“What? I’ve known that for a while.”
I buried my head in the pillow.
“I thought I was the one who was supposed to be embarrassed about that,” he said.
“You’re not embarrassed about anything.”
He moved the pillow away from my face.
“Not really. Until tomorrow, goodnight, Princess.” He kissed my nose, and I popped in my retainer and snuggled into him.
“Missy?”
“Yeah?”
“Your mom is kind of awesome, but she looks like she wants to shoot me most of the time.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve been on the receiving end of that look more than once.”
“So it’s not just me?”
“Nope.”
“Good to know. I thought she was going to be all sweetness and light from the way you were talking.”
“She is sweet. Sweeter than I am anyway.”
“How could anyone be sweeter than you?”
“Oh, it’s possible.”
“No way,” he said with a yawn.
I yawned and didn’t argue. Too tired.
*****
Hunter and I didn’t beat Mom to the kitchen the next morning, because the coffee was already on when we got up after a night of platonic cuddling.
“I didn’t hear anything I didn’t want to hear, so I’m going to assume I don’t need to have a chat with anyone.”
“Mom!” Seriously?
“She’s not trying to give you a sex talk, is she?” Tawny said, scrubbing her face with her hands and stumbling toward the coffee.
“Ugh, can we not do this right now? I just woke up.”
“Eggs anyone?” Mom said, holding up a frying pan. She’d mixed the eggs with cream cheese, just like she did when I was younger.
“Plates?” Hunter said, going for the cabinet.
“Top shelf,” I said, grabbing silverware out of the dishwasher.
Tawny shuffled to the table, crashing into her seat. Tawny didn’t do mornings well.
We had breakfast and after Tawny had consumed three cups of coffee, she grabbed Hunter and made him show her how to play the guitar as a ruse so Mom could grill me.
“Are you being safe?” was the first thing she asked.
“God, Mom. Yes. You know I’m on the pill.”
“But that doesn’t protect you from everything.”
“Mom, just trust me. I’m not a moron.” I was helping her do the dishes and contemplating trying to drown myself in the soapy water to avoid the rest of this conversation.
“It’s just, unexpected, that’s all. You’ve never expressed an interest in anyone, so it was shocking to hear that you had.”
“He’s different.”
“I saw the tattoos. How many does he have?”
“Um,” I said, both stalling and counting. “Five.”
She held onto the sink. “Dear Lord. Please don’t tell me he has a motorcycle.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
“Why? What difference would it make if he had a motorcycle?”
“Kid, when you’re a mother with daughters, you’ll understand.”
“Is the interrogation over?” I asked.
“Taylor, I’m just kind of in shock. He’s not the kind of guy I would have picked for you.”
I closed my eyes and told myself that she wasn’t saying anything bad about him. It was true. He wasn’t the kind of guy I would have seen myself with.
“After everything that… happened, and when you couldn’t seem to get over it, I just thought you were never going to take the plunge. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing; I’m just saying be careful.”
“I will.”
“Okay. I can see that he makes you happy.”
We both smiled.
“He does. Happier than I knew was possible.”
“That’s great, Kid. Really great.” She gave me a soapy hug that made the back of my shirt damp, but I didn’t mind.
“Speaking of love lives. Anything new to report?”
“No, and that is none of your business, young lady.”
“Have you talked to Dad?”
“Last week. He’s seeing someone new.”
“What happened to Michelle?”
“No idea. We didn’t talk long. He asked about you, and I said you had a boyfriend. He wasn’t very happy.”
“He doesn’t get a say in my life.”
“Kid, he is your father, even if he isn’t in your life. You should call him. He’d want to know about the hearing.” We’d managed to make it this far into the weekend without talking about it. I was hoping we’d make it all the way, but we didn’t.
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
“You’re going to have to deal with it. He’s not this monster you’ve built him up to be in your mind. Granted, he’s one sick fuck, but he’s just human.” Mom didn’t swear often, and when she did, I paid attention.
“I know, I know.”
“You need to take care of your past before you can move on to your future. If you want a future with Hunter, you’re going to have to deal with your past.”
“Well, nearly eight years of therapy hasn’t helped, so I’m not sure there’s much hope,” I said, snapping a little.
“Well, when therapy fails, there’s love. You love him, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Love heals all wounds.”
“When did you get so philosophical?”
“I just started taking a poetry class at the library.”
“Really?”
Mom wasn’t one to try new things, so that was huge. We talked about that while Hunter and Tawny sang drinking songs. Apparently, he knew a lot of them.
