For The Love of Ash

by Taylor Lavati

"Yep."

  And that was all I got from her. I was going to make it a priority to get her to talk to me during our dinner. I wanted to connect with her, and I was going to make it work.

  I pulled into the parking lot, which was surprisingly busy for a Thursday night. I had been to this place before, especially in high school since it was just a few towns over.

  To be honest, the guy I used to buy weed from made us meet here in the back lot by the dumpsters—classic spot, I know. But I was sixteen so what more could you expect. We were the stupid rich kids from the prep school, so the prices were jacked, and we were always shorted.

  Jesus. I really hoped Lilly and Liam weren't into that shit. That thought literally made me freeze. Maybe I could ask her during dinner. I doubt she'd tell me. Fuck. I really wished these kids had a functioning parent, because I couldn't handle it.

  "Lil." I tapped her shoulder to get her attention. She pulled her earbuds out, looked around, and smiled, realizing where we were.

  "Sorry."

  "It's okay. Let's go eat." I shoved my wallet into my back pocket and walked alongside Lilly into Prime Time. The first thing I saw was her. The main counter took up most of the right side of the one roomed restaurant, and she was behind it, talking to an older man, laughing like they were longtime friends.

  My stomach actually swirled. I was fucking pathetic. I grabbed Lilly's hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. She glared up at me but let me tug her down the other aisle and into a two-person booth.

  "What is going on?" she asked as she ducked her head, looking around the room like she was paranoid.

  "I know the girl behind the bar."

  "And…" She tilted her head to the side, her eyes wide with conspiracy.

  "I don't want her to see me yet."

  "Shit. You like her?" Lilly started to turn her head to look behind her, but I reached forward and stopped her. "She doesn't know me, moron." This time I let Lilly turn. When she faced me, she didn't say anything.

  "Well?"

  "She's way out of your league."

  "How do you know?"

  "She's an actual woman. And she looks sad. I don't think she's looking for a fun time in the sack."

  "What makes you think I am?" I asked back, crouching down so Maggie wouldn't spot me. Before Lil could answer, the hostess came over and dropped two laminated menus on the white table between us.

  "Can I get you two anything to drink?" she asked, faking a smile. The woman was older, maybe in her mid-forties, with short brown hair. The name-tag on her chest said Mary Ellen.

  "I'll have a coffee, please."

  "Can I have a vanilla milkshake and a coke?" Lil asked, which made me wrinkle my nose. She just shrugged.

  "Sure thing. Take your time with the menus. I'll be back with your drinks in a minute." Mary Ellen smiled at us and then walked back towards the kitchen. I followed her with my eyes and saw a quiet exchange between her and Maggie.

  I remembered that I had a text on my phone that was unanswered. I had to be clever or else she was going to close me out. I scrolled through my texts and saw a jumbled message to Maggie. That must have happened when Linds scared the shit out of me.

  "Do you have a boyfriend?" I asked Lilly.

  "What?" She flinched back, her eyes wide yet skeptical. "No, I don't. Why?"

  "Never mind then. I just wanted advice. I'll ask Lindsay."

  "No! Please." She reached between us and grabbed my hand, pleading with me. "I've had boyfriends before. I know what I'm talking about. I want to help you."

  "I don't know…you're only seventeen."

  "Luke, come on!" she whined, digging her long nails into my forearm.

  "Fine," I relented like I was going to the whole time. I pulled my arm back and rubbed the crescents from her attack. She clicked her phone to blackness and then placed it on the seat next to her. I was making some progress with her. Finally.

  "Tell me all about her." Lilly rested her elbows on the counter and placed her head in her hands, staring straight at me. I noticed how much she looked like our mother but ignored it.

  "I don't really know her, but I know she has a son or brother or something. He's in my gym class. She's taking education classes at Western. That's pretty much it. Oh, and I texted her by accident, and now she wants to know if I was speaking in code." I scrolled back to the text and showed Lilly the screen without giving her full access to my phone.

  "How old is her son? Luke that's serious."

