Her door swung open easily with the summer breeze blowing, and she hummed as she walked through and shut it behind her. She leaned her back against the door, just dreaming about seeing Andrew again.
A thud coming from the back of the apartment sounded. She grabbed her throat and tightened her grip on her phone. She tried not to scream as she pulled her hand up and typed 9-1-1 on her screen. She was just about to press the call button when the intruder walked into the living room.
“Hi, honey.”
“Mom,” Lacey shouted angrily. “What in the world?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I was calling 9-1-1, I thought you were robbing me.”
“You hear a noise and assume someone has broken into your apartment?” Miranda casually brushed her long hair behind her shoulder. It was dyed a lighter shade of blonde than the last time Lacey had seen her.
Lacey spoke through clenched teeth. “Someone did break into my apartment.”
“I didn’t break in,” Miranda calmly took a seat on the couch and put her feet up. “I got your super to let me in.”
“And how did you do that?”
“I told him I was your mother, and that you forgot to leave the key out for me. He wasn’t sure, but when I showed him my license with the matching last name and pointed out that we have the same eyes, he was happy to help.” She flashed a wicked smile.
Lacey collapsed into the chair. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise!” Miranda held her arms out, as if this was the most joyful reunion.
You mean you didn’t want me to say no, Lacey thought. “I could have been here to let you in. How long have you been here?” Her mind started reeling with all the places she needed to check to see if Miranda had taken anything.
“Oh, about half an hour or so. Are you hungry? We could go grab some dinner.”
“I umm…” Her brain switched gears as she thought about Andrew, who was coming to pick her up for dinner. She glanced at her watch, she only had fifteen minutes. “Well I…”
“What? Spit it out already.” Miranda’s tone was harsh.
Lacey felt the panic rising. If she said she had plans, Miranda would complain, or invite herself to go along, or worse, she might stay at Lacey’s apartment, and there would be nothing left when she got back. There was no way to know.
The doorbell rang, and Lacey’s stress kicked into high gear. Of course he’s early. She kicked herself for convincing him that being early was the way to go. If her mother wasn’t laying on her couch, she would have been thrilled to see him sooner rather than later. But now she wasn’t sure if she should open the door, or hide in her bedroom.
“Aren’t you going to get that?” Miranda asked impatiently.
“Umm.” Lacey decided there wasn’t a good option. “Yes, I am.” She slowly walked to the door, and only opened it wide enough to slip outside and pull it shut behind her. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Andrew smiled, but looked confused. “Are you ready to go?”
“No, umm, something has….something has come up.”
“Oh.” Lacey saw the disappointment wash over his face.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that. Well, my mother showed up.”
“Your mom?” Andrew’s eyes flew open and he leaned his head as if trying to peer through the window. “She’s here?”
“Yep. I found her in my apartment when I got home. I had no idea she was coming. Which I’m sure was on purpose.”
“So she’s staying with you?”
Lacey threw her arms up in the air. “I have no idea. I just got here and she was here. She said we should go to dinner, which just means she wants me to buy her food.”
“Should we ask her to go with us?”
“No!” Lacey whisper-shouted.
“So should we stay here?”
“No!”
“Okay then. What do you want to do? Should I leave?”
“No,” Lacey reached out and gripped his arm. “I mean, I don’t want you to leave. But I understand if you want to go. I’m not sure you should meet her anyway.”
“I don’t mind.” He gave her a small smile.
Lacey looked up and met his eyes, and he pulled her into a hug. She reached up and encircled his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed her tight. She felt safe. And in her life, that was a rare feeling.
“Look,” Andrew leaned back and looked her in the eyes, but kept his arms around her. “If she’s here, there’s not much you can do about it. I don’t want to not see you, and I might as well meet her anyway. So why don’t we just all go get some dinner? It might not be exactly the night I had planned, but it will be fine.”
“Exactly what kind of night did you have planned?”
He placed the lightest kiss on her forehead. “We’ll save it for another time.” He cleared his throat. “When we can be alone.”
“Aww man. I don’t want to wait for that.”
Andrew shrugged. “These things happen.”
Lacey sighed. “Oh, all right. Come on, let’s go in before my mother raids my refrigerator.
Andrew laced his fingers through hers before they walked in together. She hadn’t planned on introducing him to her mother, but walking through the door with him gave her the confidence.
Miranda wasn’t on the couch, and Lacey found her in the kitchen looking through the pantry cabinet. “Mom.”
“What?” Miranda jumped back and slammed the cabinet. “I was just looking. In case you didn’t come back in and I needed to fend for myself.” She stopped when she seemed to realize there was someone else standing there. “Oh, hello.”
“Mom, this is Andrew. Andrew, this is my mother, Miranda Franklin.”
Miranda looked from Lacey to Andrew. “And you two are?”
“We’re dating,” Andrew spoke up for both of them.
Lacey wanted to smile when she heard him speak up. But she was also afraid of what her mother was about to say.
