by R. F. Allie
"Tante Helen!"
Jude was waiting with the luggage at the exit.
“Jude Sylvain Cervi ; Viens la !"
They kissed and hugged, Jude hadn't seen my mom for over five months, they talked a lot on the phone, but since I chose to spend my sabbatical close to home, she hadn't been in the city for a while.
My mom considered him as much of a son as Brandon, and he loved her just as much. Ever since he'd been rejected by his father for being gay, my family welcomed him as a member and we never let him down.
He only realized it, when he found out he was mentioned in my father’s testament, my dad had left him his collection of airplanes and some money, but he mentioned him as my sole guardian angel. The one thing my family never denied was that Jude had saved me, in so many ways; even I could never understand.
Back at the apartment, the welcoming committee was ready for dinner. It smelled heavenly, Jenna made her famous fish filet, composed of salmon and sole, with grilled asparagus and seafood salad dressed with her father's secret sauce.
My mom insisted on emptying her luggage and taking a shower before dinner, which gave Ryan the opportunity to inspect his merchandise, and for Jenna and me to talk a little.
She told me all about this article they had her working on, and that she's planning on messing with Landon to get some insight; because it was related to the Ellis case.
I wished her luck with that and told her about my week.
Jenna made the same observation Jude did, and so did Ryan. It was official for my friends as much as it was for me.
We gathered around the table for dinner, my mom told us about Nana's adventures. My grandmother was sixty five and looked not a day over forty; she went on cruises, joined causes.
Just last year, she’d taken her bag and went to Syria, in the heart of the war zone, and came back carrying carpets and souvenirs
From a war zone!
"I swear, one of these days, she'll give me a heart attack!"
My mom exclaimed.
"I mean if a young, healthy young thief snatches your purse, you let him go. What's done is done. But no, she had to go and chase the poor guy across the bridge and sent him into the river, along with her handbag."
We all doubled over in laughter imagining the scene, she has always been full of life.
"Oh my god, your grandma is amazing Boo, I have to meet her."
Ryan was laughing his brains out.
"She scares the hell out of me."
Jude blurted out, and we all laughed.
"Yeah, Nana never missed on an occasion to screw with Jude; this one time, she had him cleaning snow from her garden at four in the morning, then wore one of those Scream masks and ran out. He never set one foot in her house since that day."
I doubled over in laughter at the memory. I’d been an accessory to that incident. I would never forget the way he sounded.
"Oh my god, I still have nightmares about that freakin night."
"Okay, since we're all in a very cheery mood, I wanted to tell you something."
My mom interrupted.
“What is it mom?"
She got our attention.
"Well, there aren't many ways I would say this. Since you're all family, I don't see why I wouldn't share the news around a nice dinner, with my favorite people in the world."
She seemed nervous, but it didn't sound like a bad news, at least I hoped it wasn't.
We were all focused, patiently waiting for her to say what she had to.
"Well, Cléa, Jenna, boys, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it."
She turned to me and held my hand, my stomach clenched.
"Just please, darling, keep an open mind about this."
"Just tell me Mom! Are you sick?"
"No, good god no, I'm just… getting married!"
Holy Fucking Moses!
I blanked, or blacked out for a second, just taking in the words she’d just said. My mother was getting married.
Okay, so she wasn't sick, that was good news. But, married?
The silence filled the space; everyone was probably waiting for my reaction.
How do I deal with it?
Something curious happened at that moment, images of our life flashed between my eyes; my father, my brother, my family, we were always close, happy most of the time.
That was until Brandon moved away and left me to deal with all the problems.
I hadn't seen my mother that happy for seven years; she was glowing, just like I was. She was in love and ready to get on with her life.
I couldn't control the tears flowing.
“Oh non ; ne pleure pas ma Chérie. S’il te plait."
She cupped my face and kissed me.
"You have to know that I loved your father very much, we had a good life together, and we had you and your brother. Daniel loved you more than you'll ever know, he was mad at himself; he’d always thought he didn't give you the life you deserved. He wasn't perfect, but he was my husband, my companion, my best friend and the father of my children."
She stopped when she heard the knock at the door.
"I'll get it."
Jenna strode to the door.
"I was always faithful to him, and so was he baby. But today I'm ready for a new life. I'm moving here, we'll live close to each other. Well, at least in the same country."
"You're leaving Aix? What about Nana?"
I asked wiping my face.
"Yes, that's the other thing."
"Hello, everyone."
I was never that thankful for hearing the familiar voice.
"Euh hi, Landon."
Jude breathed out, obviously shaken.
"Do you actually plan these moments? How is it that you always manage to appear during intense conversations?"
Ryan admonished with a grin.
I couldn't help it; I rose to my feet and buried my face in his neck. He put his arms around and nuzzled my hair, giving me a moment.
"Hello."
My mom finally said.