  "I know. He's in fourth grade, so nine-ish, probably. I really like her, though."

  "Well, you have two options since she's like ten feet away. I can go over and try to lay down some groundwork for you. Or you can text back something about your phone falling in the car, which explains why you haven't responded, and then we go from there."

  "What do you think the surest way of getting her to go out with me is?"

  "I'll be right back." She saluted me, nodded, and then stood up from the table. I knew this plan was going to tank, but Lilly was enjoying herself, so I let it go on. I could fix this with Sunny eventually. I'd figure it out.

  I watched from the booth as Lil walked over to the counter and sat at the end bar stool. She turned and faced me and smiled, giving me a thumbs up. Within a minute, Maggie walked over to her, and they started talking.

  I wished that I had ears over there to hear what Lil was saying to her. But watching was good too. Maggie's hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and an image of me pulling on it floated through my perverted brain.

  She was beautiful, even in an apron and sneakers. Her black jeans were tight from what I could see at the edge of the bar, accentuating her round ass. She had no idea the effect she had on people, but she was so smooth and light. Just looking at her brightened days.

  Just then, I caught Maggie's eyes. The greenness in them pierced me, even from the long distance. She had sniper eyes. She was telling me something, but I had no idea what. Lilly said something to her that made her laugh, and then before I knew it, they were both walking my way.

  "I've gotta run to the bathroom," Lilly said, literally running in the opposite direction and leaving me sitting in the booth with Maggie standing before me.

  "Hi," I offered, shrugging my shoulders.

  "Using your sister to get me to date you…you must be pretty desperate."

  "Not desperate. I just know what I want," I told her, being completely honest. She tucked her note pad into the front of her apron and sat down across from me.

  "I'm not dating you." She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side.

  "Why not?"

  "I don't date anyone. Don't take it personally. Although you could afford to lose a bit of ego and still be good to go." I narrowed my eyes from across the table.

  "I won't give up."

  "And I won't change my mind." I liked seeing the hardness in her voice. She usually came across so timid, yet the little flickers of fire were what really drew me in.

  "My sister's coming back. Pretend you'll date me. Please," I begged her. She didn't answer me. Lilly came back over, and Maggie got up from the seat and stood in front of us.

  "Are you guys in love yet?" Lilly asked, clutching her clasped hands to her chest and batting her eyelashes at the two of us. I shook my head, laughing.

  "Goodbye you two. I have to get back to work."

  "Did you agree to a date?" Lilly asked before Maggie left. Maggie glanced at me before nodding at Lilly. "Holy shit. My plan worked. You owe me brother!" Lilly reached across the table and high-fived me.

  "I am buying you dinner."

  "Next week, too, then!"

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maggie

  My high from everything that happened with Luke today had completely vanished when I saw the sleek black Corvette parked in the driveway. I grabbed Asher from Lisa's house and parked my car behind hers since she left no room for the both of us.

  "Is that Grandma's car?" Ash asked as he grabbed
his backpack from the floor of the car and hopped out.

  "Yeah, she came for a little visit."

  "I'm really tired."

  "She'll only be here a little while. Best behavior, all right?" I grabbed his hand and kissed the top of his head. We walked to the front door together. Not surprisingly, Grandma had let herself in with a key I didn't even know she had. I faked a smile as I let Ash walk in front of me. I didn't want to bring attention to the negativity.

  "My sweet grandchildren!" she cooed when she saw us. I watched as she knelt down, her grey suit pants crinkling like plastic. She held her arms open as Ash walked over to her and hugged her. I pushed Ash's backpack in the corner near the door and then placed my own purse on the table.

  "I have lasagna. Let me just heat it up." She didn't say hi or even acknowledge me. I walked past her into the kitchen and pulled out the tray from the refrigerator. I eavesdropped as I poured lettuce into a large bowl. Her voice pierced my brain.

  "How is school, little boy?"

  "I only started yesterday but so far so good."

  "Why don't you tell her about hockey?" I shouted from the kitchen.