“Well, isn’t that nice,” Miranda’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Lacey, you haven’t mentioned anything about this. Of course, you haven’t really taken my calls lately either.”
“That’s not true.” Lacey wanted to say that her mother never asked about her life and only spent their phone calls talking about her problems.
Miranda waved a hand in the air. “No matter. Nice to meet you, Andrew. Now, Lacey, did you decide anything about getting food? I can tell you don’t have much here.”
Lacey felt her face turning red. “I have plenty,” she defended herself.
“Miranda, we were going to go get a bite to eat, we would be happy for you to join us.”
Miranda eyes him up and down. “Where are you going?”
“We can go anywhere you like. My treat.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Lacey said.
Andrew squeezed her hand. “No, really, I’m happy to.”
“Oh all right. Mom, is there anywhere you would like to go.”
Miranda’s eyes lit up. “Well, you know, I’ve always loved that barbecue restaurant. The Pit.”
Andrew smiled. “I loved The Pit too. It’s still there, but under new ownership, it’s called The Backyard now, it’s still really good.”
“Oh,” Miranda gave a little scowl, but then smiled a smile that made Lacey want to throw up. “Alright then. Let’s go there.”
Lacey had a bad feeling about this, but knew there wasn’t much she could do. She hoped by the end of the night she would know the real reason Miranda had shown up. And how long it would be before she was gone.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“So, Andrew what do you do?” Miranda licked her fingers from the french fries she was eating. Andrew had watched Lacey’s face as her mother ordered, and he noticed she winced when Miranda ordered multiple drinks, side dishes, and told the waiter she hoped she would still have room for dessert. Of course, it wouldn’t hurt him. But he didn’t know how to tell Lac
ey that just yet. They were still getting used to each other and he didn’t know how to drop a bomb like that.
“I manage properties and investments for my family’s company.”
“Your family?”
“Yes ma’am. My grandparents were Charles and Helen Hartley.”
“Oh,” Miranda said, her eyes growing wide. “Sure, I remember the names. They own the whole town don’t they?”
“Well only about half of it.”
Miranda whistled. “Well hot dang, Lacey you sure found yourself a good one.”
Lacey looked embarrassed for at least the tenth time in the last hour.
“What about you, Miranda? Lacey tells me you live in Birmingham.”
Miranda waved a hand in the air between bites. “Well I’ve lived there for a little while. But I’m thinking about making a change.”
“Oh?” Lacey sat up straight. “What kind of change?”
“I don’t know. Just somewhere different. I’m getting tired of that old place. I might move back here.”
Lacey’s mouth fell open, and Andrew reached under the table and patted her hand.
“It would be nice to be around my daughter more often,” Miranda pulled out a smile.
“Did you lose your apartment?” Lacey blurted out.
“Now, Lacey, let’s not talk about things like that right now.”
“You did, didn’t you? Just tell me.”
“I was ready to move on anyway,” Miranda shrugged as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Unbelievable,” Lacey said under her breath.
“What was that?” Miranda said with her mouth full.
“Nothing,” Lacey said. “Are you planning to stay with me?”
“Well yes, why wouldn’t I?”
“Just asking, you hadn’t brought it up, or asked.”
“Do I need to ask to stay with my daughter?”
Lacey rolled her eyes and gave no response.
Andrew could see the stress on Lacey’s face. He wanted to offer to put Miranda up in a hotel, but he knew Lacey would never agree. And from what she had said about her mother, that would only be asking for trouble. Instead, he ate his meal while Miranda talked in between bites about her vacation in Florida and how wonderful it was. Andrew could see right through it, but he smiled and nodded, and asked everyone if they would like dessert.
It was two days later when Andrew walked out on his porch and found his dad outside in the yard. He hadn’t heard much from Lacey since dinner the other night, but he was trying to not take it personally. He knew she was dealing with a lot.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Morning Son, how’s everything?”
“All right, I guess.”
“Seems like you’ve been pretty busy lately. I always see your car leaving early in the morning and I hear you coming in late at night. But we haven’t talked much.”
Andrew scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess I have been. Sorry I haven’t been around much. Everything good with you?”
“Same old things for me. I go into work every morning and come home to your mother every night, just like I have for over thirty years.”
“But you’re happy, right?”
“Happy? Of course I’m happy. Son, this is the good life.”
Andrew smiled. He had always known his parents felt that way. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, your mother seems to think you’ve been spending some time with a young lady.”
“Ah ha! That’s the reason you’re out here so early on a Saturday.”
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
“And she wants you to dig some details out of me?”
“Son, dig wouldn’t be the right word. Dig sounds like I need a shovel. But with you I might need an excavator.”
Andrew stared at him, not sure what he meant.
“Son, I love you, but you’re not the easiest person to get talking about personal stuff.”
He dropped his gaze to the ground. “Sorry, Dad. I don’t mean to be difficult.”
