Page 73 of Guarding My Love

“But you were thinking of buying it,” his mother said, laughing.

“I was. It sold before I decided. It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“Since we know that you don’t go out of your way to be neighborly, how did you end up meeting?”

He told his mother about Easter Sunday and the ladder, then the lawn mower situation.

“She’s really smart but not with everything.”

“That’s not nice, Foster.”

“I’m not being insulting. Just being honest. She’ll admit it. It’s the first she’s owned a house. She’s never had to do things like that. But she learns fast. She works in marketing for an international company so she could have crazy hours. She works from home too.”

“So she’s a homebody like you,” his mother said.

“No,” he said. “She didn’t used to be.”

“You’ll have to explain that.”

This was where things could get tricky and he didn’t want his mother to form any negative opinions. “She moved out of the City for a quiet life. A change in her life.”

“You know I’m going to want to know why she had to change,” his mother said.

“Of course you are,” he said.

“And you’re going to tell me; otherwise I’ll start digging on my own. What’s her last name?”

He sighed. “Moore. And no reason to dig. I’ll tell you what I know. She has a history of dating older men. Some with money, but not all. Her last one did. She’s not looking for money, she was looking for some family dynamic she didn’t have growing up.”

“That’s sad,” his mother said. “How old is she?”

“Thirty-three.”

“She’s older than you,” his mother said. “That’s funny in an ironic way, all things considered. Unless it’s the money. And something tells me you would have sniffed that out before anyone else and I wouldn’t be getting this call if that was the case.”

“Exactly,” he said. “She didn’t know who I was until earlier this week.”

“How long have you been dating?” his mother asked.

“I don’t know that there is an official date on it. I’ve known her since Easter Sunday.”

“So we’ll say two months that you’ve been dancing around each other,” his mother said. “That’s fine. So go back to her history. Why didn’t those relationships work out with her?”

“I think because she was picking dickheads,” he said. “That’s my guess.”

His mother laughed. “What’s her reason?”

“She said what they were looking for out of her and what she was looking for weren’t the same. The last one, he’s trying to get her back. She wants no part of it.”

“Are you sure she isn’t trying to make you jealous?”

He didn’t like his mother asking that. “I’m sure,” he said. “She is one of the most truthful people I know. Much more truthful than my mother can be.”

“Hey,” his mother said loudly. “That’s not nice. And not true.”

“Need I remind you of the game you played on West to get him to go on vacation?”

His mother laughed even louder. “It worked and now he’s married. And by him showing his siblings it can be done and balanced in his life, it seems several are following suit. You included. Best gift a mother can get. So when do I get to meet her?”

---