by Tawna Fenske
Instead, a middle-aged woman with frizzy blond hair stood at the edge of the front step, a timid smile tugging the corners of her mouth. Will watched as the woman opened her arms wide and called to Marley.
“Baby. Sweetie. It’s so good to see you. It’s been so long!”
Will looked back at Marley, who was still frozen on her knees in the middle of the concrete driveway. She blinked at the woman, then turned slowly to face Will.
Her expression was somewhere between dumbfounded and terrified, and Will half expected Marley to run back to the car and order him to drive away fast in a hail of gunfire. Will reached for the car keys in the ignition, not sure whether to rev the engine and leave or jump out to come to Marley’s aid.
Marley stood up, her face pale with shock. She brushed her hair out of her eyes as the woman walked toward her, arms outstretched.
“Mom,” Marley said, and turned to look at Will again.
Chapter 16
Half of Marley’s brain was telegraphing a message to her mother to go back into the condo and wait a few minutes to let her dumbfounded daughter collect her thoughts.
The other half of her brain was telepathically ordering Will to stay in the car and drive far, far away as fast as possible.
Apparently, Marley needed to work on her powers of thought transference.
“Who is this darling young man?” Judy called as she clasped Marley in a giant bear hug and rocked back and forth while peering over her daughter’s shoulder. She drew back and nodded toward the car, where Will still sat looking uncertain. “Marley, why don’t you invite your date inside so we can get to know him better?”
“He’s not my date,” Marley protested, wrestling one hand free from her mom’s embrace to wave farewell to Will. Maybe that signal would be enough to let him know he needed to hit the road.
“Nonsense. Your father said you were out on a date with a bicycle mechanic, and I’ve been waiting all evening to get a look at him. At least invite him in for a quick hello.”
“Mom, he’s not—”
But Judy was already prying open the door of Will’s Volkswagen, not willing to take no for an answer. Will raised one eyebrow at Marley as Judy grabbed him by the arm and towed him out of the driver’s seat. “It’s so nice to meet the lucky young man who caught the eye of my baby,” Judy said, wrapping her arms around Will for a hug.
Will kept his focus on Marley, a question in his eyes. Marley wished like hell she had the answer to that question and a lot of others. For starters, how the hell had her mother gotten out of jail?
Please don’t let her say anything, she thought. Not now. Now while Will’s here.
Sensing Judy was about to release Will from her hug, Marley forced herself to walk down the driveway to stand beside her mother.
“Will, this is my mom, Judy Cartman. Mom, this is Will Barclay.”
Judy drew back to study Will, looking like a maniacal produce inspector who’d squeezed too many bananas. “So you’re a bike mechanic,” Judy said. “I think that’s just wonderful. Marley’s always been afraid of bicycling, so it’s delightful to see her branching out and—”
“Will isn’t the bike mechanic, Mom.” Marley shot Will an apologetic look as she pried her mother off him. “Will is a friend who came to rescue me when my date with the bike mechanic didn’t work out.”
Will nodded and took a step back. “Ma’am. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Well that’s just wonderful!” Judy gushed, appraising Will with even more enthusiasm than before. “A real knight in shining armor, coming to Marley’s rescue like that. It’s so nice to know she has someone taking care of her.”
Marley gritted her teeth, wishing the ground would swallow up one of them—her, Judy, Will—it didn’t actually matter at this point.
“I’d rather take care of myself,” Marley said. The second the words were out of her mouth, she felt like a petulant toddler.
Judy shook her head and put an arm around Marley’s shoulders. “You’re always taking care of other people, sweetie. Isn’t it nice sometimes to let someone else step up to the plate for you?”
She smiled knowingly before releasing Marley, who had a serious urge to snatch Will’s car keys and make an emergency getaway in his Volkswagen.
Before she could act on it, Judy grabbed Will by the hand and began pulling him toward the condo. “Come on inside, you two. Your father and I were just sitting down for a drink and catching up on old times. I couldn’t believe he got married again—can you believe it? How many times is that now—four, five?”
“Six,” Marley said, dragging her feet as she followed behind and prayed for a nuclear disaster. Will looked over his shoulder at her, offering a sympathetic look.
“Ms. Cartman,” Will began, “I don’t want to interrupt your family reunion, especially if it’s been a while since you and Marley have seen each other.”
“Nonsense,” Judy said, pushing him into the condo’s foyer as Marley followed meekly behind. “What better way to catch up with my daughter than by meeting one of the young men she’s been keeping company with here in Bend?”
Marley could think of at least three dozen appropriate ways to catch up with an estranged daughter that didn’t involve hijacking a date that wasn’t actually a date.
“Mom, I think Will has someplace he needs to be.”
“Oh, this will only take a second,” Judy said. “Have a seat right over there, son. Can I get you a glass of wine?”
Marley’s dad looked up from the other end of the couch and watched the peculiar procession filing into the condo. He frowned as his eyes fixed on Will.
“You?”
Will stuck his hand out. “Pleasure to see you again, sir.”
