Happy Hour

by Michele Scott

  Kat eased Amber’s arm off of her and rolled over. What a sweet face to wake up to. Tangles of blonde hair whisked across her little heart shaped face, her long dark eyelashes covering the pretty hazel eyes that now looked at Kat with trust and love. She had no idea that she would fall so deeply in love with this child and so quickly. Yes, she’d known her for years, but their relationship had always been strained and because of Emily’s brainwashing. Usually Amber only wanted to be with Christian when she’d come to stay, but it was different now. Amber was smart and Kat sensed that the girl felt abandoned by her mom. Kat silently agreed that Amber was right: Emily had dumped her and moved onto a new life, a new family. That felt familiar.

  She thought of Venus, who was probably off on her morning hike and then headed to yoga and meditation. So much for the oodles of time that she’d promised to spend with them. Since she’d landed, her mother had been on the hunt for yoga studios, spas, organic food markets, psychics, and New Age bookstores. Today, though, after Emily picked up Amber, Kat had agreed to join her mother in a yoga class, and then supposedly Venus had some big, fun surprise in store for her. Kat didn’t have much time for surprises. Saturday night was a big night at the restaurant and Christian would need her there. Since Amber had moved in, they’d decided to hire another sommelier and Kat had cut her work at the restaurant in half.

  Amber stretched and yawned, sleepy eyes blinking. “Hi, Mommy.”

  “No honey, it’s me, Kat.”

  “But you are a mommy.”

  “I am.”

  “Can I call you Mommy Kat?”

  Kat pulled her close and hugged her. “Of course you can.” Mommy Kat—funny, but cute.

  “Something smells good,” Amber said, and sat up.

  “Sure does. Maybe we should head into the kitchen and see what’s going on.” She took Amber’s hand and they walked down the long hall of their ranch style home. The house was done up Southwestern style with jute rugs, lots of leather seating, and bench stools in traditional handwoven kilims in colors of seafoam green, bright orange, and dark brown. While the house had been in escrow, Kat and Christian had taken a long weekend jaunt to New Mexico and fell in love with the southwest style and flair.

  The smells from the kitchen grew stronger—garlic and onion were in the mix now. And there was laughter. Who was Christian laughing with? Her mother? Yes. Shit. Her mother was probably filling his head with her stupid New Age crap. Wait a minute, more laughter. Jeremy? He was up before ten o’clock? It was only eight-thirty.

  “Hey, guys,” Kat said, interrupting what seemed to be an inside joke as Jeremy, Christian, and her mom stifled their laughter. “Looks like I’m interrupting. What’s going on in here?”

  Amber let go of her hand and ran to Christian, wrapping her arms around him, “Daddy, Daddy, what are you making?”

  “French toast. And, no, you are not interrupting. Your mom was telling us about the time when she dressed as a punk rocker on Halloween and showed up at your high school to pick you up.”

  “Mom! Did she tell you that it wasn’t Halloween yet?” Kat made a face at her mother, who looked bright and cheery with her auburn hair (colored by natural dyes) pulled back tightly, and her makeup (all mineral and natural) applied perfectly. Kat ran her hand through her mussed brunette hair through which she’d noticed had a few strands of gray, and wrapped her comfy terry cloth robe tightly around her, moving toward the coffee pot.

  Her mom waved a hand in the air. “Please. It was a week early. I loved the costume and thought you’d think it was funny.”

  “No. I was mortified, especially when Chad Becker who I had a huge crush on saw you and you winked at him.”

  “I was only having fun.”

  “What’s a punk rocker?” Amber asked.

  Christian laughed. “Yes, Nanny V, do tell us what a punk rocker is?”

  “I wasn’t just any punk rocker, you know.”

  “No, Mom. We are so not going there.” She poured her coffee.

  “Who were you, Nanny?” Jeremy asked.

  Kat turned to him, surprised to see him dicing tomatoes. “What are you doing?” Kat asked. “And why are you up?”

  “He’s chopping tomatoes for me,” Christian said.