  "Oh!" I could hear the excitement in his tone. "I made it onto a new team that's for twelve-year-olds. I'm the youngest boy, but I'm good enough to be on it." I smiled.

  "I just hope your sister isn't setting you up for failure. Surely, you won't be the best on the team. Are you okay with being average?"

  "Well¸ no."

  "I'm not setting him up for failure," I said as I stormed into the living room. That was bullshit, and she knew it. Asher was sitting on the couch with Margo beside him, although just one butt cheek was on the couch. It was like she thought it was too dirty to sit on.

  "His coach thought he was too good for the U10 so we're trying him on the U12. I wouldn't put him there if I didn't think he could handle it. Plus, being challenged is a good thing. It will help him grow."

  "Do you know how failure affects children's psyche? By trying it out, you could be scarring him for life. I only have his best interests in mind." Margo glared at me from across the room like I interrupted her private brainwash time.

  "Asher, why don't you go up and get ready for bed? I'll call you down for dinner, okay?" I smiled at him, pretending like my heart wasn't racing in my chest and my blood wasn't pumping ridiculously loud in my ears.

  He nodded and ran up the stairs. He seemed relieved from the sigh he let out.

  "Well?" She stood and brushed her pants clean of all the imaginary dirt. "Surely, you know you can't handle dealing with Asher and yourself. Don't interrupt," she said just as I was about to. "I only want the best for each of you, Margaret. Your mother would want me more involved."

  "You were never involved until they died, Margo. Why now?" I shook my head and leaned against the wall. I didn't want her any closer to me than she was now.

  "I just told you. My daughter would want me to know her children."

  "I'm not saying you can't know us. But you're not taking him from me. And I'll do whatever it takes to prevent that. I won't let my guard down when it comes to Asher." The buzzer beeped from the kitchen, and I turned and left her.

  I felt her enter the room behind me as I pulled the lasagna out of the oven. I placed it on a warmer that rested atop the stove and finished making the salad.

  "You know, I could hire someone to make you food," she offered from behind me. I glared over my shoulder and saw her studying me, looking for flaws.

  "Margo, just stop. Why don't you go find Ash? You have a shot of having a relationship with him."

  "I know I was never nice to you kids—"

  "Not nice to us?" I laughed to myself as I turned around to face her. Her gray hair was perfectly coifed up to the side, her pant suit and blazer were fit to her slim body, hugging her stick-like frame. "You have called me a slut, drug addict, waste of our name, and useless. You told me more times than not that I would never go anywhere in life. I know the only reason you give a shit now is because you feel some sort of guilt after my parents' death, but save it. It doesn't work on me."

  "I guess you did get something from us after all." She smiled as she trailed her finger along the counter as she sauntered out of the kitchen. Her heels clicked up the stairs. I grabbed onto the edge of the counter to stop my shaking hands.

  How dare she continue to attack me? Especially in my own home. I knew this was how she was, but it didn't make hearing it any easier. It was worse that she was attacking me over Ash. I doubted my parenting skills, and she was using my insecurity against me. I prayed that it wouldn't work.

  I could do this.

  I tried to keep my mind off Margo and on the task at hand. I finished mixing the oil and vinegar dressing and sprinkled it over the lettuce. I cut some veggies and threw them on top and then placed the bowl on the table next to the lasagna.

  "Dinner is ready!" I yelled up the stairs and retreated back to the kitchen. I liked the seat cornered in the wall since I could see everything around me.

  Asher ran into the room and kissed my cheek before sitting in the seat next to me. Margo came in and sat across from me. She had her nose in the air at my modest meal, but I bit my tongue and breathed deeply.

  "Tell me when," I told Asher as I scooped out some lasagna and piled it on his plate. After two spoonfuls, he asked me to stop. I gave myself some and then passed the serving spoon over to Margo.

  I gave Ash a good amount of salad and hopped up to get him a glass of milk. I didn't even have to see her to know that she wasn't impressed. Truthfully, I cared what she thought of me. I wanted just one person to tell me I was doing a good job, but it was stupid to expect it from her.

