Fix It Up - Mary Calmes Page 0,78
more kiss.”
It was so much more than one.
Twelve
When we walked inside the house, my mother was in the kitchen, yawning and stretching from her afternoon cat nap, pouring herself a glass of berry-infused water.
“I know, I know,” she told me. “I’m starting dinner right now.”
“I just want the water at the moment.”
“I’ll pour you a…” She trailed off, tipping her head, looking at me. “You’re covered in dirt, you know.”
I grunted.
“Why are you—come here, I want to talk to you,” she called over to me as Nick headed to the bathroom.
Crossing the room to the kitchen, I took the glass she’d poured and offered me, and nearly drained it before I came up for air. I noted the way she was studying me. “Whaddya want, Gidge?” I said, using the name.
“Oh,” she said with a sigh. “That was thoughtful.”
I shrugged.
She reached out and put a hand on my cheek. “Promise me you’ll come back soon. I’d like to see more of you.”
“You won’t get sick of me?”
“Not in the least,” she assured me.
“You just want free labor.”
“I do enjoy that, I’m not going to lie,” she said playfully. “But it’s your company that’s the real draw.”
“Well, even though some of your friends are a bit flaky, and a bit too loose with their various herbal remedies––”
“You mean pot and mushrooms and peyote.”
“That’s what I mean, yes,” I teased her. “I will promise to return if you let them visit while I’m here. I know you don’t let anyone come over, and that’s mean. They miss you, and they should get to see your son.”
“Yes, but––”
“You get to see theirs,” I reminded her.
She nodded. “I promise; it’s just that I like to soak up all your attention, and then there was that time when Teresa Reeves hit on you.”
I scoffed. “Did she hit on me? Are you sure?”
Instant glower. “I was horrified,” she informed me loudly. “I saw the way she looked at you. I have never looked at even one of my friends’ sons like that in my entire life. I would never! That’s disgusting!”
“Oh, c’mon, don’t be such a prude.”
“Children are sacred.” She was adamant. “I couldn’t even speak to her after that.”
I reached for her.
“No, no,” she squealed, moving quickly around the other side of the counter to escape me. “You’re covered in dirt and sweat. You need to go shower before dinner.”
I groaned. “You have no idea,” I said, and turned for the hall.
“What?” she asked, stopping me with a hand on my wrist.
“Nothing, forget I––”
“Locryn?” She studied me, and I was sure, with how disheveled I looked, that she was starting to draw her own conclusion.
“Just never––”
“Oh,” she said suddenly, almost with a jolt.
If the ground could swallow me up, that would be great.
“Oh,” she repeated, louder the second time, which was infinitely worse. “Well now.”
“Stop,” I warned her, girding for whatever horror she was about to share.
“And here I thought I was the child of nature dancing naked under the full moon.”
“No,” I groaned. “I don’t wanna know what––”
“Oh, I’m kidding about the dancing; I suspect it’s more in line with what you and Nick did, but that part’s not important. The joyful news is you and Nick are finally trining together in perfect harmony. I’m over the moon.”
“I don’t want you to get your hopes up that we’re gonna end up––”
“But darling, anyone can see he’s utterly besotted with you, and seeing someone besides me get it, get you, understand the treasure you are, just makes me love him almost desperately.”
“Stop getting attached,” I warned her. “He’s going to come to his senses any––”
“No, sweetheart,” she said with a sigh. “He’s young, but he’s not stupid. I mean, for heaven’s sake, he’s already got a ring on you.”
“Oh God, that’s right,” I said, lifting my hand to take it off.
She caught her breath, and I froze.
“Mom?”
“Don’t you dare do that,” she cautioned, suddenly quite serious. “You’ll break his little heart. That ring is so important to him. It’s imbued with all his hopes and dreams.”
“Imbued?”
“I know you’re not making fun of my vocabulary.”
“No, but c’mon. We both know I shouldn’t be the one wearing it.”
“But you should, because you’re his home now.”
“Seriously, did one of your friends come by and drug you and Nick?”
She squinted at me. “I swear I have no idea where this lack of belief in love came from.”
“Mother, you’ve been married seven times. Where do you think it came from?”
“But that’s what I mean. I believed each time, so that