at various parts of my stiff body as if to reshape me.

I pulled away.

“What?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

She yanked the duffle out of my hands and swung it over her broad shoulders. She was more muscular than I remembered. “How was your trip?” she asked, walking two steps ahead of me.

“Dandy,” I said sarcastically, catching up to her. “Except for the last hour when I was waiting for you to show up.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. I was, well we were getting things ready at our place. You’ll see.”

We? Our place? Two big red flags. She’d never once mentioned living with anyone. What was I thinking? Why hadn’t my father locked me in a closet? Well, it was too late now. I had chosen to come and I would deal with whatever and whomever. It was only for a week, I reminded myself.

Outside the terminal, the humid air enveloped me, making my thighs stick together and my cigarette soggy. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, hoping to keep it from curling. I removed my leather jacket, but the heat plastered itself on my back, igniting the black spandex shirt I had worn. I knew I shouldn’t have brought the jacket, but Daddy had given it to me that morning for my birthday. It was a real motorcycle jacket with a Harley-Davidson logo on the back. It had made me feel tough earlier, bulletproof. Now, I just felt hot and stupid.

When we arrived at the car, I was taken aback to discover a Mercedes coupe exactly like the one my mother used to drive. Only this one was corroded with rust, the convertible top patched with duct tape.

“That’s not…?” I gestured.

“Yes indeedy. I had her shipped.”

She opened the compact trunk and shoved my duffle on top of a bunch of garbage bags full of stuff. Then, she sat her rear end on the trunk and bounced up and down until the latch clicked.

“There!” she said triumphantly. Merilee opened my door and, like a little girl, skipped around to the other side. She ground her key into the ignition, and we drove away from the airport and out to the open road.

“Oh honey, there is just sooo much I have to tell you,” she sang out. “Wait’ll you see your birthday surprise!”

All this and a surprise too. Great.