  "So, Margo, where's Grandpa today?" I asked. I sat down and placed the glass in front of Asher., then took a bite of the hot lasagna. Even though my mom didn't really like me, she made some awesome food. This was her recipe, and I made it at least a few times a month.

  "He's off golfing with some of his country club buddies. You know how they love to go any day it's sunny." I looked over at her plate and saw she only had a little bit of salad on it. I had to resist an eye roll.

  "Asher, when is your first game?" Margo asked. Asher was in the middle of a bite. He chewed fast, making a spectacle as he dramatized his jaw movements. I laughed, but Margo didn't.

  "I don't know my schedule yet. Do you?" He looked to me.

  "Coach Mark was going to email me tonight. Probably next weekend," I told her, though I doubted she would actually show up. She only wanted to be in our lives in theory. She wasn't actually interested in what we did.

  "I'd love to come to a game if that'd be okay with you." She tilted her head to the side, her fork with a single leaf in the air.

  "Sure." Ash shrugged as he filled his mouth with the final piece of lasagna on his plate.

  "Do you want more?" I asked him as he picked at the salad. He nodded. "Finish the salad, and I'll give you more lasagna."

  "So, Margaret, you're in college, yes? I believe that was part of the settlement."

  "If you mean the will, then no, it wasn't part of it. But I am in college."

  "Where are you going?" she asked, but from the lilt in her voice I knew it was just small talk.

  "I'm taking day classes at Western."

  "Western? That's a state school." She may as well have thrown her napkin to the ground with her extreme reaction. State schools were beneath her.

  "They have a great education program."

  "Could you not get into Sacred Heart at the very least?"

  "I didn't apply, so I don't know. I like Western, and it's close enough for me to juggle everything." I bit extra hard into the lasagna, pretending it was her head.

  "I don't mind taking Ash back to my estate a few days a week. He'd probably like having a little extra room. Wouldn't you?" She glanced down at him.

  "Don't bring him into this." I glared across the table at her. Even I knew better than to put Asher in a bad spot. He probably loved Margo, an
d I wouldn't want either of them hurt, even if I was constantly getting stabbed.

  "Well, I can see we're not on the same page. Perhaps next month will be better. I should be off to make dinner for your grandfather." She scooted her chair back and stood.

  "Did you want to wrap the rest of the lasagna?" I asked as I stood up, too.

  "Oh, no, dear. We don't eat meat."

  "Of course,you don't." I shook my head, grinning through clenched teeth.

  "What was that?" she asked from behind me.

  "Nothing. It was a pleasure to see you, as always." I waved over my shoulder as she said goodbye to Asher.

  "I'll send a maid next week some time. He shouldn't be living in this filth. And don't object, Margaret. You wouldn't want me to mention anything to the lawyers, would you?" She smirked at me and then walked into the living room before I could object. "Goodbye, Asher. Promise you'll call and let me know how your hockey thing goes."

  "Sure," he answered, kind like always. "Bye, Grandma."

  "You're old enough to call me Margo now, dear."

  "Oh, um…Bye, Margo." I heard the front door shut and that was when I emerged from the kitchen. Asher was sitting on the love seat, rummaging through his backpack.

  "Ready for more lasagna?" I asked him as I wiped my hands on my pants. He nodded. "Let's go then." I patted his butt as he walked past me. I looked around the living room, searching for some dead rodents or stains, but saw nothing. My house was perfectly fine; I guess a little messy, but not unlivable. Fuck her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maggie

  Asher now had practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which were the worst time for me. Coach Mark sent me a new practice schedule via email, and when I saw the times, my stomach bottomed out.

  I now had work in the morning, two classes, had to have Lisa meet him at home after school, and then I rushed home and drove us both to his practice. It was exhausting, and the second we got to the rink, I ran to the concession stand and got an extra-large hot coffee with half and half and about a cup of sugar. I figured I'd need another before the night was over.