Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,73

babydoc. I'll see you tonight."

Aislynn met Pam in the lobby and helped her get her things up to the room. Pam had arranged to have several spa treatments done during her stay, which meant the amount of time Aislynn had to spend with her turned out to be even less than expected. Aislynn was relieved at first, but then wondered if she should've felt guilty for thinking that way. It was her mom after all, and she had flown thousands of miles to spend time with her on her birthday.

"Are we doing lunch now, or are you going to go change out of those pants before we go?" Pam asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Yeah, I'll leave the guilt for some other time.

"So you like California, huh?"

"I really do," Aislynn answered, taking the last bite of her pasta. "I've actually liked every city I've been in so far, to be honest with you."

"Where are you off to next?" Pam asked.

Trick question, I can feel it.

"I don't know. It might be good to get out of the States, do some traveling abroad. Europe, maybe."

"How do you plan to do that? Financially, I mean. You don't even have a job."

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I'm perfectly fine," she said, as the waitress came by to pick up their empty plates. "Can I have a double espresso, please?" Aislynn ordered.

"That's going to do wonders for your sleep tonight," Pam said with her trademark sarcasm.

"Like I said, don't worry about it, Mom. I'm perfectly fine," she repeated.

"Whatever you say," Pam said in singsong. "Okay, so I was thinking that maybe I should cook dinner at your place tonight. You ask for whatever you want."

"Really?" Aislynn said with hesitation. A dinner at home provided an inevitable opportunity for Pam to interact with Jace.

Jace. My Jace. My very persuasive Jace, she thought as she drifted off into a memory of the shower activities from the night before.

"Aislynn! Hey, I just lost you," Pam said, oblivious to the inner workings of Aislynn's mind. "Do you feel okay? You look a bit flushed."

"I'm great," she answered, and felt her inner muscles contract involuntarily.

"I was asking if you know what you want me to cook for you tonight."

"Right. Dinner…How about…oh! I want chicken fried steak, mac and cheese from scratch, and green beans with bacon."

I'm gonna need a defibrillator to go with all that.

"All right. Comfort food it is."

"We should head over to farmer’s market and pick up some fresh ingredients," Aislynn said as she paid the bill.

"Wow, this place is fantastic," Pam said as she browsed through one of the produce counters at the market. Aislynn was surprised because impressing the woman was no easy task. "All right, so with Ellie and her boyfriend, that makes four of us for dinner, right?"

Here we go. Big girl panties on.

"Actually, it's going to be five. Jace will be there as well," Aislynn said.

The silence that ensued was incredibly telling, and very anxiety provoking for Aislynn. She repeated her new chant over and over in her head to calm herself down.

You control this. Not her.

Pam's gaze moved over to the seafood counter. "Who's Jace?" she finally asked in a pathetic attempt at sounding casual and aloof.

"Jace is my boyfriend, and he will join us for dinner," Aislynn said, her voice soft yet commanding.

"You haven't mentioned Jace before," Pam said, pronouncing his name in a tone Aislynn didn't appreciate.

"No, I haven't."

"Well, tell me about him, then."

Yeah, I'm not taking that bait.

"What do you want to know?" Aislynn asked.

"Geez, I don't know. The normal stuff," Pam said, now irritated. She had never dealt well with Aislynn's fine-tuned talent of being evasive.

Taste the bitter pill, Mom.

Pam continued, "How old is he? What does he do for a living? How long have y’all been dating? Is it serious? Is this the guy you were out with on a date when I called?"

"Thirty-one; business investor; a few months; yes, it is serious; and yes, that was him."

"Again with the one word answers? If this relationship is so important to you, then say something of substance, for the love of God," Pam snapped.

Aislynn's body tensed and her face flushed against her will. It was a miracle her teeth had not cracked because the pressure she was putting on her jaw rivaled that of an alligator at feeding time.

She walked around and faced Pam head on, not caring that they were surrounded by dozens of people.

"First of all, I don't have to say anything at all. This is my life,