Magoo danced happily around Marley’s ankles, unaware he was witnessing the world’s most awkward family reunion. Marley’s jailbird mom, the ex-husband who abandoned her, and the daughter with a whole closet full of secrets.
Marley shot another look at Will and wished he could be anyplace else. He caught her gaze and smiled. Marley returned the smile without thinking, as a teaspoon of dread leaked out of her psyche. She sighed and trudged after her mother.
“So, Mom,” Marley said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “It’s been, what? Five, six years?”
“Something like that, dear. Will, honey, would you like red wine, white wine, or bourbon?”
“That’s my bourbon,” Marley’s dad objected from the couch.
“None for me, thank you,” Will said, settling on the opposite end of the sofa and resting his hands on his knees. He looked like a man preparing to see a tawdry made-for-TV movie, which wasn’t too far off the mark. Marley couldn’t decide whether she wanted to hit him or kiss him, so she settled for offering him a drink he might actually like.
“I’m having blueberry iced tea,” she announced as she pulled two glasses from the cupboard. “Will?”
“Yes, please.”
Once they were all seated in the living room with sweating glasses in their hands, Judy beamed at Will. “So you’re having intimate relations with my daughter?”
Marley choked on her tea. “Mom!”
Her father frowned at his ex-wife. “He’s what?”
“Oh, pish.” Judy smiled and took a sip of her wine. “It’s obvious from looking at you two that you’re on intimate terms. I think it’s lovely. The art of lovemaking is a wonderful and beautiful thing, and in the confines of a committed relationship—”
“Mom, please stop.” Marley took a sip of her iced tea as Magoo jumped onto the couch beside her and curled himself in a protective donut around her feet.
Judy ignored her daughter, keeping her focus on their guest. “So Will, if you aren’t the bike mechanic, what is it you do for a living?”
Will twisted his glass around in one hand but didn’t take a drink. “
A little of this, a little of that.”
Marley and her father rolled their eyes in tandem.
“He’s a deliveryman,” Walter said.
“He’s a millionaire,” Marley said.
Father and daughter glowered at each other. Judy went right on beaming.
“Millionaire deliveryman?” she said. “Well, yes, I suppose if you own stock in UPS or Fed Ex or—”
“Mom, Will doesn’t like discussing his career or finances with strangers.” She looked at Will, whose expression was unreadable. “Or with anyone.”
Marley’s mother fluttered a hand to her chest in feigned surprise. Or maybe the surprise was real. It was possible, considering how oblivious Judy could be in social situations. What the hell was she doing here, anyway? She wasn’t due to be released for six more months. But maybe the parole hearing had gone better than expected. The state’s prison system was overcrowded, and Judy was a good candidate for early release.
Will cleared his throat. “It’s lovely to finally meet you, Ms. Cartman. I can see where Marley gets her beautiful smile.”
“Please, call me Judy,” she said, settling back a little into the leather armchair she’d selected. Walter watched, seemingly perplexed to see his first ex-wife making herself at home in his condo.
“So Will,” Judy began again. “I understand from my ex-husband that Marley has been making an effort to date men whose value is measured in the content of their character rather than the content of their wallet. Where do you fit into the plan?”
Marley opened her mouth to say… well, she really wasn’t sure what to say. But Will beat her to it.
“I don’t actually fit into the plan at all,” Will said. “I do volunteer work for several organizations Marley’s been involved with, so we became acquainted in a professional capacity. We also interact socially from time to time.”
“Oh, volunteer work.” Judy smiled. “That’s so nice. Very important to be charitable, don’t you think, Marley?”
“Absolutely,” Marley said for lack of anything better to say.
Judy turned back to Will. “It’s important to us as her parents that Marley have friends with the utmost moral standards and strength of character. Tell me, Will, have you been married before?”
“Mother,” Marley hissed, gripping the arm of her chair.
“Divorced, actually,” Will said. “Four years now.”
Marley’s father scowled. “Divorced? I don’t know how I feel about that.”
Marley resisted the urge to punch her father in the shoulder.
“But with the volunteer work,” Judy argued, “he’s clearly an upstanding citizen.”
Walter looked at Will. “Have you ever been delinquent on an account, declared bankruptcy, or been refused credit for any reason?”
“Oh, please,” Judy scoffed, taking another sip of wine. “You’re forgetting the more important questions, like police records, college education, political affiliation, whether he conforms to a vegan lifestyle—”
“Stop it, you two!” Marley snapped, setting her glass down hard on an end table and looking from one parent to the other. “Listen to yourselves. A serial philanderer and a convicted criminal giving lectures about moral standards and the sanctity of marriage. Dad thinks I should be dating for financial stability, and Mom thinks I should be dating for a Nobel Peace Prize, but neither of you seems to think I should be dating for me.”
There was a long silence as Walter and Judy looked at their daughter as though she’d grown a third ear. Will took a sip of blueberry tea but said nothing. Marley released her grip on the arms of her chair and closed her eyes.
