Cursive

by Phoebe Lane

  "All right, then. Forty it is. Evan, would you care to place a bet?" Aislynn asked, and took the last sip of wine from her glass.

  "What am I betting on?"

  "How long it will take Pam to criticize something about Aislynn when she comes into town tomorrow," Ellie explained.

  "Wow…Okay?" he asked, confused.

  "My mom trained at the Emily Gilmore's school of Motherly Charm," Aislynn said with a straight face.

  "Who's Emily Gilmore?" he whispered in Ellie's ear.

  "It's a TV reference. She gets like this when she's tipsy. Random stuff just comes out," Ellie explained.

  "I'm going to go with five minutes," Aislynn blurted out before Evan could give his answer.

  "Oh, please. That would be really hard to do, even for Pam," Ellie argued.

  "No, no, no. I know the woman, okay? I lived with her for eighteen very long years," she said, a mild slur now noticeable in her speech. "You said it yourself—she hasn't seen me in a year. She probably has so much to say, that she'll be bursting at the seams to get it all out. Plus, she'll only be here for a few days, so she'll have to strategize and use her time wisely."

  "Wow, shit just got real," Evan said, and waved at the bartender to refill their drinks.

  "Now, Evan, I need your help with keeping Jace busy this weekend."

  "Why?"

  "She wants to keep him away from Pam," Ellie explained.

  "It's only for his sake, not hers. You should always protect the ones you love," Aislynn blurted out, and immediately regretted it. Ellie smiled wickedly at her, but like a good best friend, didn't call attention to her words.

  Damn you and your slips, Freud.

  "Come on, she can't be that bad," Evan said, not picking up on the significance of Aislynn's words.

  "Actually, I'm going to agree with Aislynn on this one," Ellie added, and then turned to her friend, an amused smile still plastered on her face. "I don't think you'll be able to keep Jace away from Pam the whole weekend, though. I mean, he knows she’s coming, right?"

  "Unfortunately, yes."

  "And he knows it's your birthday on Saturday?"

  "It is? That's great! We should celebrate," Evan added excitedly, but then took in Aislynn's icy expression. "Or not."

  "Jace's gonna want to spend time with you this weekend, and that will include meeting Pam. I'm pretty sure he can handle it," Ellie said with a smile, her eyes briefly glancing behind Aislynn.

  "It's not him I'm worried about. It's me. And her. Ugh, this sucks!" she said, putting her head down on the bar.

  She then heard a soft voice whisper in her ear, "I told you not to worry, babydoc. I can handle it."

  She felt soft kisses tickle her neck, and warm arms snake around her body. The feeling was so delicious that she didn't even try to move an inch. Instead, she surrendered to it as a soft moan escaped her lips and her fingers laced with the hands that held her.

  After a few seconds, Aislynn straightened in her chair, turned around, and found the world's most beautiful man staring lovingly back at her. She put her arms around his neck and gave in to the need to hug and kiss him, not caring who was watching.

  "Hi," she finally said after kissing him for what felt like minutes. "I missed you."

  "Hi, babydoc." He kissed her again, and then turned to Evan and Ellie. "How much did you guys let her drink?"

  "She can't hold her alcohol, Jace. This is what she looks like after two glasses of wine," Ellie said as Jace continued to stare adoringly into Aislynn's eyes and caress her face with his fingers. "But it had to be done," Ellie continued. "She's freaking out about tomorrow. I found her organizing bottles of shampoo earlier."

  "What's so wrong about that?" Evan asked.

  "We were at the drugstore. She was putting them in alphabetical order," Ellie answered.

  "As they should have been in the first place!" Aislynn exclaimed.

  "All right, babydoc. Let's get you some dinner," Jace said, pulling her off the bar stool and helping her walk to the table in the back of the restaurant.

  Later that night, after the heavy dinner helped clear the effects of the alcohol from her head, Aislynn snuggled into Jace's side on the car ride home from the bar and smiled as the comfort of his smell and his warmth surrounded her.