"Boys, who the dashing young man, that my very secretive and in very-big-trouble daughter just threw herself at?"
"Umm, her boyfriend?"
Ryan didn't sound very sure.
"Yes, the boyfriend, who happens to be the son of someone you know Helen."
Jenna explained.
I was still holding Landon, not ready to let go, thinking about my mom's announcement and everything she said about dad and I.
"Qui? Qui?”
Her eagerness was nothing short of obvious.
"He's the son of Uncle Robert; you know dad and Danny’s friend from the army."
"You mean, Robert Davis?"
The disbelief in her French accent made me smile against Landon's neck, she was going to make me suffer for hiding it.
I steadied myself and smiled at my beautiful lover..
"Hello Mrs. Dane."
He extended his hand to her and she surprised everyone by taking him in a hug.
My mother was usually, less emotional.
"You have her eyes."
She’d said tenderly.
Huh?
"You have Lily's eyes."
She asserted.
We were all getting emotional, especially Ryan. He looked like he was watching the last episode of Days of our lives, ready to burst into tears.
"Okay, you can all go to the living room; I'll bring wine and ice-cream."
Jenna gestured for us to get out of the kitchen.
I had no idea how the conversation had shifted from my mother announcing her upcoming nuptials, to an intense session between her and Landon. It just happened, and we were all taken by it. She apologized for missing the funeral, because apparently, it happened during the same period of my dad passing. But apparently Brandon attended Lily Davis’ funeral; which was news to me.
"I'm sorry Helen, but would you mind finishing the announcement before we take a walk down memory lane?"
J
enna said popping another bottle of wine.
Mom wiped her tear, held my hand then turned to Landon.
"I'm sorry, before you came in, I was announcing to my daughter that I'm getting married."
"Congratulation Mrs. Dane" He smiled at her genuinely.
"Please, call me Helen. Mrs. Dane was my late mother in law. God rest her soul and her lousy manners." She turned to me.
"The rest of the news, concerns the person I'm going to marry, honey."
"Who is he? When did you meet? Why haven't you told me when I was with you?"
I just blurted out the questions, eager and curious.
"Du calme Cléa.”
She squeezed my hand.
"I never knew how to approach it, nor did I expect it to be this official and quick."
She paused for a second.
"It's actually, well… it's Keith."
She announced looking between Jenna and me.
"Seriously!?"
Jude actually squeaked.
“Keith who? Keith Seiter; you mean Uncle Keith.”
I couldn’t hold the disbelief in my tone.
I blinked rapidly dumbfounded between Jenna and Mom.
Jenna looked worried, but unshaken.
"You knew?"
I couldn't believe it, my mother was marrying my best friend's father and she didn't say a word.
"Please, don't be mad."
She pleaded.
"Dad called me yesterday and told me, I wanted to tell you, but he made me promise to wait for Helen to talk to you. That’s why I was avoiding you. I've only known for like twenty four hours, he knew what he was doing, he could've told me last week, or last year, but he knew I wouldn't keep the secret for much longer than that."
The news was nothing I’d expected, not in a million years.
But I was happy, over the moon.
"My god, this is huge."
I cried out and squeezed the life out of my mom.
"I can't believe, you hid this from me, I'm so happy for you mom."
She looked at me with a full grin.
"Thank god! Merci ma chérie.”
Jenna leaned in and hugged me.
"We're going to be officially sisters."
"I never needed to be related to you to consider you one, Jen."
"I know, but this feels good, and official!"
She beamed
The rest of the evening was fun. My mother told me everything about her relation with Keith. It all started recently, he’d always been there for her before and after my father's passing.
They were really close; the three of them, especially after Alicia, Jenna's mom had left. It was never something we talked much about; we just tried to forget about it and moved like it had never happened.
It was a tough time for Jenna and Keith; Alicia had left them for some rich man, got into drugs and it got harder and harder. When she tried to contact her daughter, three years earlier, Jen had refused to see her.
I was conflicted about the whole situation, my mother marrying my father's best friend. I had to ask if it was recent, or if it went back when we all lived at the compound.
She insisted it was relatively recent, that neither she nor Keith would've betrayed my dad that way. But he was always around, a friend, and a shoulder to cry on.
It was everything I needed to hear, and seeing an ecstatic Jenna, made it even easier.
The conversation, turned for a short time around Landon and I, my mom bombarded us with questions and ignored every attempt I made for her to just wait for us to be alone and talk about it.
"Do you want to go for a walk with me?"
Landon murmured. He felt different, something was off about him, and he barely talked. I thought that my mother's blabbing about his mom must've made him uncomfortable.
"Yes, of course."
I pushed to my feet and followed him leaving the others to their heated conversation about a Christmas wedding.
Once outside the building, Landon grasped my hand and we walked silently for a moment. I was getting nervous, I couldn't fathom his mood.
