AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That was true. It came with owning and running a restaurant that closed late at night. By the time we generally finished, midnight had already come and gone. “Then I guess I’m glad you’re getting them all in now. We will be back home in a couple of days and then back to reality,” I sighed.
She turned to me and said, “You said you liked running the restaurant.”
I threw my blankets off me and dragged myself to the sitting position. Stretching my arms above my head, I yawned. “I do, Mom. Bet you don’t even know what I love about it most,” I said.
“Being your own boss,” she replied.
It was a perk and like my mother, I liked my independence, and owning the restaurant meant that I did not report to someone else. But there were other career choices I could’ve made that would provide the same. I shook my head. “Not even close.”
“The customers?” she guessed.
“I enjoy them, but wrong again,” I said. “Running it with you is what I love the most about the restaurant. I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but it’s always been you and me. I wouldn’t want to be running it without you.” With the tension of these last couple of days, I thought it was important to remind her of the good things in our lives. I might not have everything I want, but I have so much to be thankful for.
She walked over, sat on the bed, and hugged me. “I feel the same way. You are my life. I love you MaKayla.”
“I love you too, Mom.”Even when you’re driving me crazy and trying to control my life. “Mom, just do one thing for me.”
She pulled back and said, “You want me to be nice to Damien, don’t you?” I nodded. “Okay. If he is that important to you, I’ll be nice. But I’m warning you, if he hurts you, he’ll answer to me.”
I reached out and hugged her again. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. Thanks, Mom.” Even though this wasn’t a real relationship, I cared about Damien, and I would really like it if we could be friends after this was over.
Friends? I guess I could settle for that.
I had plenty of friends, both female and male. But I’d never had the kind of thoughts about them like I have had about Damien. Heck, I’d dated a couple of guys who didn’t stir feelings within me like Damien did. Sad really. A perfect stranger can get me hot and bothered more than someone I dated for months. I knew what my problem was. I dated men that my mother approved of. Handsome, but boring as hell. Damien was anything but boring. Maybe a little on the dangerous side.
All I wanted was to pull the blankets over my head and continue the sweet dreams I was having about Damien. But mom snapped me back to reality.
“I guess you should get out of this bed and shower or he’s going to think you’re the one who doesn’t want to see him.”
Smiling, I said, “Already sent him a good morning text message telling him how much I miss him.” Not exactly that, but it’s what I wanted to do instead of a quick, good morning.
“Then what are you doing sitting here?” she asked. “Because he’s going to be here any minute and you have bed hair.”
I reached up and felt my hair. It was a mess. All that tossing and turning last night seemed to have twisted my hair into a knot. Nothing that a good wash and condition wouldn’t take care of. No need to panic. Of course, once I heard the knock on the door that changed. I knew it was Damien.
“Mom, you’re going to have to entertain him while I get ready.” I flew out of the bed and dashed to the bathroom, grabbing my clean clothes on the way. Before I closed the door, I added, “And, Mom. Don’t forget to be nice. You promised.”
She sighed. “I never break a promise to you.”
That was something I knew. It eased my mind slightly, but I wasn’t going to take my time enjoying the hot water massaging my sore muscles. I closed the door and quickly undressed and showered. I might not be worried about mom being mean to him, but I also wasn’t sure I wanted her to tell him old stories about me either.
I dressed and brushed my hair. No time to blow dry or straighten it. My long curly waves were going to have to do today. When I opened the door, I expected to find them in some heated debate. Instead, I found myself...alone.
Where could they have gone without me?
I hope mom is not out burying a body.If Damien started questioning her again today, I wasn’t sure how good she was going to be at keeping her promise. Last night, she looked like she could choke him when he brought up his vacation and us joining him. I had no idea if he had been serious when he made the offer, but there was no way I was traveling to another country with him. Mom might be going overboard with her protectiveness, but she was not wrong on that one point. I might trust him to find my family, but outside of his skill set, what did I really know about him? Not enough to fly to...wherever Tabiq is. Thankfully, he dropped it.
But that didn’t explain my mother’s reaction. It still made no sense to me how him speaking about tropical beaches could upset my mother so much. She loved the ocean. It was the place I saw her the happiest, as though she belonged by the ocean. The heat never even seemed to bother her while I would be begging for the air conditioning to be turned on as soon as the temperature hit ninety degrees. But instead of bonding, she fumed as though Damien had asked her about my father or something. Apparently, even when Damien tried to be nice and talked about something my mother enjoyed, he got her all riled up.
There was no note, but I knew they couldn’t have gone far. I noticed my mother's suitcase was gone. It was most likely that they were packing the car for the next leg of the trip. I went back into the bathroom, retrieved my dirty clothes and toiletries, and tossed them into my suitcase before grabbing my phone to call my mother.
“Hello MaKayla.”
“Mom, where are you?” I asked, hoping my frustration didn’t shine through.
“Damien took me out for a cup of tea and blueberry scones. They are delicious. If you’re through, you can come and meet us in the café.”
This was odd. I wanted her to play nice and now she willingly goes off with him without even speaking with me first. What was next? Will she agree to the trip to Tabiq? We had closed the restaurant only for a week.