  "This weekend is going to be a nightmare," Aislynn said.

  "What is it that you’re so concerned about exactly?"

  She told Jace about how unreceptive Pam had been to the news of them dating weeks before, and proposed that maybe it would be best for them to avoid spending time together while Pam was in town.

  Jace argued the opposite, insisting that it was important for him to meet her. "It's a great opportunity for you to stand up to her, and not let her control your life anymore," he said. "I'm willing to stand up to her right along with you, but you've got to give me the chance."

  It took Aislynn a few minutes, but she finally realized that her actions were probably making Jace feel like she was trying to hide their relationship. So she gave in and agreed with him.

  She actually agreed with him over and over again, all while being held against the shower door later that night, her wrists held together over her head, panting moans of pleasure echoing off the walls. Jace had done an excellent job of drilling his point home.

  And they say women use sex as a weapon.

  "Do you feel better now?" he whispered in her ear after they lay down in bed.

  "There's no other way to feel but better whenever I'm with you," she said, and gave in to sleep.

  Aislynn made her way to the airport, triple espresso in hand and car windows rolled down. She needed the fresh air and the caffeine in her system if she expected to survive the next few hours.

  She slowed down as she approached the arrivals area, and scanned the crowd of people standing by the side of the road waiting for their rides. She spotted Pam almost immediately and was pleasantly surprised by the fact she hadn't changed one bit in the whole year since Aislynn had last seen her.

  "Mom, over here!" Aislynn yelled as she got out of her car, waving her hands up in the air to get Pam's attention.

  "Hi!" Pam yelled back as she walked the couple of dozen feet to where Aislynn was parked. "Oh, sweetie, it's so good to see you," Pam said, and embraced her daughter in a hug.

  Aislynn took a deep breath, realizing she still craved her mom's love and acceptance, even after everything that had transpired between them. For a moment, Aislynn felt her protective walls crumble down a little.

  I've missed her. Maybe it'll be different this time. Maybe things have changed—

  "You look so good, except…" Pam said, and trailed off.

  Ah, crap. What now?

  "Except?" Aislynn prompted.

  "Oh, nothing," she said, looking down Aislynn's body. "It's just...those pants are really…interesting, I guess."

  Walls going back up now, nice and sturdy.

  "Thanks, Mom. You've just made me a hundred dollars richer," Aislynn said under her breath.

  "I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked, confused.

  "I said, my leg really itches. So, how was your flight?"

  "It was long, and I'm starving," she said, loading her carry-on bag into the trunk.

  "How about we check you into the hotel, and then go get some lunch?" Aislynn asked.

  "Sounds great."

  As they took the thirty minute drive to the hotel, Aislynn was happy to let Pam fill up the time with endless chatter. She spoke mainly about how things were going for her back in Texas, her husband's new job, and their new house. Aislynn's mind tuned her out about twenty minutes into the conversation, but was suddenly brought back when Pam mentioned something about abnormal blood test results she had received from her doctor at her last checkup.

  "…I couldn't really understand what he was saying, though. But he had me have some additional tests," Pam said.

  "Why didn't you call me? I would've been able to explain to you what it all meant."

&n
bsp; "You're a psychiatrist, Aislynn. Not a doctor."

  Must. Hit. Something. Now.

  "I am a doctor, Mom. Remember that place I went to for four years after I came back from New York? Yeah, that was med school."

  "Okay, fine. Well, you don't specialize in internal medicine, so you may not know—"

  "I guarantee you that I still remember the basics." Aislynn realized her nails were digging into the leather of the steering wheel, and had to concentrate on not ruining her manicure. It was petty, yes, but it was better than focusing on the anger that was building inside her chest. "So what did the doctor say? What were the results of the tests?"

  "They all came back fine. He has me taking a baby aspirin every day, and he will run the tests again in three months to see how everything's going."

  After dropping Pam off at the front of the hotel and making her way to the parking lot, Aislynn received a text from Ellie.

  How's it going?