  “I’m up because Christian woke me about an hour ago and asked me to take out the trash and come help fix breakfast.” He answered without his usual sarcasm and Kat squinted suspiciously at him. Jeremy shrugged. “I didn’t mind.”

  Maybe the anti-depressants were working. After talking it over further with the counselor, Jeremy’s pediatrician and Christian, they’d thought giving it a go was a good idea. Kat was skeptic of the tack that Christian wanted to take with Jeremy. Christian told her only two nights earlier that he planned to start getting the kid up and busy. First she didn’t believe that he’d even take a real interest. Then when he continued on with the banter of how a kid needs to get going early, needs focus, needs something to accomplish, she felt like he was jabbing at her as if she didn’t push the boys hard enough. Christian’s ideas were always fairly good and his heart was in the right place, but the way he implemented things sometimes came across harsh to Kat, who had grown up in a pretty gentle, peaceful environment. Christian’s idea of waking a kid up typically meant a shake of the shoulder and the words, “Get up, get going. Make something of yourself.” The response this typically got from the boys was major complaining.

  But this morning, Jer looked content and far be it for Kat to rock this boat.

  “Nanny V, what is a punk rocker?” Amber asked again.

  “Yeah and who were you?” Jeremy asked.

  “Have you ever heard of Sid and Nancy?” Her mom smiled devilishly and winked at Kat, who shook her head.

  Christian raised an eyebrow.

  “No,” both kids replied.

  Kat whispered in Christian’s ear, “Am I dreaming this?”

  “Nope, and everything is almost ready.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and pat on her butt.

  “Too bad Brian isn’t here,” she said.

  “Why would he be here with us where you actually have to try and participate in a family, when he could be with Disneyland Dad and get whatever he wants, whenever he wants it?”

  “Chris…”

  “It’s true and you know it.” He put the French toast under the broiler to caramelize the Grand Marnier.

  “See, Nancy had this horrible addiction to…”

  “Okay, Mom. Amber is six. I don’t think she needs a history lesson on Sid and Nancy.”

  “I want one though,” Jeremy said.

  “We’ll rent the movie,” Christian said.

  “Seriously? There’s a movie?” Jeremy dumped the chopped tomatoes into the pan.

  “Sure. You and me tomorrow night when your mom is out with her friends. Whose house is your little soiree at this time?”

  “Jamie’s.”

  “I’d like to go,” her mother chimed in.

  “No you wouldn’t. I mean, we just get together and talk about our kids and stuff. I think you’d have more fun here having movie night.”

  “No, I wouldn’t. I want to meet your friends. I’ll plan it. I’ll even make a tofu dish to bring.”

  “You don’t need to do that.”

  “I insist.”

  “Okay. Great.” How was she going to convince her mom to stay home?

  “Mom, Christian said that I could come work with him at the restaurant and make some cash,” Jeremy said.

  “Really?” She glanced at her husband, now whisking eggs for the omelets.

  “Sure. I could always use a dishwasher.”

  “Wait, you said that I could also chop and dice and stuff,” Jeremy said.

  “I did and, yes, you can. I’m teasing, Jer. But you might have to wash a dish or two.”

  “That’s cool.”

  Was this really her family? Kat looked around the room: Christian and Jeremy getting along like two peas in a pod and Amber calling her Mommy Kat.
Her mother was still as nutty as ever, but maybe she could deal with it for one happy hour with her friends. It could turn out to be entertaining. If only Brian hadn’t chosen to spend the night at the Sperm Donor’s, they’d all be here. Well, there was also Dad. She’d avoided talking to him about Venus, but he knew she was here because her sister Tammy had told him. She’d see if they could have dinner together in the coming week, to make sure he was okay and that the simple idea of her mother’s mere presence in town hadn’t shaken him.

  They sat down to eat and everything looked as good as it smelled.

  Her mother toasted them. “To my beautiful family. May you honor the light from within.”

  “Here, here,” Christian said, holding up his orange juice. “To the light within.”

  Oh, brother. Kat looked at Christian, who winked at her and nodded. “Absolutely. Lights ablazing all from right here.” She pointed to her heart. “Right from within.”

