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“Good to know. But I promise you, this person is not a bad influence.” If anything, she’s the best thing for me. It was the first time I had admitted that to myself. That didn’t mean I was ready to share that information with anyone. Not even Lindsay.
“Why is it you use the word ‘person’? Does this person have a gender, or maybe a name?” she asked.
I knew it was only a matter of time before she picked up on that. Mother was excellent at deciphering a sentence and pulling out the one thing you wished she didn’t. If it was possible at all to ignore her question and change the subject, I would. But that would only mean she’d go to my brothers and start on them until she got her answer.
“Her name is Lindsay and she was searching for a friend she believed to be in the emergency room.” That would’ve been more than enough explanation for me, but not for my mother, the gazette.
“Lindsay? Does she have a last name?”
“Maxwell.”
“I don’t believe I know a Lindsay Maxwell. But is she related to the Maxwells of Manhattan? You remember them. They were at the fundraiser we went to last month.”
“I do not believe they are related.” Then again, I never asked. I wasn’t seeing her because of her last name, or any connections she might have. I was relaxed when I was with her. Things just felt easy and simple. I wanted to keep it that way.
“Does she work for you?”
“No.”
“And you don’t want to tell me about her? Because you know I’ll find out anyway. It’s so much easier if you tell me the truth instead of my trying to learn it.”
With a heavy sigh, I said, “Mother, she’s a woman I’m seeing. You don’t know her because she doesn’t run in our circles.”
“When will I meet her?” she asked.
Hopefully never.Kenneth was right. Mother might mean well, but she can be overbearing, and I didn’t want Lindsay to go through that. “Not at a point where you need to worry about that,” I said.
“I know you, Phillip. You are not yourself.”
She was right, but was that a bad thing? I wasn’t sure. It hadn’t affected my work getting done. The only thing that had changed was my outlook - I looked forward to spending time with Lindsay.
“Mother, you haven’t seen me in a week. How much do you think I’ve changed?”
“That’s my point. You didn’t come to Sunday brunch.”
“I was working. And before you jump all over me for that, I’m not the first one to miss Sunday brunch due to other commitments. We all have,” I stated.
“Fine. I expect to see you this Sunday. If not, I’m going to send your brothers out to look for you. Understood?” she stated firmly.
I leaned over and kissed my mother on top of her head. “You really need a hobby besides butting into our lives, Mother.”
She smiled and said, “No. I like this one.” She got up and added, “I’d better let you get back to work so you don’t use my short visit today as an excuse not to come Sunday.”
When she was gone, I closed my door and locked it. I didn’t care who came knocking, I wasn’t allowing any more disruptions today. I had to get some work done now, because I couldn’t let anything get in the way of my night with Lindsay.
And tonight won’t be work, it’ll be all pleasure.