  You owe me $100. It took her five seconds to say something about my clothes.

  OMG! Someone give that woman a gold medal. How are u holding up?

  I'm not. I swear this is why people drink.

  I know wine and I've got plenty of it. You just say the word.

  The last text was from Evan. Ellie must have sent the text as a group message. Aislynn's phone rang just as she was typing Evan's response, and a big smile spread across her face when she realized who it was.

  "Hi," she said with an exhale.

  "Please, don't kill her. I've got wine, too," Jace said, clearly in on the group conversation.

  "I don't need wine. I prefer to have you."

  "I'm all yours."

  Aislynn closed her eyes and took in his words, fighting the urge to tell him what she was really thinking…what she had been thinking and feeling for weeks now.

  "Great, now I have to explain to her why I'm blushing and smiling like I'm high on something."

  Jace chuckled and added, "There are worse things, you know."

  "I guess so. Okay, I have to go, now. I'm taking her out to lunch. Just know you'll be my one and only phone call, so have the bail money ready, just in case."

  "Hang in there, babydoc. I'll see you tonight."

  Aislynn met Pam in the lobby and helped her get her things up to the room. Pam had arranged to have several spa treatments done during her stay, which meant the amount of time Aislynn had to spend with her turned out to be even less than expected. Aislynn was relieved at first, but then wondered if she should've felt guilty for thinking that way. It was her mom after all, and she had flown thousands of miles to spend time with her on her birthday.

  "Are we doing lunch now, or are you going to go change out of those pants before we go?" Pam asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  Yeah, I'll leave the guilt for some other time.

  "So you like California, huh?"

  "I really do," Aislynn answered, taking the last bite of her pasta. "I've actually liked every city I've been in so far, to be honest with you."

  "Where are you off to next?" Pam asked.

  Trick question, I can feel it.

  "I don't know. It might be good to get out of the States, do some traveling abroad. Europe, maybe."

  "How do you plan to do that? Financially, I mean. You don't even have a job."

  "Don't worry about it, Mom. I'm perfectly fine," she said, as the waitress came by to pick up their empty plates. "Can I have a double espresso, please?" Aislynn ordered.

  "That's going to do wonders for your sleep tonight," Pam said with her trademark sarcasm.

  "Like I said, don't worry about it, Mom. I'm perfectly fine," she repeated.

  "Whatever you say," Pam said in singsong. "Okay, so I was thinking that maybe I should cook dinner at your place tonight. You ask for whatever you want."

  "Really?" Aislynn said with hesitation. A dinner at home provided an inevitable opportunity for Pam to interact with Jace.

  Jace. My Jace. My very persuasive Jace, she thought as she drifted off into a memory of the shower activities from the night before.

  "Aislynn! Hey, I just lost you," Pam said, oblivious to the inner workings of Aislynn's mind. "Do you feel okay? You look a bit flushed."

  "I'm great," she answered, and felt her inner muscles contract involuntarily.

  "I was asking if you know what you want me to cook for you tonight."

  "Right. Dinner…How about…oh! I want chicken fried steak, mac and cheese from scratch, and green beans with bacon."

  I'm gonna need a defibrillator to go with all that.

  "All right. Comfort food it is."

  "We should head over to farmer’s market and pick up some fresh ingredients," Aislynn said as she paid the bill.

  "Wow, this place is fantastic," Pam said as she browsed through one of the produce counters at the market. Aislynn was surprised because impressing the woman was no easy task. "All right, so with Ellie and her boyfriend, that makes four of us for dinner, right?"

  Here we go. Big girl panties on.

  "Actually, it's going to be five. Jace will be there as well," Aislynn said.

  The silence that ensued was incredibly telling, and very anxiety provoking for Aislynn. She repeated her new chant over and over in her head to calm herself down.

  You control this. Not her.

  Pam's gaze moved over to the seafood counter. "Who's Jace?" she finally asked in a pathetic attempt at sounding casual and aloof.

