Wallflower set the dishes on the table. Though her body was in the dining area, her mind was elsewhere.
“I'm a bit concerned about you,” the professor had said, “You need to get, at least a B-plus on the final.”
“Why?” Wallflower had asked, “My grade may be low, but I'm not at risk of failing.”
“Because I know you can do better.”
“Yeah,” Wallflower thought, her teeth gritted, “everyone tells me that, but I can't. I try and try and work and study, and I still can't do better. I wish people would stop putting this pressure on me...”
“Your mother called.”
Wallflower blinked. “What?”
“She called,” Sunset repeated, “On the house phone.”
A sour taste began to form in Wallflower's mouth “What did she want?”
“I don't know. I didn't have time to hear the message. I only noticed it while on my way to get you.”
Wallflower walked to the machine and pressed the play messages button.
“You have one new message,” the machine began, “and seven hundred twenty-one old messages.”
“We really need to clean that thing,” Sunset said. Wallflower couldn't disagree.
“First message...” Wallflower's finger moved to the delete button. She barely gave a second thought before pressing it.
The machine beeped then confirmed message deleted. Wallflower stopped it before it could play to the older messages.
“You're not gonna listen to the message?” Sunset sounded surprised.
“Why?” Wallflower shrugged.
“Well, she's your mom. Don't you want to hear what she has to say?”
“Not really.”
She could see Sunset was confused.
“It's not like she's really much of a mom. You know she only calls when me AA tells her to.”
“Maybe it's different this time.”
Please, Sunset, don't.
“I used to think that. But she never changes.”
“That doesn't mean you should keep her out.”
“She's the one who left.”
“But, still—”
“Look,” Wallflower snapped, “only because you're an orphan and never knew your parents, I don't expect you to understand. But, sometimes, having parents is worse than having no parents.”
It was harsh. She knew. She also knew it hurt, but she felt she had to say it. Sunset needed to understand. She needed Sunset to understand.
She took in a deep breath. “I'm sorry,” she said softly.
Sunset had her back to her.
Wallflower knew she was hurting. She sighed. “I'm just gonna go take a shower.”
---
Wallflower sat on the side of the tub, watching the steady stream of blood from the fresh open wound.
The scene from the kitchen replayed in her mind.
The more she thought of it, the worse she felt, the more she caused her leg to bleed.
She wished she hadn't been so harsh with Sunset. She wished Sunset would understand that her mom was never going to change. She wished that her mom wasn't the way she was.
Her professor's words rung in her ears.
Well, I know of one person I'm better than...
She cleaned up and stepped in for a quick shower.
Opening the bathroom door, Wallflower found Sunset seated on the bed.
There was a brief silence before Sunset spoke. “Hey.”
Wallflower wavered a bit, unsure how to respond. “Hey,” she started, “Sunset, I—”
Sunset raised her hand. Wallflower's breath got stuck in her throat.
“I know you really didn't mean it.” Sunset sighed. “You're right. I may never understand. Unlike Applejack, I don't have the memories to rely on, or the extended family to help fill in the details.
“There's just me. And those I chose to make my family.”
No, don't say that.
“Just as there are things I may not understand. There are things that you don't either.”
Wallflower swallowed. “Maybe, we can try to make each other understand.”
A smile cracked Sunset's lips. “Yeah, I'd like that.”
Wallflower held her breath as Sunset rose from the bed. “Now, if you're done in there, I need to use the bathroom.” She kissed Wallflower as she passed. “I love how you smell after a shower.”
Wallflower blushed as she moved into the bedroom. She turned around to see a smile on Sunset's face.
“The casserole is still in the oven, if you're hungry.”
---
Wallflower dressed and went to the kitchen. She really wasn't hungry, but she felt she needed to make things up to Sunset.
Walking into the kitchen, she noticed that Sunset hadn't finished the salad.
“Well,” Wallflower figured, “I guess that's where I'll start.” She looked around for the knife Sunset had been using, but found it odd that she couldn't find it.
With confusion, she grabbed a new knife from the block and picked up where Sunset left off.
She had just finished plating when Sunset returned to the kitchen. It made her smile to see the delighted shock on Sunset's face.
“Best not to go to bed on an empty stomach,” she said.
A smile crept across Sunset's face. “I suppose I'll get the drinks.”