“Do you make eyes at all your ‘work colleagues’?” she asks with exaggerated air quotes.
“That’s called glaring.” The doors open and I sweep her inside.
“What are you, blind? The way he was looking at you!” She swoons, falling back against the elevator wall. “To be looked at like that again...”
“Oh please, Mom, men look at you that way all the time. And I do see how he looks at me. With total contempt.”
“Oh,right.” When the elevator dings she floats down the hallway, carried away by her own false fairy tale. “I feel so much better knowing you have a man like that looking out for you.”
“Mom,stop. I don’t feel that way about him.”I don’t think.
“Don’t even try to tell me you’re not interested in him, it’s written all over your face. You two are the most obvious fakers on the planet. You always were a terrible liar. That’s one of the things I love about you, honey, you’re so pure of heart.” She stops at the door while I fumble for my keys.
“Mom, try to hear me. Okay?”
She raises an eyebrow indulgently.
“Ben and I are not dating. We will notbedating.”
“And why not? Give me your best excuses.” She crosses her arms.
“For starters, I’m pretty sure he has a girlfriend.”
“Oh, hogwash. Fiddle-faddle.”
I laugh in spite of myself. “It’s not hogwash! Listen to yourself.” I unlock the door and immediately kick off my heels.Yesss. Sayonara, shoes.
She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. “That guy? The one I just watched stare at you for two hours? The one who chose to spend his Friday night with you and yourmother? He does not have a girlfriend.”
“I’m telling you, he’s seeing someone.” I fill her in on Corinne and she sighs heavily.
“Well, if he is seeing this other woman, just make him forget about her.” She flicks her wrist like this should be simple, like I’m Venus or Cleopatra or something.
“You’re acting like he’s confessed his undying love for me and I’ve turned him down, but let me be clear: he has never once displayed romantic interest in me.”I don’t think.
“Maybe you’re not giving him an opportunity. He probably thinks if he’s honest with you, you’ll bite his head off. You’re very intimidating.” She flops onto the couch and kicks her feet up on my coffee table.
“He’s had opportunity,” I shoot back before I can censor myself. No way am I telling her about my night of drunken debauchery.
“I think you’re trying to force your brain to overpower your heart. He may not be who you saw yourself with on paper, but you can’t help who you fall in love with. The heart wants what it wants,” she trills. She’s a poet now.
“Stop saying I’m in love with him! You barely know him. He could be a serial killer.”
“Serial killers typically aren’t worried about getting you home safely.”
I exhale in frustration. “We need a subject change.”
When I walk past the couch, she tugs me down next to her, forcing me into a hug. I give in to her embrace and take a deep inhale of her peach-scented shampoo, letting the familiar scent wash over me.
“I just want you to be happy,” she murmurs into my hair. “You seemed... all lit up with him. It’s been a long time since I saw you like that. And what are you so afraid of? He seems sweet and supportive and protective. I hardly think that’s someone who’s going to hurt you.” She pulls back, nodding decisively. “I’m rooting for him. I’m Team Ben.”
“I think what you meant was, you’re Team Kate. You know, youronlydaughter? And why are you so desperate to pair me off, anyway? I don’t need a man to be happy.”
“Of course you don’tneeda man. You’ve always been enough, all on your own. But we’re not meant to go through life alone.”
“Says the woman who never married even though many have tried.”
She tsks. “I wasn’t alone. I had you. And don’t use me as an excuse to hide.”
