Page 24 of SEAL's Sky
“Aren’t you the temptress?”
“Nope, just happy to have my daughter home, no matter the reason.”
“I love you, Mom. I know I don’t tell you enough,” Jen said as she wrapped her arms around her mom’s waist. “I drew the lucky ticket when I got you and dad for parents.”
“I feel the same. Now go brush your teeth. I love you but damn your morning breath.” Her mom chuckled. “I’ll be making toast so don’t dawdle, young lady.”
Jen giggled. Coming home was the best decision she’d made in a while. Hopefully, it wouldn’t blow up in her face. She couldn’t shake the niggling feeling that if Kurt tracked her down he’d do something to hurt her mother, and she’d never forgive herself.
After spending the last couple of weeks in rundown motels, this was like taking a shower in paradise. Standing under the steaming water helped her feel alive again and free. She didn’t realize how long she stayed in the shower until her mom knocked on the door letting her know that her toast was going to be cold.
“I’ll be right out. Sorry.” Her mom chuckled and Jen hurried. “I forgot how nice a really hot shower was,” Jen said by way of apology for taking so long.
“It’s okay. I didn’t start the toast until I heard you come out of the bathroom,” she said with a wink.
“I think you’ve gotten feistier in your old age.”
“Who are you calling old?”
Jen didn’t realize how much she’d missed this until now. They’d always gotten along except for the usual teenage rebelliousness. Her mom was her best friend. Why had she let Kurt take it away from her?
They enjoyed breakfast together and then she helped her mom clean up. “Now what?” Jen asked, already feeling fidgety knowing she was going to be cooped up all day.
“Well, we could go downstairs and play some pool before Tony and Sandy come in to open?”
“Really? But what about Murph?”
“What about him? I think we’ll be safe as long as there’s no one else around. And honestly, I can’t imagine Tony telling anyone even if he did find out. He’s been hitting on me for years and wouldn’t want to piss me off.”
“Mom! Seriously? Years? Do you like him?”
“He’s a great guy and we’ve gone to the movies a few times. But I feel like I’m being disloyal to your dad.”
“He wouldn’t want you to feel that way. How come this is the first I’m hearing about it?”
“I don’t have to tell you everything,” her mom said blushing with embarrassment as she grabbed the keys for the bar from the hook by the door. “So do you want to, or should we stay up here, be good and tell secrets?”
“Hmmm, we could tell secrets while we play?” Jen batted her eyes at her mom, giving her the big grin that usually got her what she wanted.
“Some things never change,” Pam said with a smile. “C’mon before I change my mind.”
They hadn’t played pool with each other since Jen graduated from college and moved into her own apartment. It was another thing she regretted. Just because she’d grown up didn’t mean she had to leave everything she’d loved behind, and that was pretty much what she’d done.
She could have found a small bookstore in Norfolk or close by, and she could have written her book here too. While she enjoyed New York and some of her time there even before Kurt, it was already starting to lose its shininess. If she hadn’t met him she might have come home sooner. But there was no changing the past, only moving forward. It was one of her mom’s favorite sayings.
According to her mom, Tony usually came in around ten-thirty to start prep for the lunch crowd and since it was Friday it would definitely be busy. They’d have to clear out before he got there rather than take the chance he’d recognize her if he saw her again. For the hour or so they played, Jen felt like herself again but was reminded soon enough when they had to call it quits and head back up to the apartment.
“Are you sure you’re okay with not working? I mean I’m capable of staying upstairs by myself. I promise I won’t light the kitchen on fire or anything.”
“I haven’t seen you in a long time. Your face is plastered all over the TV, so I've got to play the part of the mother who doesn't know where you are. It would be strange if I was working. Besides, who wants to deal with all those questions? If you were really missing, I’d be devastated and a total wreck. Right?”
Jen hadn’t thought about that and was glad her mom didn’t have to go through that. “You’re right. I’ve been so focused on me I didn’t think about the fallout.”
“Stop that. If you hadn’t been focused you’d probably still be with that asshat.”
“Geesh, Mom. Your language,” Jen said with a giggle. Her mom really had become a lot feistier and she wondered if it was because of Tony.
They went upstairs and chatted for most of the afternoon. Then they baked some cookies and watched movies until dinner. Not long after that, Jen got a text from Murph.