"I have to tell you something."
He said, turning blazing gray eyes to me.
"What is it?"
"First of all, I want you to understand that I'm doing everything in my power to protect you from it." Protect me from what?
"But in case, I don't succeed, please, be patient with me."
I had a bad feeling.
"Okay."
I answered shakily.
"Do you know who Amelia Gold is?"
I shook my head no.
"Who is she?"
"Amelia Gold is, or rather was my client's campaign manager. We dated for a while several months ago, during which I uncovered that she was bribing people and persons of interest on behalf of Senator Anders.”
He paused.
“At first I confronted her about it and she denied any accusations. We broke things off, and, because I had irrefutable proofs that she did use bribery and tarnished the campaign, I fired her."
He stopped walking and glanced up, his expression wary.
When he spoke again; his voice was tight.
"As you can imagine, she didn't take it very well and now..."
"Well, today, while I was in court, I learnt that she filed a sexual harassment suit against me and Senator Anders."
His voice dropped.
My brain went on shut sown, blank like a computer crash. It kept echoing in my mind, sexual harassment...
"Please say something, anything."
He pleaded, stripping me out of my trance.
“Did you… Did you spank her?”
I was so obsessed with the whole incident; it was the only thought that crossed my mind.
"I'm sorry."
I murmured with a shaky voice; when I saw his face drop.
"You don't have to be, I'm the one who should be sorry. If I lose you right now, I have no idea how I would deal with anything."
I thought very carefully about everything I wanted to say next, I had it mapped in my mind, planned. I wanted answers, I wanted the truth, but most of all, I wanted it to go away. But once I glanced up into beautiful, intense gray eyes, I melted.
I thought that I should probably have some faith; he did tell me about it before it exploded as he'd been expecting it.
"As long as you can promise that her accusations are unfounded, you won't lose me."
He shook his head rapidly.
"None, whatsoever. It's simply a desperate act of revenge, to get back at me for the break up and the firing. I can promise you that. She masters the art of manipulation like no other can, she thinks that suing me, or tainting me will push me into letting her work with us again."
He explained.
"Okay then, I believe you. But if I discover there's more to it, or that you hid anything from me. It would mean the end of our relationship."
I tried for compassion, but it came out as a warning and I meant it. I’d suffered enough, and I swore I would never go through it again.
Caden had scarred me enough as it was.
"I can live with that."
He finally said breathing out his relief.
"Is this why you came back early?"
He shook his head no and took my hand to walk back to my building.
"No; when I got your text I had my crew prepare the flight back. I missed you too."
He put his arms around me.
"But it’s a good thing; at least I won’t have to worry about you learning about it from the press. Apparently she’s going public."
"Two birds with a stone, then?"
I said poking him swiftly; not caring about the bitch.
I wasn’t going to allow anyone to ruin the fact that he flew back because he missed me: although I worried about the press exposure.
"I take it that you didn't really miss me?"
He feigned disappointment.
"I guess you'll never know..."
; He was amused; he knew damn well that I missed him. He had a text attesting to it.
"Oh Miss Dane, how I love it when you break the rules.”
His eyes filled with something dangerous; something delicious.
"You do? Since when?"
He leaned and smoothly brushed my cheek up my ear.
"Since we’ve established that whenever you do it; I get to punish you for it."
My body suddenly tensed with lust and need. His raspy voice, the way he’d said it. It was a wake-up call for my senses.
A welcomed call, that was.
"Well, we'll see about that."
I teased him, well aware that my voice betrayed me. I was filled with wanton, my inside clenched.
His mouth twisted ruefully and gave me one of his sinful smiles.
"Oh, we will baby, we will."
Back at the apartment, my mom had decided on a late dessert. It had been a birthday tradition in my family, just before midnight, my mom would make her famous ‘Panna Cotta’; and in our family, that would announce the sweetest birthday.
I always believed in the power of our tradition, Helen Davis had a way of making birthdays very special. Even Jen and Jude grew to love it and enjoy it.
She’d started including Jenna when she celebrated her first one with my family, that's why she has been considered a surrogate daughter and sister.
I topped my dessert with berries and settled on one of the barstools next to Landon. It tasted heavenly, I've always had a soft spot for Italian treats.
"Happy birthday Darling.”
My mom gave me a hug and settled two boxes on the counter top.
"Thank you Mom."
I returned her embrace and kissed her.
She took one of the boxes and handed it to me.
"This is Nana's gift to you."
I put down my spoon and took the box. It was beautifully wrapped, and once I uncovered it, I breathed in in disbelief.
I instantly knew what it was and couldn't bring myself to open it.
"Is that...?”
Jude couldn't finish the question, he suspected the same thing.
"Yes, yes it's the Iris."
My mom announced.
"But, why?”
I asked.
"It has always been destined to you baby, she thought that it was time for you to have it."
