Mum didn’t come out of her room until the next day. Unfortunately, I also happened to be out of my room at the time. I was hanging around Daisy, and we were getting ready to head to the park for the afternoon. Neither of us wanted to be around when Mum finally came out of her room. But we were too late. Mum came out of her room with Dad rubbing her back just as we were starting to get our shoes on to leave.

“Where are you guys going?” Dad asked.

“The park.” Daisy and I said at the same time.

“Alrighty.” Dad sighed. “Be back for dinner, ok?”

“We will.” Daisy said. We were both looking at Mum. She was remaining very quiet, and she kept her head down most of the time. The very times she looked up, we could see how tired she looked.

“See you.” Dad said as we headed out the door.

“Well, Mum seems awfully quiet don’t you think?” Daisy said as we walked down to the park.

“Yea I noticed.” I said. “Wonder why.”

“Probably because of yesterday.” Daisy sighed. “The whole situation probably scared her, and then I said what I did, and ugh… this is probably my fault.”

“It’s not your fault. Things happen.”

“Yes, but I told her she deserved to get in trouble for what she does to you! I mean, she does deserve it, but still! I still want Mum around! She probably took it as I wanted us to be taken away and-”

“Calm down.” I interrupted her before she started overthinking. “Don’t start blaming yourself. You were upset, and when people are upset, they say stuff they don’t mean. It happens. Especially in this family.”

“That’s fair…” Daisy sighed. “I just feel bad… You know, sometimes I wonder if Mum has some sort of disorder where she can’t control her outbursts. Something sets her off and she loses control of herself.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“I’d ask, but that would probably trigger another outburst.” Daisy laughed a bit.

“No doubt.”

We spent the whole afternoon at the park playing a mix of tennis and running around like idiots. It was the most fun I had had in awhile. It was always nice getting to fool around with Daisy. She was a fun person to be around. Near dinnertime, we headed back home. We ended up being just in time for dinner.

“You’re just in time for dinner!” Dad smiled as we took our shoes off at the entrance. Like earlier, Mum was keeping quiet and her head down. “Your mother made chicken waterzooi!”

Daisy’s eyes lit up. That was one of her favourite things. It was basically a sort of stew with chicken and a bunch of vegetables. Daisy seemed to have a thing for stews, which we all joked about. Once we got our outdoor wear off, we washed our hands and headed to the table to join Mum and Dad.

“How was the park?” Dad asked.

“Fun.” Daisy said as she happily took her share of stew. “We mostly played a bunch of tennis.”

“Sounds fun.” Dad smiled. “So who won?”

“Kevin.” Daisy laughed. “I suck at tennis.”

“You don’t suck at it.” I said kind of quietly. I was always on edge when it came to talking with Mum around. Dad I could talk to, but Mum was a tough one to talk to.

“Sure, sure.” Daisy joked. “I just tripped over my own racket a bunch of times. Pure skill right there.”

Dad laughed and I gave Daisy a smile. I looked over at Mum who was still keeping her head down and quietly eating her dinner. Daisy looked over at her as well and frowned.

“Mum?” Daisy said quietly. “Are you ok?”

“Fine.” Mum replied.

“You sure?” Daisy asked. “You’re awfully quiet.”

“Don’t feel good.” Mum then got up, put her bowl in the sink and headed back to her room.

“What’s wrong with Mum?” Daisy asked Dad.

Dad sighed. “She’s just upset.”

“Is it because of what I said yesterday?”

“Well… yea. She didn’t think you felt that way and now she’s a bit upset with herself.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her…” Daisy said quietly. “I just wanted her to leave Kevin alone…”

“She doesn’t mean to have such outbursts like that.” Dad sighed. “She’s got some emotional issues that she’s trying to get a handle on. Especially after what happened a couple weeks ago. She realized things are getting out of control.”

“Is there anything we can do to help her out??” I asked. I wanted the outbursts to stop so I wouldn’t get yelled at so much.

“Well, trying not to provoke her would be one thing.” Dad said. “That applies to both of you.”

“I know I provoke her by fighting with her about things, but what about Kevin?” Daisy asked. “He doesn’t do anything wrong and she flips her shit.”

“You know how she feels about him. I don’t think there’s much you can do.” Dad sighed. “I know that’s tough to hear, but unless she gets past the issues she has, then I don’t think her attitude will change.”

“So why won’t she let him move out??” Daisy questioned. “I don’t imagine she wants Kevin here. No offense Kevin.”

“None taken.” I said.

“That’s one even I don’t fully understand.” Dad sighed. “I think she doesn’t believe in him being able to get through school on his own. No offense.”

“Again, none taken.” I sighed.

“I wanted you two to move out together because then maybe she wouldn’t have so many outbursts, and she would be happy knowing you two are looking after each other. But I guess not.”

“She’s a confusing one, huh?” Daisy said.

“Oh yea.” Dad chuckled. “She always has been. Ever since I met her.”

“Well… I’m gonna go talk to her.” Daisy finished her meal, got up and put her empty bowl in the sink. “I need to apologize for what I said.”

Dad nodded. Daisy headed to Mum’s room and chatted with her in private. Dad and I didn’t have much to talk about, so we just finished our meals in silence.