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“I’ll repeat, who are you and what have you done with my mother?”
“Oh don’t you give me that.” She swipes her hand through the air at me.
“Well if you don’t need my help setting the table and you already have the desserts set out, what exactly do you need my help with?”
“I was hoping we could talk for a minute.” She leans against the counter, glass of eggnog in her hand, and instantly my stomach knots. When my mom says she wants to talk about something, it’s never about something good.
“Okay,” I draw out, waiting for her to continue.
“How are you?” she asks, confusing the hell out of me.
“How am I?” I repeat.
“Yeah. I know you’re having a rough time with Hudson being away. Or well, that’s what you’re sister tells me. You don’t actually tell me anything.”
“Mom.”
“It’s fine. I get it. I didn’t tell my mother anything either.” She dismisses with a flick of her hand.
“What’s this really about, Mom?” I ask, not really up for skating around whatever it is she needs to say.
“You love him.”
“You know I do.”
“I can see how happy he makes you.”
“Good, because he really does,” I say, my confusion growing.
“But as your mother,” she starts and I instantly brace for what’s going to come next. “I feel like I have to at least speak my peace.”
“And that would be what?”
“You’re a very trusting person, Lennon. You always have been. You’ve been able to see the best in people even when they don’t deserve it. It’s a great quality to have most of the time, but not so much in relationships. I’m worried that things are moving a little too quickly. That you don’t really know everything there is to know about Hudson. He seems amazing, honey, truly he does. But I’m worried you’re blinded by his fame and good looks and you’re not seeing the bigger picture.”
“Which is what exactly?” I snip, irritation clear in my voice. Leave it to Elise Claire to rain on my Christmas parade.
“That he’s a famous musician, sweetie. That he’s been gone for weeks and will be gone for many more. That you have no idea what he’s really doing while he’s on the road.”
“Why are you bringing this up right now?” I ask, feeling like something had to have spurred this on for her to lay it on me at our Christmas celebration.
“Jackie called me this morning. Said she saw something in a magazine. A picture of Hudson and some female singer having dinner together.”
“Jackie called you?” I question, not sure why my mother’s oldest friend would be calling her about Hudson.
“She knows you’re dating him. It’s all any of our friends can talk about. And you know how much Jackie loves those celebrity magazines. She’s always buying them in the checkout lines at the store. Anyway, she was browsing her latest magazine when she came across a page that was collaged with several famous couples out doing normal everyday things. In the bottom right corner was a picture of Hudson and I think her name is Annalise or something.”
“Annabelle,” I correct her.
“Right, he was out with her. I haven’t seen the photograph myself, but I trust Jackie when she says they looked awfully cozy together.”
“Mom, they’re touring together. It’s not unheard of for friends or colleagues to share a meal,” I point out even though my mind is already swirling with fear.
Hudson hasn’t mentioned going anywhere with Annabelle just the two of them, and I’d be lying if I said the thought of them together doesn’t make me sick to my stomach.
“Of course I know that, honey. But I felt the need to let you know. You know, so you can keep an eye on the situation. I don’t want to see you end up hurt again.”
“Hudson isn’t Gage, Mom,” I grind out, not sure if I’m trying to convince her or myself.
