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Josh’s face drops, along with his bottle of beer. The glass shatters as the beer coats the patio and I immediately know that our drama is far from over.
twenty-four
Joshua
I knowJoey is standing there, watching me—along with Rob, Bronx, and now Rebekah—but I can’t move. Today is supposed to be a good day. . . no a great day, and yet the name that fell from my wife’s lips has the power to ruin it all.
“Babe,” Joey says again. I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. “The phone.” She points over her shoulder toward the house and, more specifically, the table where we put our keys and where, currently, the house phone which has my mother waiting on the other end, is sitting patiently.
Swallowing hard, I look at Rob and Bronx for advice even though they have nothing to say. The only one here who has even come close to meeting my mother is Rob and I saved him from that agony.
“Babe,” Joey says again, but this time she’s tugging on my shirt. “Is that your mom?”
Letting out a huge breath, I run my hand through my hair. “Yeah it is, but I haven’t told her where we live. I don’t know how she found us.”
“Okay, well she’s on the phone. What do you want me to tell security?”
“Shit,” I mutter, knowing full well that I can’t send my mother away and thankful we don’t have any of our spare bedrooms except for one available.
“Rob, go in the room by the garage and mess up the bed or something. I’m not letting my mom stay here.”
I walk into the house with Rob and Joey on my heels. Joey is standing next to me when I pick up the phone. Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“You can let her in,” I tell the guard.
“Sure thing, Mr. Wilson.” He hangs up, sealing my fate. I lean against the table and inhale and exhale deeply, trying to calm my nerves.
“Is she that bad?” Joey rubs my shoulder, and while her touch usually calms me, it’s not doing much to push my anxiety away.
I nod.
“If we handled Jules, this should be easy, right?”
“She’s like Jules on crack,” I groan.
“Oh.”
Pulling Joey into my arms, I hold her as tightly as I can until the doorbell rings. Rob walks by, muttering something as he heads back outside.
“My parents don’t know about you, unless they watched the show. I meant to tell them, but you’ll see why I didn’t once you meet her. My father is just as bad, but in a different way. All they want is money, or the fame that goes with being ‘Joshua Wilson’s’ parents. I can’t remember how many times they’ve been remarried, but I know it’s over five.”
“You told me in the house.”
“Right.” I nod, taking her hand in mine. We walk the few steps to the front door. “Oh, and she wears nothing but gold and diamonds. They’re mostly fake, but she doesn’t care. God you’re beautiful,” I tell her before I kiss her.
Joey shocks me by reaching for the door. She swings it open as I stand behind her. My mother is looking away until she hears the door and turns slowly, taking in Joey before her eyes rise to meet mine.
“Did she sign a pre-nup?” My mother doesn’t wait to be invited in. No, she brushes past Joey, bumping into her as if she’s not standing right there.
I chuckle bitterly to myself and shake my head. Some things never change.
“Are you stupid? Is that how I raised you?” She holds her arm out toward us, indicating to the shawl draped over it, and eyes Joey.
“She’s not your maid, Mother.”
She scoffs. “I’m her mother-in-law.”
“Only on paper,” I say, hoping to remind her of where she stands in my life. It’s a shame, but not uncommon, for parents of actors to act like this. They have expectations that aren’t often met and expect to control every aspect of their child’s life. I think it kills my mother that she’s never been in control of my money.
