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Marie felt a lump in her throat that she forced down, swallowing thickly. “Rachel, you shouldn’t have done that.”
“Listen, Marie, don’t start pulling that shit. You’re my best friend and you deserve this. I don’t have kids; I’m not married so I like spoiling you. You’re going to have to deal with that if we’re going to keep this up,” she said, motioning between the two of them.
Marie laughed and shook her head standing to throw her arms around her friend. She held the woman tight and kissed her cheeks. “Thank you, Rachel. You’re more than I deserve.”
“Ahhh I know I’m great but you’re pretty amazing too, lady. I couldn’t have patience with that boy you call your son.”
Marie sighed and rubbed her temple. “Sometimes I wonder how I even handle him,” she murmured.
“Well, don’t worry about it too much anymore. At least now you have a place to get away from it for at least a little while.”
Marie nodded and sighed, staring at her wine. Luckily, Rachel had learned to read her friend like a book and changed the subject quickly. “Do you think you’ll go home and take a look at the book now?” she asked with a little grin.
“Maybe. I’m not sure. Who’s your favorite?” Marie asked, cocking her head to the side.
Rachel smirked behind her wine lass just a little, her tongue darting out to lick her lips clean of the red wine.
“Stella.”
“Stella,” Marie repeated, blinking a little. “That sounds like a girl’s name.”
“It is.”
“RACHEL!”
Rachel laughed, covering her mouth. “What? Mystique is all about exploring your sexuality! Stella and Zeus are my personal favorites.”
Marie shook her head, a smile on her lips. “You’re crazy.”
“I know. Keeps things interesting,” Rachel added with a wink.
She laughed, suddenly feeling extremely relaxed. Marie was happy that she didn’t have to worry about paying for Madame Osei’s services, but at the same time she almost felt like it was too much. Could she really accept this gift from Rachel? At the end of the day, Marie decided to take it graciously and thank her lucky stars that she had people like Rachel in her life. People who would take care of her and love her. People had been taking advantage of Marie for so long that she’d gotten used to it.
But that was about to change and it was going to start today.
Chapter Thirteen
Marie ended up staying the night at Rachel’s since she was a bit too tipsy to drive. Not to mention, it wasn’t like she had anything to go home to. Richard was gone off God only knew where and even if he did come back, Marie wasn’t in a mood to fight. She crashed on Marie’s couch, sleeping well into the morning. She had the next three days off and she was planning on using them to her full advantage.
As she got ready to leave, Rachel hugged her tightly and told her to go back to Mystique soon. They would give her the medicine she so desperately needed. Marie knew it too. She knew that she needed affection and physical love. She wasn’t planning on getting married again any time soon, but she missed being held so badly. She missed having the weight of another person’s body over her and she missed the way the goosebumps rose on her skin when someone kissed her.
As Marie left, she sighed and looked over at the pamphlet in the car that listed the skills and expertise of the escorts at Mystique. She sat in her car a long moment, chewing on her lip. She wanted to choose her first date on instinct. It was hard, but she picked the pamphlet up and shoved it in the glove compartment of her car, managing to ignore it completely.
She made her way home, her stomach fluttering with excitement. She was going to go home, treat herself to a nice long bath, get pretty and head over to Mystique for her first real visit. When she pulled into the driveway she sighed softly, her heart dropping into her stomach at the sight of her son’s car. She wasn’t entirely sure if she had it in her to deal with him today.
Marie locked her car up and made it up her front porch stairs, unlocking the door and wandering in the house. She was shocked to find the furniture overturned and figurines broken. He son had clearly been going through her house looking for something and she already knew what; he was jonesing and needed money for drugs.
She walked through the house until she came to her bedroom where Richard was pulling things out of drawers and throwing them to the floor, his eyes wide and his hands shaking erratically. He was high out of his mind and the sight of it brought tears to her eyes. For a long moment she just stood there, watching him with a hand over her mouth.
Her son, the boy that she’d raised so tenderly and so lovingly was trying to steal from her. He was trying to steal money he knew she didn’t even have. She wanted to be angry and she wanted to scream, but his name fell from her lips weakly. She just sounded heartbroken.
“Richard.”
His head snapped up and he stared at her. “I was just looking for food money,” he murmured, his teeth chattering from the drugs.
She pressed her lips in a thin line and swallowed thickly, shaking her head. “No you weren’t. Don’t lie to me, Richard.”
“I just need some cash, mom. I’m coming down hard. It hurts, you know?” he whimpered, putting on those puppy-dog eyes that always won her over.
