Page 4 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

I took another gulp. This was the most she’d ever spoken to me. I wished I hadn’t been so eager to have her speak to me before.

“Matt and I love each other.” I said. Why did my voice sound so timid? Why didn’t I just say: fuck off, blondie, your son loves this chocolate sundae.

“I’m sure he loves you in his own special way,” she said.

The way she said it made me feel like a tart, as Gloria would say. Tart. Maybe I should feel like a pastry instead of a slut.

“And I’m certain you love his financial worth.” she continued.

My eyes widened in disbelief. She had said it. She had just thrown it out there. What next?

“Then you would be mistaken, Mrs Bradley. Matt’s wealth has nothing to do with the way I feel about him.”

Portia looked at her husband, as if passing the ball. When he opened his mouth I knew the ball had indeed been passed.

“You must understand why we would be concerned, Madison,” William Jnr said, he was going for the fatherly tone. “Put yourself in our position. Many people see us as meal tickets, many try to insinuate themselves into our lives with hopes of monetary gain. Now, our Matthew is a clever man,”

“Very intelligent,” I agreed. My face was flaming. I wasn’t sure if it was only anger or whether I had tipped over the line into fury.

“He is also very cunning,” William Jnr continued. “I’m not sure if he’s mentioned this, but we’d been placing undue pressure on him to settle down and we believe,” Here he shared a glance with his wife then turned back to me. “We believe that your relationship is simplya method for Matt to get his point across.”

My whiskey tumbler was empty. I’d been sipping quickly while Matt’s dad spoke. “And what point would that be, Mr Bradley?”

“That he won’t tolerate our interference in his life on this issue.” Portia said.

“I see.” I replied in a quiet voice.

“Do you?” she asked. “I feel terrible that Matt is using you to get his point across. It’s quite distasteful to be honest. Flaunting you as his prospective wife when we all know that he has no intention of going through with it is embarrassing for us. He is simply using you to remind us that he will not be forced into something which he feels he’s not yet ready for.”

“I love your son.” I said, motioning to another waiter that I needed another drink. Hell, I needed a lot more drinks.

“If you truly loved him you would not be going along with this farce.” Portia said in a hard voice. “If you truly loved him you would know there is no place for you in his world. If you felt any true emotion other than greed for my son’s wealth you would see that being with you will only tarnish his standing-”

“Why?” I interrupted. “Because I’m black and he’s not?”

Portia tilted her head, cold blue eyes travelling over me. “That is not the main reason but it is a factor. It is because you are not of our social background. You do not possess the gentility nor the intelligence to fit in the life of my son.”

“Portia,” William Jnr called quietly and she paused for a moment.

I needed that pause. It was a godsend. That pause allowed me to breathe, to control my facial expression. That pause gave me a moment to think. She thought I was dumb too? I had a MFA, it was hard to study and dance but I had done it.

“What my wife is trying to say,” William Jnr started politely.

“I’m not good enough for your son, I get it.” I said quickly, stopping when the waiter came with another drink for me. He took the empty glass away and I smiled a thank you.

“He does not love you,” Portia said once we were alone again. “At least not in the way you believe. You are a diversion for him, a novelty, someone to be used to make his point known. I am sorry if you find my comments too direct but I have to speak my mindconcerning this intolerable situation. I want what’s best for my son and you are not it.”

I picked up the tumbler and downed the whiskey in one. I needed the burn to warm my cold insides. “Matt wants to be with me,” I said once the blazing fire in my throat had slowed to a low burn. “And I think once he arrives, he can explain exactly how much we mean to each other.”

His mother did not like what I said. Her cold blue eyes went artic. “You mean nothing more than carnal pleasure to my son. I tell you this not to be hurtful, but to save yourself the embarrassment once Matthew calls an end to this relationship of yours. Can you not see he’s doing it solely to retaliate for the pressure we’ve placed upon him to settle down?”

I gestured to the waiter again before answering. William Jnr arched an eyebrow. It was eerily similar to Matt. “Maybe he’s doing exactly what you wanted, settling down, and I’m the person he wants to do it with.”

There. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mrs-Artic-Eyes-who-pushed-my-knight-out-her-lady-bits-37-years-ago. Whoo. That was a long one. The waiter came over again with a fresh tumbler. I raised it to my lips then caught a glimpse of Matt from the corner of my eye. I put the glass down and twisted in my seat to watch him stride confidently towards the table.

“Mum, Dad,” He patted his father on the back and kissed his mother’s cheek before coming over to take the seat next to me. “Apologies for my lateness, something came up at the office.” Then he leaned over and tongued me in front his parents. When we came up for air, he winked at me and said, “Sorry I’m late, poppet.”

“It’s ok,” I murmured, noting his mother’s stony expression as I let my hands fall to my lap. “Your parents and I were just getting to know each other.”

---