  "Jace is my boyfriend, and he will join us for dinner," Aislynn said, her voice soft yet commanding.

  "You haven't mentioned Jace before," Pam said, pronouncing his name in a tone Aislynn didn't appreciate.

  "No, I haven't."

  "Well, tell me about him, then."

  Yeah, I'm not taking that bait.

  "What do you want to know?" Aislynn asked.

  "Geez, I don't know. The normal stuff," Pam said, now irritated. She had never dealt well with Aislynn's fine-tuned talent of being evasive.

  Taste the bitter pill, Mom.

  Pam continued, "How old is he? What does he do for a living? How long have y’all been dating? Is it serious? Is this the guy you were out with on a date when I called?"

  "Thirty-one; business investor; a few months; yes, it is serious; and yes, that was him."

  "Again with the one word answers? If this relationship is so important to you, then say something of substance, for the love of God," Pam snapped.

  Aislynn's body tensed and her face flushed against her will. It was a miracle her teeth had not cracked because the pressure she was putting on her jaw rivaled that of an alligator at feeding time.

  She walked around and faced Pam head on, not caring that they were surrounded by dozens of people.

  "First of all, I don't have to say anything at all. This is my life, and I don't need to explain my decisions to you or anyone else. I'm a big girl, and if I want to date again, move to Timbuktu, or drink an espresso at eleven o'clock at night, then that's my decision to make. Mine." Aislynn was on a roll and there was no stopping her now. "Second, Jace is a wonderful man, and we're in a serious relationship now. I like him, and we make each other happy. This is actually the happiest I've been in a long time. And finally, while you're here in San Diego, I expect you to respect me and treat Jace like he is the most important person in my life…because that's exactly what he is."

  Pam held Aislynn's stare for a half second, but then walked around her to go stand by the fruit display. "You know, you can be really dramatic sometimes, dear. I swear it's like a rollercoaster with you—up and down, up and down. You don't need to get so worked up about everything," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Here, have a kiwi."

  Argh! Argh! Argh!

  Freud would have had a field day psychoanalyzing the fact that Aislynn was deathly allergic to kiwi.

  After they finished shopping at the market and did some sightseeing around the city, Aislynn and Pam spent the afternoon making dinner. Ellie had joined them in the kitchen, and th
e three of them had spent the last couple of hours talking about movies and all the latest Hollywood gossip. Then the conversation inevitably turned to Pam telling embarrassing stories about Aislynn's childhood.

  "Oh my God! No, I didn't," Aislynn said with a laugh. She was very surprised to realize she had been able to get over their altercation at the market and was now actually enjoying herself.

  "Oh, yes you did. You must have been about four years old, I think. Your dad used to snore so loud that I didn't hear you sneak out of your room. By the time I made it into the kitchen, you had spilled milk all over the counter, all the eggs were cracked—well, maybe more like smashed—inside a bowl, and you had splattered pancake mix everywhere. It turned into this cement-like glob that took me a week to clean off the backsplash," Pam said, taking a sip from her wine glass.

  "Well, in my defense, it's the thought that counts. I must've been really excited about making breakfast for the family," Aislynn added.

  "And you make great pancakes now," Ellie added, sending a smile and a wink in Aislynn's direction.

  "Thank you very much," Aislynn said.

  "Ellie, are you done with that?" Pam asked.

  "Yeah, here you go," Ellie said, handing Pam a big bowl of fresh green beans, all the tips now cut off. "That was a lot of work. Don't these come precooked? Or canned?"

  Aislynn and Pam stared at her like she had just spit on their graves after stealing candy from a kid and kicking a puppy off a building—they looked utterly disgusted.

  "Okay, then…" Ellie said, backing away from the kitchen, hands up in the air. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. The guys will be here soon."

  "Wait, what time—" Aislynn said, a knock on the door interrupting her.

  Oh, no! I haven't had enough time to freak out about this!

  Ellie had already disappeared into her room, and Pam didn't even acknowledge the knocking. There was no way around this.