“Ouch momma.” Tina whipped her head around as she winced a little bit.

“Now you know I raised you better than that.” she said handing her a clean glass. “You need to get yourself together and think about when you’re going home.”

“Momma I’m not thinking about going home right now.” she said as closed the refrigerator door and took a seat with her glass of orange juice.

“I don’t know why not? It seems as though all your troubles have moved away. And you, Christina have a business where people depend on you. You cannot stay here sulking about.”

“I’m not sulking Momma, I know I have people that depend on me. I also have very dependable people that work for me and can mange just fine without me there to hover over every little thing. I know exactly what I have waiting for me when I go home. I also know what I don’t have.” she finished under her breath.

“Well honey you only got yourself to blame for that situation. Now the real question is why are you still sitting here when there is something that you want out there waiting for you?”

“Momma she’s not waiting for me, she doesn’t want me anymore. I know she doesn’t. I went and I apologized to her and she still didn’t want to stay. What else am I supposed to do?” Tina said feeling the emotions push her words forward.

Tina’s mother grabbed a chair and brought it closer to Tina as she rubbed her back and spoke to her calmly, “Baby I raised you to go after the things that you wanted and to let nothing stand in your way. Your Daddy and I tried our very best to make y’all strong capable adults. Why are you sitting here acting helpless? You are more than this. If what you want is in Philadelphia, then you better do your damndest to get to Philadelphia and make her see the sincerity in a real apology.” she finished by sternly holding Tina’s chin in her hand.

It felt nice to know that someone still believed in Tina, even if her own self confidence was a little unstable right now. Tina was riding her horse again this time slowly and steadily. She rode him all the way to the end of the fields and was sitting watching as the sun began to set. She watched as the fire seemed to dissipate behind the small mountains in the distance. She watched as the sky danced with lovely shades of orange and hot reds. She smiled thinking about the journey she’d taken in such a short period of time. For some reason her mind drifted to Bobbi, her new lifelong friend was a staple to in her life that definitely warranted some credit for her change. Just thinking about Bobbi made her smile, she thought about the small talks that now meant so much. Each simple sentence now a pillar in her, ready to resurrect the wall of self confidence that she thought had fallen long ago. She felt the wind blow through her hair and she felt the fire burn her core with a sense of freedom she hadn’t felt in so long.