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Her eyes were round and full of dread, for she knew once my mother found out I was seeing someone, all hell would break loose.

Chapter Forty-One

Krystina

When Allyson and I arrived home, we found Frank and my mother already inside our apartment. My mother was ordering Frank to bring a bunch of packages into the guest bedroom, and neither noticed we had come in. By the looks of things, she had apparently been shopping.

The living room was littered with bags from various retail shops throughout the city, making a disaster area out of the normally tidy apartment. I had half a mind to ask my mother to return her key. However, I knew I couldn’t do that as long as Frank was paying the rent. So, I defaulted to politeness rather than throwing a fit about the mess my mother had made.

“Hi, Mom,” I said.

My mother was the only woman I knew who could pull off such casual elegance by simply wearing a cardigan and a pair of trouser pants. She appeared to be examining her nails for a chip and looked up when she heard my voice.

“Oh, good! You’re home! I didn’t hear you two come in!”

“Hello, Mrs. Long,” Allyson said.

“Allyson, you look marvelous as always,” my mother swooned. Her silver bracelets jingled as she came over to give Allyson and me a hug. “I’m so happy to see you both. It’s been too long since my last visit.”

As far as I was concerned, it wasn’t long enough. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy to see her, but I didn’t have the patience to deal with her today. After my day at the spa, I now had more pressing matters to attend to.

“When you told me you were planning on a visit, I thought you would have given me a heads up,” I said, perhaps a little bit too harshly.

“I’m sorry, honey. But you know Frank’s schedule. Things come up at the last minute with the dealerships, which makes long-term planning tough. The weekend was free, so we decided early this morning to take the drive in.”

“Krys!” I heard from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Frank coming out of the guest room. I smiled when I saw him and was happy to see him looking so well. He was a little grayer than when I had seen him last but still looked trim and fit despite the fact he was pushing sixty.

“Hey, Frank,” I said.

“Come here, girl. I missed you,” Frank said, pulling me into a fierce bear hug. “Thank goodness you’re home. I think your mother had me walk half the streets in the city in just a few short hours. We only came back here to drop off packages. It’s your turn now.”

“I’m up for a shopping trip,” Allyson chimed in.

“That’s a great idea!” my mother exclaimed. “The three of us girls can shop, then Frank can meet up with us for a late dinner afterward.”

My mother’s face lit up like a Roman candle at the idea, and I dreaded being the one to extinguish it.

“I’m sorry, mom. But I can’t go shopping tonight.”

“But, dear, why not?”

“I have plans,” I said, deliberately evading the specifics. I looked to Allyson in a silent plea for help.

“That’s okay, Mrs. Long. The two of us can go,” Allyson offered. “Besides, I’m way overdue for a new pair of boots.”

I was grateful to Allyson for jumping in to take the reins, but there was no fooling my mother. She saw the look passing between Allyson and me, and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“What sort of plans do you have tonight, Krys?” my mother asked. She tried to pose the question as being off the cuff, but I knew her too well.

“There’s just something I have to do, that’s all.” I tried to shrug off her concern. “If you’re up for more shopping tomorrow, I can go with you then.”

My mother wasn’t falling for it, so she turned to Allyson instead.

“Has she met someone?” my mother asked.

Here comes the third-degree interrogation…

“I’m standing right here, Mom. You don’t have to ask Ally.”