AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We will see you at home,” Mom threatened. “And we’ll talk about your liaison with this… this man.”
“No, you won’t,” Slick warned. “One word to upset Summer, and the gloves come off.”
“We’ll see,” Mom said, having to have the last word.
To Mom’s amazement, Slick turned his back on her, clearly done with the conversation, and dragged me against his chest.
“Tonight, I’m taking you to Bernard’s. If you ain’t ready, those two bitches better be prepared for me to throw them out on their asses,” Slick said as his fingers traced lazy circles on my arms.
“Bernard’s? That’s so expensive,” I whispered, bemused at what had just happened.
“And you’re worth every cent,” Slick replied.
Two loud huffs came from behind us, but Slick paid no attention. We heard their footsteps as they left.
“Baby, I get you don’t like confrontations, but what the fuck?” Slick finally said when we couldn’t hear them anymore.
“I felt guilty. Dad left them nothing. Okay, Mom shouldn’t have expected anything, but I still felt bad. I think Mom cared for Dad, but greed overruled everything, as did loneliness. Mom knew what she was getting when she married Dad, but Mom never wanted children. She would have been happy being a social butterfly and being queen bee on the base.
“When Dad divorced her, he got joint custody, which upset Mom even more. The courts decreed that when he was home, I could live with him. It was a rare agreement, considering we weren’t sure when Dad would be back. But it worked for me, andhim, but not for Mom. She hated losing the house on base and his money.”
“And Marianne?”
“Dad didn’t love her. He was content but not in love. Marianne knew, but she received the status of being an army wife and didn’t have Dad hanging over her daily. The bitch also had affairs. When he retired and came home, Marianne’s nose got put further out of the joint because Mom and Dad were swapping every other week with me. Marianne hated me being there.
“A couple of times, Marianne looked after me when Dad was away, and she made my life a misery. But when Dad returned, she put on this show of making a fuss, but I had no doubt how she really felt about me. Dad must have sensed something because when he died, everything was left to me. Including the house he shared with Marianne. And Dad ensured the will was iron-tight. They both challenged it but got nothing. The judge upheld it.
“I was so low and grief-stricken that Mom said she needed to move in to care for me. Then Marianne claimed she had nowhere to go as this was her home, and I felt so guilty I let them both stay. By the time I began to get over the grief, they had entrenched themselves, and I found I was doing everything. Marianne and Mom had both quit their part-time jobs on the pretext of taking care of me. The truth was, they thought they’d get Dad’s money a different way.”
“Oh damn, baby,” Slick murmured.
“Worse, I was so tired from getting the centre up and running, going home and looking after them, I’d no spirit left to fight them. It was a relief to fall into bed and escape them. But a couple of months ago, I began to heal from Dad’s death, and I started making plans. I’ve been hiding money to either put downas a deposit for a house for myself or to offer them to get rid of them both,” I admitted.
“Summer, don’t give them another cent,” Slick ordered.
“I might have to, to get them to leave. The accounts from Rage have given my finances a huge boost. I started saving at that time.”
“Not a cent more, Summer. If they want shit, they can go and earn it like the rest of us,” Slick said firmly.
“If only it were that simple,” I muttered.
“Give it time, baby, and it will be,” Slick promised. He dropped a kiss on my head and was seemingly content just to sit in the quiet with me.
???
I checked myself out again in the mirror. I wasn’t one for dressing up, as I’d rarely had the occasion to. I was wearing a cute summer dress and sandals. Slick had told me he’d pick me up in a cage, which had caused consternation until he explained that’s what they called cars. It had made me laugh.
Now, my hair fell in a shimmery sheet down my back, and my skin was soft from the moisturiser I’d smothered myself in. As I wasn’t one to wear a lot of make-up, I had gone for a natural look, with bronzes and browns. I did look quite nice.
Mom and Marianne had been waiting to pounce on me when I got home, but I’d escaped easily. I told them Slick was picking me up in an hour, and if I wasn’t ready, he’d be blaming them. That had shut them both up, but I had no doubt they’d wait until I returned tonight.
Determinedly, I shoved that nasty thought away and checked the time. I had twenty minutes until Slick arrived, so I decided towait outside. As I stepped out, a faint whiff of smoke caught my attention.
I wondered if the neighbours were having a barbecue and sat on the porch swing Dad had installed for us. We loved sitting together on a summer night, reading books and talking about anything and everything. The swing remained my favourite place in the house. The front door opened, and Marianne and Mom stepped out, both giving me a dirty look. I ignored them as I gazed at the houses opposite mine.
The scent of smoke drifted on the wind again, but stronger smelling.
“What is that?” I asked, sitting up.
