Page 38 of Passion

“No, that’s okay.” Vera kissed my neck. “Are you going to be weirded out having sex with me when my mom is in the next room?” She kissed my neck and bit me.

I chuckled. “I worry about you more than me. I have no confidence issues like that. She invited herself to my house. If she doesn’t want to hear my headboard bang on the wall, she should get a hotel.”

Vera snickered and kissed my neck again. “Good because after today, I am thinking I need like twelve orgasms in a row.”

“That bad, huh?” I turned and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry to hear that. Let’s go see what Ella has on for dinner, and I’ll see about fixing that problem of yours once we tuck Mommy Dearest in for bedtime.”

Vera climbed off my lap and stood, holding her hand out to me. “I’m just warning you, if you thought that was bad, you haven’t seen anything. My mom was hurt pretty badly when Dad left. She thinks all men are pigs. Sometimes, I feel like she wanted me to grow up and become a lesbian so I wouldn’t be hurt like her.” Vera led me toward the house, and I laughed.

“Well, I’m glad you ride the stick because your body is too hot to resist.” I pinched her ass and she giggled.

When we finally made it to the dining room, Lorna was already seated, waiting on us. Ella was busy serving her a dish of lasagna. Ella’s lasagna was amazing, like everything else she cooked. I couldn’t wait to enjoy it, even if it was in the company of a woman who detested everything about me. I wasn’t sure how long she would be sticking around for, but as long as Vera stayed here when her mother left, I’d be happy.

I just had to survive until Lorna left. Then life could go back to normal.

31

VERA

Ella set the fresh pitcher of orange juice in front of us after Mom complained the last one had too much pulp. I smiled at Ella and secretly prayed my mother wouldn’t nag about anything else. I had never seen her so unhappy in my life. I knew from past experiences that she got this way when she felt out of control, but it had never been this bad.

“Thank you, Ella.” Mom poured a glass of juice, and Ella nodded and walked away. I was glad because the minute she was out of earshot, Mom complained. “Ugh, this one has too much pulp too, or maybe the last one just soured me on juice for good.” She set her glass down and scowled.

“Mom, if you don’t like the juice, we can have milk or coffee instead.” I reached into the pocket of my shorts and pulled out a peppermint. The morning sickness seemed to be worse today than it had been so far. Just looking at the plate of eggs and bacon made me feel ill. I hadn’t taken a bite.

“No, that’s okay.” She raised her eyebrows and sighed a haughty sigh. “You just can’t get good help these days.” She took a bite of her eggs, which I knew were probably delicious because Ella was a fantastic cook. Mom chewed thoughtfully, and it looked like she was trying to hide her enjoyment of the food from me. “So, what do you want to do today?”

I didn’t really know. I had called Mr. Fink to reschedule today’s shoot because Mom had come to town unexpectedly. He obliged me, pushing it off until tomorrow, but he hadn’t been happy about it. So here I sat, at the patio table under the large umbrella, as the sun beat down on us. Mom thought it was heavenly to dine outdoors first thing in the morning. I wished for air conditioning and a chance to sleep in. Pregnancy made me exhausted.

“I had no plans. I was supposed to work, but I didn’t want to leave you sitting here by yourself on your first day in town. We can do whatever you want.” I picked up my napkin and draped it over my lap, but my stomach still roiled. The peppermint wasn’t doing its job at settling my queasiness.

“Well, I want to talk.” She took another bite of her eggs and pushed her bacon away. I knew this was coming the minute Lucas told me he wouldn’t be taking breakfast with us. He was in his home office working and had a few things to get done early on. I hadn’t complained, but I wasn’t the least bit happy that I had to entertain Mom alone.

“What about?” Heat flushed my cheeks, and I didn’t know if it was because it was already over eighty degrees this early or if I was just that frustrated by my mother’s insistence on showing up at my home randomly and lecturing me. I should have been used to it, developed coping skills, but it still surprised and irritated me every time.

“About that man. Vera, dear, you have to at least listen to me.” She shook her head and set her fork down on her plate. “Just answer a few questions for me.”

“Alright,” I sighed. I didn’t think I’d ever convince her that Lucas was a great man, but I had to try. My doubts had faded, and I was beginning to settle the idea in my mind that this could really work, regardless of how quickly we moved from the beginning. My only fears now revolved around telling him about the baby.

“When was the first time you had sex?”

“Mom!” The heat in my cheeks increased, now due to embarrassment.

“Well, you’re living with him, so I assume that is happening. I’m old, not stupid.” She pursed her lips and picked up her juice, having a large gulp of it. It didn’t seem to bother her this time, but I didn’t say a word.

“That’s a really personal question. I don't want to talk about my sex life with my mother. No twenty-four-year-old woman does.” I glanced at the house, wishing Lucas would appear and rescue me from this interrogation, but there was no sign of him—or Ella either, for that matter.

“Just answer the question, dear. How long had you known him before he asked you to sleep with him?”

I didn’t get what point she was trying to make, so I ignored the question and changed the subject. “How long did you date Dad before you were married?” I knew her desire to control my future was largely based on the fact that she’d been hurt. I thought maybe if I could get to the bottom of the pain she felt, maybe she’d understand that I was a different person in a different situation.

“I had sex with your father on the first date and we moved in together about three months later. Sex was everything, every date, every chance we had to be alone.” She pursed her lips again and sighed. “It was the first date for you too, wasn’t it?”

I swallowed hard and ignored her. “Why did you move in with him?” I hadn’t realized how similar my life was to what happened to her, though I’d never asked for the full details of her relationship because I never wanted to bring up the thing that made her act like a lunatic. She was hurt, and that hurt made her loud and unpleasant.

“I moved in with him because he manipulated events and circumstances so that I had no choice but to yield to what he called his ‘care and concern’. That just turned out to be him controlling my life until I was entirely dependent upon him for everything.”

My skin prickled, the hair on the back of my neck standing at attention. Lucas had called his meddling with the apartment “care and concern”, and I had believed him. I felt my heart sink. Mom’s real concern for me was destroying the faith and trust I’d established with Lucas. He hadn’t forced me to move in with him, however. That had been the horrible circumstances under which we returned from vacation.

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