Only Mine by Susan Mallery

daughter.
    Aurelia didn’t know if her mother had been a professional victim before he’d left, but she’d certainly taken on star status in the “poor me” department after.
    â€œLook at you,” her mother continued, pointing to Aurelia’s long, straight hair. “You’re a mess. You think this is how to find a man? They don’t even see you. This isFool’s Gold. There aren’t that many men. You have to try harder to get one here.”
    Harsh words that were true, Aurelia thought. She moved through the world in a bubble. Doing her job, going out to lunch with her work friends, invisible to every man, including the president of the company. She’d worked for his firm for nearly two years, and he still had trouble remembering her name.
    â€œI want grandchildren,” her mother declared. “I ask for so little, but do you give them to me?”
    â€œI’m trying, Mama.”
    â€œNot hard enough. You’re with businessmen all day long. Smile at them. Flirt a little. Do you even know how? Dress better. You could lose a little weight, too. I didn’t put you through college so you could be alone your whole life.”
    Aurelia closed the dishwasher and then wiped down the counter. Technically her mother hadn’t paid for college at all. Aurelia had received a couple of small scholarships, a few grants and had worked to pay the rest. However, she had lived at home for free, so that was support. Her mother was right—she should be more grateful.
    â€œYou’ll be thirty soon,” her mother went on. “Thirty. So old. When I was that age, you were five and your father had been gone four years. Did I have time to be young? No. I had responsibilities. I had to work two jobs. Did I complain? Never. You lacked for nothing.”
    â€œYou were good to me, Mama,” she said dutifully. “You still are.”
    â€œOf course I am. I’m your mother. You need to take care of me.”
    Which was what had happened a few years ago. Aurelia had graduated, gotten her first job and moved out. A year or so later, her mother had mentioned money was a little short and asked her to help her out. A few dollars here and there had become the reality of nearly supporting her mother.
    While her accounting job paid well, paying rent on two places, not to mention utilities and groceries, didn’t leave very much left over.
    Other parents seemed proud of their children’s successes. Not her mother. She complained that Aurelia took horrible care of her. In this household, being a child meant a never-ending debt that only grew with time.
    Aurelia stared out the kitchen window at the backyard beyond. Instead of a neat garden, she saw a giant balance sheet covered in red. Near-physical proof that she was trapped forever.
    It wasn’t supposed to have been like this, she thought sadly. She’d always had dreams of finding someone special, of falling in love. She just wanted to belong without having to feel there was always a payment to be made.
    An impossible fantasy, she reminded herself. She wasn’t especially pretty or interesting. She was an accountant who actually loved her work. She didn’t go toclubs or bars, and should a man ever speak to her, she wouldn’t have a clue what to say back.
    â€œIf you get picked for that show,” her mother warned, “don’t embarrass me by saying or doing something stupid. Be on your best behavior.”
    â€œI’ll try.”
    â€œTry!” Her mother, a small woman with penetrating dark eyes, threw her arms in the air. “It’s always try with you. Never do . You try and then fail.”
    Not exactly a pep talk designed to make her feel better, Aurelia thought, walking through the kitchen to the small living room. She hadn’t wanted to audition for the reality show being filmed in town, but her mother had bullied her until she’d agreed. Now she could only hope she