Page 71 of The Lies I've Told
After I’d explained to her where I’d been, she’d calmed down a bit and then politely invited me to afternoon tea with my sister.
But I knew better.
The tea was just a sugarcoated ruse, so she’d have an excuse to interrogate me about my trip. She and my sister weren’t all that different.
Come over for dinner. I need help with this recipe.
Let’s chat for a while. It’s been ages.
Why don’t you come over for tea?
The second I walked through the door or hopped on the phone, I was accosted with questions. This was what I got for moving away.
“I’m sorry, Mama,” I said, already feeling little beads of moisture around my brow. God, it was hot. Growing up in this heat, you developed a certain tolerance for it, but since I spent most of my time going from one air-conditioned place to another, I was a little rusty. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. And…” I paused, giving her a smug grin. “Like you said, I’m not a child.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay,” she said before taking a sip of her sweet tea. I watched as she grabbed a cookie Molly had brought over. Barely a mother for a week, and the woman was already baking again. I swore, she was Superwoman.
That, or Martha Stewart.
Wait, didn’t she go to prison for something once?
I let that thought go and took a cookie for myself.
Okay, three. I took three.
I’d run it off later.
“How is my grandbaby doing?” my mother asked, turning her attention to Molly.
The question surprised me some.
Was I being let off the hook? Had the day finally arrived when I wouldn’t be bombarded with a thousand questions about my personal life?
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“She’s good. I actually feel a little weird, being here without her. It’s my first time out of the house since she was born,” Molly admitted. “But Jake insisted. He said a littleme timewould be good for my mental health and that I wasn’t allowed to argue with my doctor.” She rolled her eyes.
“He’s not technically your doctor when it comes to lady issues. That’s what you have an OB-GYN for,” my mom interjected, happily enjoying her cookie.
She nodded. “Try explaining that to him.”
They both laughed, and I joined in, so I wouldn’t seem like I wasn’t paying attention, but I was seriously confused. My mom was really going to let the fact that I’d vanished for two days with a random stranger—a guy, no less—just slide?
“And the breast-feeding is still going well, too? No issues?” she asked, still enjoying her tea, like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Mmhmm, yes,” Molly answered, a pleased and proud expression spreading across her face. “Very well. And we weighed Ruby yesterday at the clinic, and she’s already starting to gain back what she lost after birth.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m so glad. Well, things are going well here. You’re not to worry. Daddy and I jumped back into the swing of things with no issues. Breakfast went smoothly this morning. I made those spectacular orange scones. Oh, and there is a lovely couple from—”
“Are you kidding me?” I finally said, my eyes wide as I gripped the untouched glass of tea in my hand. There was sweat dripping down my temples from the ungodly summer temperature, making me wonder why in the world we were sitting outside.
It could have been one of the contributing factors to my outburst as I adjusted in my seat, hating the feeling of my damp shirt sticking to my back.
“What seems to be wrong, dear?” my mother asked, looking as fresh as a daisy as she leaned back in her reclining chair, drinking tea with a big, fat grin on her face.
“Oh my God,” I finally said. “Did you bring me out here on purpose?”
“What?” she said, her eyebrows rising in a deliberately innocent expression.