“I have many talents you are not even aware of, Missy girl,” he said.
“What is with the nickname? I’ve been meaning to ask,” Mom said.
“Oh, it’s not a very interesting story,” I said. For some reason, I didn’t want him to tell it.
“That means that it is. Spill, Hunter,” Tawny said.
“It’s nothing special. Just a little mistake I made when we first met.”
“Lame,” Tawny said.
“Your father used to call me Sharon,” Mom said.
“What?” Tawny and I said at the same time.
“It’s an equally dumb story. We met at a party and for some reason he was convinced my name was Sharon. It wasn’t until our third date when I set him straight.”
Tawny and I laughed after a stunned silence.
“What? I was nervous. He was my first boyfriend.”
I looked at Hunter. You just never knew.
Mom made us take a few pictures, mostly of Hunter pretending to teach me to play guitar. She liked action shots. None of those lame posed things where people smiled like they were in pain. Hunter kept whispering innuendos in my ear, so every smile and laugh was genuine.
“Okay, well we have to get back. We both have tests to study for,” I said after the millionth flash. I’d been slacking lately, because canoodling was much more fun than anything my textbooks had to offer. I needed to get my ass in gear if I wanted to keep my GPA high enough to get into Phi Beta Kappa.
“I should probably shove off, too,” Tawny said, getting up to give Mom a hug.
“It was so nice of you to have me, Blaire,” Hunter said.
“I hope to see you again, Hunter. Please be careful with my baby girl,” she said as I hugged her. Ugh.
“I will treasure her.”
“You’d better,” Mom said, sort of puffing herself up. She didn’t mess around. Hunter leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.
“Yes, ma’am.”
*****
On Wednesday, it was my turn to be nervous and jittery. It seemed that whenever Hunter and I were together, at least one of us was trying to help the other not freak out. At least we were balanced that way.
I had a nightmare the night before the scheduled meeting with Mr. Woodward, the assistant district attorney. I woke to find myself biting Hunter’s shoulder and him trying to get me to let go. Luckily, I hadn’t broken the skin.
“It’s okay, Miss. I’m a big boy. I can handle it. I wish I could be there with you.”
“I have to do this on my own.”
“I know. I’m not trying to say that you can’t. I just want to be there.” He rubbed my shoulders, and I could almost hear him counting to five. “I got you a little something. No, it didn’t cost me a lot. I kind of made it.” He handed me a paper bag with another little box in it.
“More jewelry?”
“Just one little thing.”
I opened the little cardboard box to find a necklace with several charms on it, all in silver. A number seven, a four-leaf clover, a scarab beetle, a horseshoe, and a star.
“I just wanted you to have some luck with you. Some of my luck.” The necklace was so long I was able to put it over my head without undoing the clasp. I looked at it in the mirror, fingering the charms.
“Thanks, baby. I love it,” I said.
“You do?”
“I do. Did you say that you made it?”
“I had to go to that bead store in downtown Bangor and have the woman help me find the charms. There were fifty million of them, by the way. But you’re worth it.”
“Thanks.”
He held me for a moment and I breathed him in, twisting the necklace around my finger. I wasn’t ready, not even for the meeting. I associated Mr. Woodward with a really bad and dark time in my life that I wished I could bury far behind me. I wanted to move forward with Hunter, not go backward.
He kissed my forehead and left, giving me a moment to myself. I stared in the mirror, watching the necklace sparkle. Such a thoughtful boy. I smoothed my hair back and took a breath. I wasn’t ready, but I’d have to be. Hunter had wanted to come with me, but I insisted on going alone. It was stupid for him to skip class just to be my bodyguard.
I had to leave soon or else I’d be late. With one last look, I grabbed my purse and keys and walked into the living room to find Hunter and Renee deep in conversation. Probably about me.
“I’m going,” I said.
“Good luck,” Renee said.
“I’ve got some,” I said, showing her the necklace.
“Dude, I’ve got to get you to influence Paul. I can’t remember the last sparkly thing he bought me.”
“I’ll do my best,” Hunter said, taking my hand to walk me to my car.
“Call me when you’re done. I’ll have my phone on, just in case. I wish you would let me come with you.”
“I can’t lean on you for everything.”
“You kept yourself propped up for nearly twenty years, so I think you can handle it.”
“I hope so.”
He gave me a soft kiss and flicked at my necklace.
“Good luck, Miss.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too. More than the stars.”
“Same here.”
I got one more kiss and I was alone. I watched him walk away and wave before I started the car.