Cursed by Monica Wolfson

her anything considering the whole thing seemed crazy.
    “Have you known my mom long?” Sasha remembered Gigi being around forever like Dominic, although Gigi didn’t seem as close to her mother as Dominic was.
    “Years,” she said. “Decades really.”
    Sasha frowned. “Decades? You can’t be more than 30.”
    Gigi laughed. She scrambled around her desk and found her purse. She dug out a compact, flipped it open and inspected her image in the small mirror. “You don’t know what a compliment that is,” she giggled. “I work hard at looking young, but 30? That is really flattering Sasha, thank you.”
    Sasha was confused by Gigi’s enthusiasm over her remark. Gigi appeared young, much younger than her mother, although her mother was only 42. It wasn’t like her mom was ancient like Dominic. Sasha rolled her eyes and didn’t pursue the topic. She didn’t really want to talk about how young Gigi looked.
    Sasha picked up a magazine on a table and flipped through it not seeing anything. It was one of those trashy celebrity magazines that Gigi loves.
    “Sorry,” Gigi said. “You were saying…”
    “I wasn’t saying anything,” Sasha mumbled staring at a photo of a celebrity who was getting out of a limousine without underpants. “Why do people humiliate themselves like that?”
    Gigi arched her eyebrows and didn’t say anything. Sasha sighed and slammed the magazine back on the table. “Ok,” she said bitterly. “I am not getting along with my mother lately. I know I should care but I don’t. She’s being completely unreasonable and secretive.”
    Gigi propped her chin between her hands and gazed at Sasha sympathetically.
    “Your mother had her share of problems with her own mother,” Gigi said.
    “She did? I don’t know anything about my grandmother. Is she still alive? Where does she live?” Sasha saw an opportunity to get answers and dove in.
    Gigi swallowed and started to fidget as if she was nervous. “I don’t know if your grandmother is alive,” she said in a husky voice and then she cleared her throat. “I never met her. I was just referring to the stories your mother told me.”
    Sasha sat up straight and placed her hands in her lap. She didn’t want to scare Gigi from telling her some stories that she otherwise would never know.
    “Tell me some stories,” Sasha demanded. “Mother never talks about her childhood or her life before she met dad.”
    “Perhaps she doesn’t have happy memories,” Gigi said softly. “Maybe it hurts to remember.”
    Sasha sat back in her seat and thought about what Gigi said. Even if the memories were painful, she still wanted to know about her mother’s early life.
    “You think I should ask her don’t you?”
    Gigi shrugged and gazed out the window. The view was of the front yard and passing cars driving down the street. Sasha relaxed when she saw no car sitting outside her house watching her.
    “Maybe she’ll tell you when she’s ready,” Gigi said picking up her tea cup and refilling her cup from a teapot steeping in the corner.
    “I need answers now,” Sasha said her voice tinged with desperation. She backed off when she saw the concerned look on Gigi’s face. “Forget I said anything.”
    Sasha stormed out of the office, furious at the secrecy in the house.
     
    Jenna drove slower than normal on the way to school.
    “What’s up with the granny routine?” Sasha asked using the vanity mirror to put on lipstick. It was a muted shade of pink. Jenna glanced at her quickly and then refocused on the road, two hands on the steering wheel.
    “I got a speeding ticket yesterday,” she muttered unhappily.
    “That’s not the end of the world,” Sasha said.
    “It will be if my insurance rates go up,” Jenna said bitterly. “My mom could take away the car.”
    “Oh,” Sasha said with no other commentary. She had her driver’s license but rarely drove because she didn’t really like driving and everyone else seemed more than willing