Thanks for reading part 1! Here's part 2! I envision this story as having at least five parts overall.
Hope you enjoy!
"I'm home!" Britney declared with a crash and a slam of the front door. Melissa, who had been patiently waiting her daughter's arrival in the living room, leaped to her feet and practically ran to close the distance between them. "How are--" Britney managed to get out before Melissa threw her arms around her, hugging her so tightly than an outsider might think they hadn't seen one another in years. "Mom, holy shit!" Britney said with a laugh.
"Language, sweetheart!" Melissa admonished.
"I'm sorry, it's just--this is really something!" she tried to pull herself out of her mother's grip but finally just shrugged and let the hug last however long it needed to. "I wasn't expecting anything like--"
Britney paused as something strange grabbed her attention. Leaning in close to her mother, she took a few quick sniffs.
"Mom, are you...wearing perfume?"
"Oh!" Melanie said with a titter, finally ending the hug. "Do you like it?"
"Mom...your lips! And your eyes! Holy shit!"
"Language, Britney!"
"I mean, can you blame me? You lectured me so much about wearing makeup when I was a teenager! I honestly thought you hated it! I think this is the first time I've ever seen you wearing it! Is this the reason why you wanted me to come visit?"
"Of course not, sweetheart. I really wanted to see you."
"And now I'm glad I came! Wow! Can I take a few pictures?"
"Pictures?"
"Yeah, um, well, now that the cat's out of the bag, my friends at school have heard some, uh, not-so-flattering stories about how strict you were. This'll really shock them! Rachel will flip her sh--er, flip out!"
Britney pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures. Melissa puckered her lips and flaunted her eye shadow. Britney was happy after just a few shots, which upset Melissa because she had enjoyed it despite herself. Not that she was about to tell Britney that.
"So tell me everything," Britney said once she'd kicked off her shoes and moved her overnight bag from off of the doormat.
"Everything? What are you talking about, sweetheart?"
"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," Britney said with a wink. Melissa just frowned, confused. "C'mon, mom. Mascara? Lipstick? Perfume? All you're missing is the low-cut top! Who's the man you're trying to impress?"
"At my age? Please, Britney."
"Mom!"
"I'm serious!"
"Bullshit."
"Language!"
After moving into the living room, they went back and forth like that for a while, laughing and playfully swatting at each other. Melissa, unable to convince Britney that she wasn't seeing anyone, decided instead to try to change the subject. Britney was all too happy to tell her mother about her current boyfriend.
"He's tall, he's chiseled, he's so sweet, mom, I swear, I can't get enough of him. The other day, he--"
Melissa nodded as Britney told her a nice but uninteresting story about their most recent date. Melissa's concentration wandered and she found herself looking her daughter up and down. Examining her. Britney's hair was a few shades lighter than Melissa's and much longer and straighter. When she'd been in high school, Britney had regularly dyed her hair a sort of dirty blond shade which Melissa didn't care for. These days Britney was sporting a few blond streaks through her otherwise dark brown hair, and Melissa liked that much more. Her dark eyes and high cheekbones reminded Melissa of herself when she'd been at that age, but Britney was unquestionably prettier, especially because she'd filled out her frame without putting on any extra weight. The faint mascara around the eyes and slight sheen to her lips just made her look cuter, and Melissa couldn't help but wonder what her daughter looked like when she was all dolled up for a date.
Of course Melissa had always known that her daughter was pretty. But she hadn't realized until now just how gorgeous she was.
Suddenly ashamed of her thoughts, Melissa cleared her throat, interrupting Britney mid-story.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I have to go to the bathroom. Can you hold that thought?"
"Sure, mom," Britney said. "I've actually gotta pee, too. I'll go use the toilet upstairs."
"I won't be long. And your brother should be home soon."
Britney snorted. "I'd forgotten about him, to be honest. So where is the little dweeb? Out 'job hunting' again?"
"He is!" Melissa smiled. "It's really something! I'm sure he'd love to tell you all about it when he gets home!"
"Yeah, OK, whatever," Britney said with a shrug and a sarcastic grin. She skipped up the stairs and Melissa headed into the downstairs bathroom, even though she didn't really have to do anything. Sitting herself down on the toilet, she fidgeted with her fingers.
Britney...her daughter...gorgeous? "Oh, dear," she said softly to herself. She turned on the tap and examined herself in the mirror. Her lipstick needed touching up, but it could wait until later. She washed her hands and then left the bathroom just in time to catch her son letting himself in.
"Welcome home, sweetie!" Melissa exclaimed.
"Hi, mom," he said tersely. He glanced around the room, looking distracted. "Brit here?"
"She is."
He grinned. "Perfect."
Britney was beside herself. Not only had the little dork said hi to her when she came back down the stairs instead of locking himself in his room like the gremlin he was, he'd also volunteered to help out their mother with dinner. He was standing at the counter now, his back to her, tossing a salad as their mother preheated the oven.
Not to be outdone, Britney started setting the table. "Excuse me for a moment, kids," Melissa said once Britney had finished with the silverware. "I've gotta go pull something out of the freezer downstairs."
"OK, spill it," Britney hissed at her brother once their mother was out of the room. "What the hell is going on?"
He smirked and that made her angry. "What ever are you talking about, sis?"
"Don't play dumb with me! Mom's strutting around the house all dolled up and smelling like she's ready to go out on a hot date, you're out...looking for jobs and helping with chores? This makes no sense at all!"
"People change, Brit."
"But not like this! I was just here two months ago and nothing like this was happening!"
"Don't like that you weren't here to see it?"
"I don't like being left out of the loop!"
"It's not like you tell me what's going on in your life."
"That's different. You don't give a shit about my life. But I happen to care about our mother."
"Ah, who knows, Brit? Maybe we were both stuck in our stereotypical roles and our expectations of each other. 'Strict single mother with the deadbeat son who needed to find a way to get it all together.' Maybe me finally admitting that I don't want to go to college broke us out of a stale, old cycle and freed up our minds to new possibilities that we're finally letting ourselves explore."
Britney crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and glared at him.
"Or," he said, turning to meet her glare, "maybe I found a way to brainwash her and I've been secretly controlling her this whole time."
Britney rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Fine, whatever. You don't want to talk to me about it. But I'll find out sooner or later."
She angrily stomped out of the kitchen, took her overnight bag, and began dragging it up the stairs. "Yes, you definitely will," he said under his breath.
Melissa returned from the basement a moment later. "Where'd your sister go?"
"Upstairs to unpack, I guess. She seems a little out of it. She thinks everything is different."