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“Who knows? Rumor has it the old studio head has a heart after all, that somehow word reached his ears a certain young lady was foul prey to some Hollywood gossip journalist’s spell, doing all her work for no reward and he decided to punish her,” she intones with dramatic effect, making Jack roll his eyes now.
“Speak English. Mother, will ya?” he says exasperated.
But she only holds her shrug, giving me a sly wink that we both know Jack doesn’t see.
“There’s still a movie deal on offer,” Denise says firmly. “But I don’t think it’ll be enough to interest either of you, given half of what I’ve heard?” she asks, turning her gaze to her son, who blushes.
“What does that mean, and how would you-” But she only holds up a finger to silence him before bringing it to her own lips.
“The best gossips. The most potent forces in this business, my boy!” she announces. “Know when to speak up and when to say nothing.”
Jack’s shaking his head in disbelief, almost embarrassed, but I can’t help but get the feeling his mom is trying to tell me something without saying a word, using her own statement to prove her point.
Either way, I feel relief but also sheer panic at the thought of my now former boss being fired.
“So, I guess I’m out of a job now too?” I groan aloud, slumping back into the thick leather couch, feeling it cold against my skin now.
Trying to remind myself that Jack’s pledged himself and his apartment to me long before we both heard any of this.
Denise turns away sharply, giving Jack all the room he needs to move closer to me, with his body and his words.
“Like I said, Olivia. You can stay here, work from here if you want, or not at all. I’ll always look after you, no matter what,” he reminds me, his hand over mine making me remember his body’s pledge to mine.
That we’re a team now, no matter what.
“That’s my boy,” I hear Denise murmur to herself. And not in a bad way either.
She sounds proud.
Expectant.
Like she knows something I don’t again, but I honestly can’t digest it mentally. Today, and even yesterday has been too much.
I feel like I’m dissolving into something I can’t control anymore. Like granules into a glass of milk.
Jack’s phone chimes in his pocket and we both let him know it’s okay to take it.
He keeps an eye on me for a moment before moving into the kitchen, speaking in guffaws with who I can only guess is the head of a certain movie picture studio from what we all hear.
It gives Denise and me some time alone, and she wastes no time in telling me how things should be from now on.
“He loves you, Olivia. I know he does,” she tells me, shocking me with her bluntness. Making me smile once I hear the obvious truth from a stranger.
“Not as much as I love him,” I tell her, jumping a little when I feel her hand on my shoulder. More surprised when I feel my own cover it without looking up at her.
“Oh, I think there’s time enough for that, just give him time and maybe forgive the interferences of a stupid old woman every now and then,” she says softly, squeezing my hand in hers.
“I will, I mean. I know we both will,” I tell Denise clumsily. Feeling like I’ve not only made a friend in a few minutes. But a lifelong ally and partner as much as I have in her son.
“Write your articles, do what makes you happy. We’ll both be here for you,” she adds, putting her fingers to her lips when I look up and glancing towards the kitchen, signaling me to keep her exit quiet.
Leaving me and Jack alone again, together. Just how I know she wants us to stay, forever.
I swipe the warm tear from my cheek before Jack sees it, knowing it would bother him, but it’s not a sad tear.
A friend I never had before. Maybe the mother I never knew myself.
It’s not a sad tear that I feel when I watch Denise leave, that’s for sure. Made happier with the knowledge that it won’t be long before I see her again either.
She just has that effect on me.
“Well, where’d she get to?” Jack asks abruptly, coming back into the room in time to hear the front door closing.
“I hope she didn’t-” he starts to asks, but I shake my head gently.
“No, she didn’t. Just had someplace else to be. I hope we’ll see more of her though, your mom?” I ask Jack, looking up and reaching for his hand.
“Uh, okay. I guess,” he murmurs to himself, sitting on the edge of my seat.
“I generally don’t see a lot of her as a rule,” he observes, but noting how relaxed and happy I seem now, he only makes one final conclusion.