Patrick put his hand on Andrew’s shoulder. “I don’t mean that you’re difficult. I’m just saying that you don’t offer up the information. So yes, I guess I gotta get up early in the morning on a Saturday, to find out what’s going on.”
Andrew sighed. “Well, Mom’s right. There is a girl I’ve been spending time with.”
“Mmhmm. She’s usually right.”
Andrew chuckled. “Yes, she is.”
“So who’s the girl?”
“Her name’s Lacey.”
Patrick waited for more and finally said, “And how did you meet her?”
“Actually we went to high school together, but I didn’t know her well then. I’ve known about her for a while, but she’s on the library committee.”
“Mmhmm. And you like her?”
“Yeah, Dad. I really do. She’s great, really. She’s nice and funny, and she says stuff right off the top of her head, and she’s not scared to talk to anybody.”
It was Patrick’s turn to chuckle now. “That’s different.”
“Yeah, I know. But since I’ve been getting to know her, I just feel more and more comfortable around her, and it makes me feel like it’s okay to just say something instead of pondering it forever first. You know, I just feel less like the awkward guy.”
“The awkward guy? Is that how you see yourself?”
Andrew stared at the ground and shrugged. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Son, I have never thought of you that way. And I bet your friends would say the same thing. You might be quiet, but you’re thoughtful and kind, and you always want to say and do the right thing. And in my mind those are noble qualities.”
“Thanks, Dad, I appreciate it.”
“And Son?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“You better bring her around to meet us soon. Or your mother will find a way to make it happen that will definitely be awkward.”
* * *
Lacey looked at the message on her phone and smiled when she saw Andrew’s name. She felt bad that she hadn’t been responding very often to his texts. She wanted to, but with Miranda looking over her shoulder all day, it was hard to have any privacy. Lacey wanted more than anything just to spend time with Andrew. Alone. But she was too afraid to leave her mother at her apartment.
“What’s that?” Miranda plopped down on the couch and looked over Lacey’s shoulder at her phone.
Lacey quickly pushed the button and the screen went dark. “Nothing.”
“Is it that Andrew boy texting you again?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Well, I would say that it’s definitely something. I saw you two making googly eyes at each other during dinner. If I were you I would latch on and get a commitment out of him before he runs off. You know his family has to have money.”
“Mother!” Lacey shouted. “That is not why I’m interested in him.”
“Of course it is. You know what they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Miranda waved her arms up and down pointing at herself.
Lacey felt sick to her stomach just considering that idea. “Is that why you’re still here? Trying to latch onto me because you think I’m dating someone with money?”
“No, of course not. I’m here to see you.”
“You’re here because you don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Miranda sat up. “You take that back.” Her tone was biting.
“It’s true, isn’t it? You lost your apartment, and your latest fling left you in Florida. And now you’re here sleeping on my couch and eating my food. Say it. Say you don’t have anywhere to go.”
Miranda stood and shouted, “I have nowhere to go. Are you happy now?”
Lacey stood up too, but she bit her lip to keep from starting a screaming match. “So, what’s your plan? How long are you going to stay here?”
“I don’t know. I’ll stay here as long as I like. I raised you and you owe me, and I’ll sleep on
your couch and eat your food as long as I want to.”
Lacey’s blood boiled and she let the words fly out of her mouth. “You did not raise me. I raised myself.”
Miranda pulled her hand back, and Lacey flinched, but Miranda stopped herself from following through.
Lacey looked in her eyes and spoke through clenched teeth. “You can sleep on the couch tonight. But tomorrow you will leave. I’ll give you some money to get you by a little, but you can’t stay here anymore.” She turned and walked out of the room. With more calm than she felt she went to her bedroom and closed the door. She could hear Miranda still complaining out loud to no one in the living room. Lacey felt sure she would go out to find her gone, along with several things that belonged to her. But she didn’t care. She laid down on the bed and wished she had been born to a different family.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lacey couldn’t help feeling a little jealous that while she was busy wishing for a different family, Andrew had been part of the perfect one all along. When he called and invited her to his parents’ house for Sunday lunch, she agreed immediately.
Now as she drove to their home, she couldn’t get her mind off her mother. As expected, Miranda had disappeared when Lacey emerged from her bedroom. A quick glance around told her that she hadn’t taken anything big. Lacey had gone to the kitchen and found that snacks and drinks were missing, along with the extra cash she kept in the top cabinet for emergencies. She wasn’t sure how long it would take her to replace that money, but she knew it could have been much worse.
She hesitated in the Hartley’s driveway, not sure whether to go to Andrew’s guest house, or to the main house. While she was trying to decide, Andrew appeared from the front door of the guest house and waved. She smiled and felt a little spark of peace wash over her. She hadn’t gone to church that morning, it was too much after the incident with Miranda. She wasn’t sure she could stand in church and sing about a good God who had given her Miranda for a mother.
Andrew walked over as she parked her car and opened her door. “Hi,” he said. When she stood up, he pulled her into a hug. She melted into his arms. She begged herself not to cry as the emotions of the week all rose to the surface.
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