  ***

  The heated yoga class about killed Kat. She sweated out at least two gallons of water and wanted to puke twenty minutes into it, then grew dizzy in between downward dog and upward dog for the fifteenth thousand time. And this was supposed to ease the mind and take away stress? Sure, it’d take away the stress all right because if you made it out alive, your ass would be so kicked that you’d have no choice but to go back to bed and sleep for at least a full day. Kat was not afforded that luxury. One thing the grueling hour and a half of yoga did do was to take her mind off of Amber’s departure with Emily. She’d left after breakfast and it nearly tore Kat’s heart out when Amber said to her mom, “I don’t want to go. I want to stay with Mama Kat and Daddy.”

  “You’ll be back. Now say goodbye.” Emily tugged on her hand.

  Christian intervened and scooped Amber up into a piggyback. “Now you go and have fun in the city with your mom and Baron. Kat and I have to work tonight anyway, but we’ll come and pick you up on Tuesday.”

  Amber pouted. “I wanna stay here and swim with Jeremy and play with Nanny V.”

  “She’s swimming?” Emily asked.

  “Quite well,” Kat replied. She rubbed Amber’s leg. “Now, honey, you go and have lots of fun with your mom like Daddy says. We’ll see you in a couple of days.”

  Amber nodded as tears slid down her face. Kat had to go back into the house while Christian buckled Amber into the backseat of the car. It was only three days, but she didn’t know if she could make it either. How come Emily had all the control? She’d been the one who’d made up all the rules in this game, pulled all the heartstrings. Selfish, conniving…

  Oh, yeah, but that yoga, that took the anger right out of Kat and filled her up with sore everything and total exhaustion, and she had an entire evening of work to look forward to.

  After showering at the yoga studio and putting on a little makeup, her mom, looking chipper and practically glowing, hooked her arm in Kat’s. “Wasn’t that fun?”

  “Terrific.”

  “Good. I’m happy you enjoyed it because I bought you a membership.”

  “You did what? Now why would you do that?” Kat unraveled her arm from her mom’s.

  “Because you need some stress relief. Look at you.”

  “What’s wrong with me? And how do you figure sweating the piss out of me releases stress? I’ll have to drink six gallons of water just to make it through the day.”

  “Yes, you will. Maybe not six, but water is what cleanses us inside and out, keeps us clean, pure, and in touch with the earth and all of its glorious gifts.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Her mom looked at her like a wounded puppy. “It is not. I don’t understand you, Kitty. You are so negative. You have beautiful children, a husband who adores you, a successful business, good friends, and all you do is complain.”

  They reached the Jeep and got in. Kat didn’t comment for a minute. She didn’t want to comment because she knew the truth and the truth just happened to be that it was her mother who was her problem. “Mom, I’m sorry. I feel a bit edgy about Amber leaving with Emily, and the yoga was tiring, so I didn’t mean to take it out on you.” Kat swallowed hard, deciding to go back to her old adage of maintaining the balance, not rocking the boat, keep everyone happy so no one gets hurt.

  “I understand, Kitty. It’s fine. I’m excited for you to start regular yoga classes. We can go every morning while I’m here. That will give you a good start. And they say it takes twenty-eight days for a person to form a new habit. We’ll have lots of time together and you’ll form wonderful new habits. Now for the surprise. We are going to The Grapevine Meditation Center to align our chakras. You will feel amazing afterwards and all your energy channels will be flowing and connecting! This is so great, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, Mom. It’s great.” Kat bit her tongue and followed her mother’s directions to The Grapevine Meditation Center, working to maintain her focus on the light from within.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Jamie

  Jamie sat at her outdoor table with her friends, trying hard to pay attention, but her mind was elsewhere.

  Danielle laughed at something Kat said about her sons.

  “They’re charming boys, Kitty. You were no sweetheart when you were a teenager either,” Venus said. She’d joined them for the evening and Jamie found it was nice. Their conversations tended to stay lighter and easier with their guest there. She knew that a lot had happened in Alyssa’s life over the past week. She knew that Alyssa hadn’t been a bone marrow match for Ian, but she didn’t know what the next step was. They hadn’t had an opportunity to discuss it.