“A simple please stop harassing the houseguest would have been better,” Marley muttered through gritted teeth.
“Not really,” Will said.
***
Will knew he’d never admit it to anyone, but the moment Marley came unhinged in front of her parents?
Sexiest. Thing. Ever.
Of course, she was still hunched on the sofa with her face in her hands, so the lusty appeal was subdued. Seeing her like that made him want to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but he knew that wasn’t the right move. With both parents demanding she find someone to take care of her, the last thing she wanted was him swaggering up to the plate.
But he couldn’t just sit there while Walter and Judy looked at her as though she’d just piddled on the sofa. Even Magoo seemed distraught as he tucked his stub-tail between his legs and buried his nose under Marley’s arm.
Will stood up, gripping his iced tea in one hand. “Marley, would it be possible to get a to-go cup?”
Marley pried her hands from her eyes and blinked up at him. “What?”
The sight of those hazel eyes brimming with guilt and embarrassment nearly unhinged him, and he forgot for a moment what he intended to say.
“I love your blueberry tea, but I really do need to head to another engagement,” Will said. “Is there any chance I could put this in some sort of container to take with me?”
Lame, Barclay. Very lame.
But Marley stood up, her legs looking a little shaky as she trudged toward the kitchen. “Sure, no problem. Would a recycled water bottle be okay?”
“Perfect.” Will followed after her, with Walter and Judy still frowning with confusion from their perches in the living room.
Good, Will thought. Give them some time to consider the folly of dictating their grown daughter’s love life.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Will leaned against the stove and smiled at Marley. “Fun times with the family.”
Marley sighed and stood on tiptoe to reach an upper cupboard. “It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
“I thought you had to be somewhere.”
“I lied.”
“You’re not the only one.”
Will studied the side of her face, wondering if that was another slip of the tongue or just an expression.
Marley turned to face him, a plastic water bottle in one hand and a resigned look on her face. “My father is on his sixth wife. My mother has a criminal history. Suffice it to say, I don’t have the best role models for integrity and marital longevity.”
“At least they seem to want the best for you. Their methods are a little heavy-handed, but they mean well.”
Marley sighed and grabbed the full glass of tea from his hand. “And that’s why I feel awful, and why I probably need to go back out there right now and apologize.”
“Maybe not right now,” Will said, leaning against the counter. “You weren’t so far off base in your lecture. A little harsh maybe, but not uncalled for.”
“I’m a horrible daughter.”
Will raised an eyebrow. “Is there more to this story?”
Marley shrugged and began to pour Will’s tea into the wide-mouth bottle “There’s always more to a story, isn’t there?”
“Evasive much?”
“It’s just—” Marley frowned and screwed the lid onto the bottle. “Never mind. I wish you hadn’t been here just now.”
The fragrance of blueberry tea was making him a little dizzy, as was Marley’s roundabout reasoning. What the hell was she talking about?
“Marley, is there something you want to tell me?”
She looked at him a little sadly. Then she looked down at the kitchen counter, her fingers gripped around the bottle of tea.
“I think I made a mistake.”
She said the words so softly, Will almost didn’t hear her. He took a step closer, wondering what she was on the verge of confessing.
“Marley?”
She looked up at him, and Will saw a faint shimmer of tears in her hazel eyes. “My plan to date men based on their income, or lack thereof,” Marley said. “I think I need to give it a rest.”
“There are jerks with money and jerks without money, and maybe I’m just not very good at figuring out who’s who,” she said.
“There a few decent guys in the other camps too, you know. Nice guys with money, nice guys with none.”
“True. I guess between tonight’s abysmal date and listening to my dad just now, maybe I’ve figured out a few things about judging men based on their money.”
Will nodded, then reached out to touch her arm. “So at least you’ve learned something. That’s all part of the process, right?”
Marley sighed again, still not meeting his eyes. “Right.”
She didn’t say anything else, and Will wasn’t sure how much longer he should stand here in this kitchen waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d already admitted her mistake about dating. What more did he want from her?
The truth. All of it, whatever that happened to be.
“Marley? Is there something else you wanted to tell me?”
She looked back at him, her eyes still glittery. She shook her head and held his gaze. “There are a lot of things I should tell you. Unfortunately, that isn’t an option right now.”
She handed him his bottle of tea. Then she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek—the opposite one she’d kissed earlier in the car, not that he was keeping track. “Good night, Will.”
***
The next morning, Marley reported to work with a heavy feeling in her gut. It was a Saturday, not a scheduled workday for administrative staff, but Marley couldn’t stay away. Maybe there was a chance she could find the figurines tucked in some forgotten corner. Maybe she could find them and tuck them back in the safe and banish the sick feeling in the pit of her gut.
The feeling didn’t improve much when she trudged past Susan’s office to see her boss deep in conversation with a man sporting a gun-shaped bulge beneath his sport coat. Susan’s door was closed, but Marley could see them through the small window in the door. As Marley passed by, Susan waved frantically, summoning Marley inside.