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Chapter Thirteen – Ben
Hello, Mom,” I call out in a jovial tone of voice as I walk into my mother’s house. “How are you? You here?”
I figure I might as well visit to tell her the news about me and Serena so she will get all the information directly from me. The last thing I want is for her to pop round unexpectedly to find me living with a woman. She’ll get all kinds of the wrong impression. This is going to be hard enough to get across as it is. I don’t want to make it worse.
“Oh, Ben, you’re here.” She moves out into her hallway with a grin. “I wasn’t expecting you, was I? I didn’t forget that you were coming, did I?”
“No, no, this is unexpected. You aren’t busy, are you?” I glance around wondering if she has plans. Maybe a little phone call would have been a good idea. She could have friends round or anything. Why don’t I ever think things through? “I can always come back...”
“No, no, come on in. Take a seat and I’ll make us some coffee.”
As Mom goes into the kitchen I make my way into the living room and I perch my butt on the edge of her awful, floral couch that she loves so much. In the silence of the room I tap my fingers together while I try to work out how I’m going to word this. I don’t think I met a girl a couple of days ago and now she lives with me is going to go down well. Much as Mom wants me to settle down I know she wants me to be smart about it. With money in my pocket, and a lot of it at that, she won’t want me to be settled with a gold digger. I know that Serena isn’t that, but I know the story will make it sound like she is.
“So.” As Mom comes back in she can already tell that somethings is going on. Her gossip nose is twitching like crazy. “What can I be assistance with? I assume you’ve either come here to tell me something or to ask for help. Which one is it?”
“Erm... the first one. I’m here to tell you something.” I stall by taking a sip of my coffee. “But it’s a bit of a complicated situation so I just want you to hear me out okay?”
“Are you in trouble?” Her face pales, she looks a bit sick. “What’s going on?”
“No, no trouble,” I reassure her. “Nothing like that at all.” I sigh deeply, wondering if maybe I should have planned this a little better. “I just wanted to let you know that I have someone living at my house now...”
“Someone?” Her eyes light up, I can already see her getting carried away. “Like a girl?”
“Yes, a girl. But it’s not like that. Not really. She’s a friend in a time of need so I’ve offered her a place to stay.”
She gives me a look that suggests she can see everything inside my mind. “Please, Ben, don’t take me for a fool. I know better than anyone that the only reason you would let a woman into your home is because you’re interested in her. Now, tell me you haven’t kissed her and I might just believe you.”
“Okay,” I’m forced to admit. “I have kissed her...”
“Right, so now tell me what she looks like. She must be something pretty special to have tamed you.”
Mom settles in her seat, getting more comfortable as she waits for me to answer her. There’s a content smile on her face that I really wanted to avoid. I don’t want Mom to think this is me getting too serious. I’m already a bit freaked out with how serious this has become already.
I mean, not really, but I will if Mom starts chatting too much about it.
“She’s got long dark hair and bright green eyes, a pretty face too, but honestly, Mom, I don’t want you to get too excited by this without letting me explain.” Mom doesn’t say anything which gives me a moment to keep on talking. “This isn’t something huge and exciting. She’s just a girl that I like and I’ve been spending some time with. She got herself into a bit of a situation with her home and I’ve invited her to come and stay with me for a while just until she gets something else.”
Mom nods slowly. “So, where did you meet this girl?”
“She’s a waitress at a bar I go to a lot, but I know it’s a job that she isn’t happy with. I’m hoping that by staying with me she will be able to find her passion.”
“I see. I think... I think I might need to meet her, don’t you? I don’t want you to start getting mixed up with the wrong girl.”
“This isn’t me getting mixed up, Mom. I know what I’m doing. I know what I’m doing with Serena. It really isn’t an issue. I know that you’re worried about me but you honestly don’t have to be. She’s a good person, she just needs this help.”
“I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t think you need someone to take care of you, I think I just want to meet her to see what she’s like. I want to know what’s so captivating about her.”
I roll my
eyes. There’s clearly no getting away from this. She will make herself known to Serena whether I like it or not. I think it’s best that I take control of things and make sure she doesn’t do anything too damn embarrassing just because she cares.
“You can, Mom, but she only just moved in yesterday and she has work tonight.”
“I thought she was giving up the job.”
“Well that’s what I told her to do, but she doesn’t want to leave the company in the lurch. She’s good like that. She’s just going to ask to work behind the bar a couple of nights a week rather than being a shot girl every night. I said she doesn’t need to do anything but she wants to pay her way and save up some money so she can eventually, you know, move out or go her own way or whatever. The tips won’t be as good, but she’ll still have some form of income.”
“Oh well that’s good. She has some form of independence then, she doesn’t want to live solely off you. I think I might like her even more now.” Mom pauses thoughtfully for a moment. “Maybe this is the one that you should marry.”