  “Teenagers and grown children. That’s a party all in itself,” Danielle said, her voice tinged in sarcasm. “You can set up all the boundaries you want and all the rules. In fact you have to. I get that and I agree with it, but let me tell you something.” Danielle trained her eyes on Jamie. “Take Maddie. She’s what, nine now?”

  Jamie nodded. “Almost ten.”

  “Right and she’s a sweet kid, isn’t she? Loves her mom.”

  “She’s great. Sure, she has an occasional meltdown, but so far so good.”

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, sister. So Maddie throws a little tantrum now and again. Danielle looked at Kat. “Remember when it was all oohs and ahs and that little baby, then toddler, then young child was all cute and cuddly and sweet?”

  “Ah yes, those were the days.” Kat laughed.

  “Right. I hate to say it but those days are rapidly racing to a halt, J. Before you know it they’ll be long gone. The next thing you know, you’ll be dealing with surly attitudes and a vocabulary that consists mainly of grunts and an occasional whatever. Then, and this is when you’ll find yourself drinking not just one glass of wine at the end of the day. You know a little stress release. Oh no. One won’t do it. You’ll need two or three when the kid starts sneaking out and lying to you and possibly piercing her belly button or trying to get a tattoo of a hummingbird on her boob, or getting on the pill, or getting knocked up.”

  Everyone glanced at each other. Alyssa mouthed the word hummingbird to Kat who shrugged and shook her head.

  Danielle continued on her tirade. “And while you’re on your third glass of wine at night, you’ll begin having cryptic, pathological thoughts wondering if that sweet child of yours taking up two hundred fifty square feet of your home is really the spawn of Satan.” She shook her head and took a full gulp of wine, setting it down hard on the table.

  “I’m telling you right now, it sucks to be a parent of a teenager. And word to the wise, be sure you have your hairdresser appointment booked every four weeks, because that’s how often you’ll be going in to cover up those grays. I believe the years from thirteen to eighteen sprout gray hairs on mothers as if the hormones being emitted from the little demons are like bags of fertilizer attracted directly to the roots of your hair. And, I don’t even want to give you a heads-up on what those five years do to your face.” She touched the side of her eyes. “Crow’s fee
t right here. Popping up like crevices in the fucking Sahara desert. I’m even considering Botox. Never thought I’d say that.” Danielle picked up the wine again and finished it, then reached across the table and poured herself another glass.

  “You’re scaring me,” Jamie said. “And, hon, maybe you should have some water or some coffee.”

  “No. Wine is good. Being buzzed, drunk, numb, whatever is good for now. Thank you very much.”

  “I’ll drive you home tonight,” Alyssa said and Danielle nodded.

  “Danielle is right, J.” Kat smiled. “You should be afraid. Be very, very afraid, of little demon spawn, right, Mom? I think you can relate with me and Tammy.”

  “Of course not. Face it all head-on. It’s a wonderful, divine challenge. Living at the ashram has taught me that communication is so important. You must have that with your children. For instance, no one likes to talk about sex any more, as if it’s a bad thing. Sex is a wonderful thing.” Venus reached for the platter of salmon and put another piece on her plate.

  “Mom, no. Not sex. We don’t want to talk about sex.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re all so squeamish talking about sex.” Venus set down her wine.

  “Mom?” Kat implored.

  “What? You must realize, darling, that I have had a lot of sex. I had you and your sister. You don’t think that is the only sex I ever had, do you?”

  Danielle laughed, Jamie smiled, and Alyssa shook her head.

  “Yes, mother, but you are my mom. Can we not discuss your sex life?”

  “You’re such a prude and it’s obvious you’re not getting enough of it yourself.”

  Kat’s jaw dropped. “Jesus, Mom.”

  “I’m serious. You’re always uptight, snapping at Christian. The man adores you. The two of you need to be getting it on a lot more. I even heard on Oprah that Dr. Oz says that orgasms extend your life span and keep your stress levels way down.”