TWENTY-SIX
Morgana’s Problem
Her Good-bye
I stood there as my eyes peered around the table and waited for the inevitable.
When it happened I was still thrown, even a little scared.
“You are dying, aren’t you? Oh God, my baby girl is leaving us. I knew this would happen one day, I just thought I would have gone before you,” my mother wailed and threw her arms over her head.
Despite the dramatic pause only a novice would have spoken now. Since I had witnessed her theatrics my whole life, I stood silently waiting for her cry once again.
I didn’t have to wait long. “Why, God? You are so young. And look at your figure. What man is going to want to squeeze your ample breasts when you’re dead? Perverts, that’s who. You are only going to attract perverts now, Morgana. My baby girl fated to be groped by perverts.” She heaved and then collapsed into her chair giving me the signal to continue talking.
I forced my eyes not to roll back in my head, as I heard gasps and a few no’s being thrown around the small dining room. Pushing my mom’s arms away from me and catching my breath, I saw my father’s strong lip begin to tremble.
My brother was uncharacteristically sobbing with his head in his hands, while his “girlfriend of the month,” with her short blond tight curls, appeared petrified.
I turned to Aria, who was well aware of my mother’s antics and thought she might have my back, but was shaking her head violently. Even Grandma had a tear rolling from her eye.
“Mom, why on Earth do you think I am dying?”
“You gathered all of us here, on a Thursday night no less, and it isn’t anyone’s birthday, so I just assumed. Wait, are you pregnant? Oh my goodness. You are pregnant. I am going to be a grandmother. Who’s the father? Oh, it doesn’t matter, we can raise the child together. I will support you, Morgana.”
My mom was jumping up and down as she smiled through her tears. My father’s lip had stopped trembling and was now a firm line. His jaw ticked as he ground out the words, “Yes, Morgana, who is the father?”
My brother looked up at my dad and then back at me, clenching his jaw and banging his fist on the table, causing Orly to start barking. Eventually, the dog grumbled and then fell back to sleep, curled up next to the fireplace.
Aria was beaming so much it was almost infectious. Grandma, still crying, was now mouthing the words, “great-grandma,” while sneering.
I gathered my frayed nerves and stood, determined to get this group of emotional lunatics in order.
“Mom, stop. Everyone just stop. I am not dying. I am not pregnant. I’m just leaving to move to New York.”
“What?” my mother barked out the word. Bracing for what I would find, I gazed into the mirror on the opposite wall in front of me to see daggers coming from her eyes.
As much as I looked forward to living in a new city, having a fresh start, I dreaded this day. Because it would mean having to tell my mother.
I was her baby girl. I was expected to only ever have been a short car ride away.
Also, my mother hates planes.
There was an audible sigh of relief from the table, except Aria. The frown on her face was expected but no less heartbreaking.
I placed one hand on my mom’s shoulder and one on Aria’s.
“Look, it’s only for six weeks. I found out yesterday that I got into the Executive Development Program at Mimir. The program is in New York, so I have to go there to train. That’s why I asked everyone to come to dinner. Not because anyone is dying or pregnant, but because I am not going to be here for a while.”
When I left Henrik in his office after being caught by the Mimir brothers and Evaleen on Tuesday, I went home and ate my weight in cake. My phone rang off the hook, and I could see both Henrik and Evaleen were doing their best to reach me. Instead, I shut off my phone.
The next morning I went into the office to clear out my desk only to find Evaleen waiting for me. She explained that I wasn’t fired. Henrik had been fired, and the Mimir brothers didn’t want gossip to start so they made the decision to keep me on.
Seemed a little too good to have been true, didn’t it? I thought the same thing. I finally cornered Evaleen into telling me everything, especially when she explained I made the Executive Development Program.
It was a little too hard to believe that having sex with your boss automatically got a person into the program, especially when it was done at the office. Evaleen reluctantly explained that before Henrik got fired, he laid out my plan to help save the company. My idea about distribution in Great Britain and Europe.
Only, he claimed it as his own.
That alone, she said, would have gotten him fired. I guess he had forgotten I had already told Evaleen about the idea. Of course, she pounced on him.
Not only did Henrik lie to me about never being fired but he tried to steal my idea to save himself. Once he got caught like the coward he was, he tried to blame me. Told them I was tricking him. Making promises to be with him. He painted me as some manipulator that had bigger plans. That if I would seduce him then he thought I might try to manipulate others at the company.
At that point, even Edgar came to my defense. Jacob was so disgusted with Henrik’s behavior he fired him on the spot. Mr. Mimir realized that Henrik had been the manipulator.
He decided to add me to the Executive Development Program because even with Henrik as a boss, I managed to do good work and come up with an original idea that might help save the company.
I had been riding a roller coaster of emotions ever since. There were moments I hated Henrik with everything I was. Where I wanted to rip him apart and then stomp on his remains.
Then there were moments when I wanted to walk by his building just to see if I could get a slight whiff of his cologne. I despised myself when I felt that way. But I was thankful I had Aria who could hold me as I sobbed through the misery.
“Well, that just means I get all the cake for the next six weeks. Woo hoo! Ow,” Daniel yelped after my dad smacked him on the back of his head at the end of his announcement.
“I’ll be in cake mourning until my baby girl comes back home. No more cake until she is back safe and sound.”
“Mom, come on. You can’t mean that. She’s not going to war; she’s going to New York. The worst that might happen to her is she could get her skirt lifted by some pervert on the subway. The only reason I come here is for your cake and the good reception on the TV. Ow!” My dad smacked my brother on the back of the head again.
“Fine. She’s not leaving right away. I guess I could make one more cake. And I could make one for a going away party. And then, when she returns of course. Maybe even a three-week celebration when she hits the halfway mark, I would make a special cake for that. When are you going? May? June? December?” Mom asked the old oil painting of a boat by a river behind my dad’s head on the wall as she refused to look at me.
Brain? Brain. Please help me. Mom is going to explode when I tell her when I am leaving, I whisper-screamed at Brain who was cowering behind the couch shaking her head at me.
“Leave me out of it. This is Titanic and Pompeii all wrapped in one. Everyone needs to run for their lives,” Brain screamed then got up to run out the door. I swore I heard an engine roar to life outside and wheels screeching in the distance.
I closed my eyes and tensed my body. “I leave on Saturday.”
Blood was draining from my face, pooling around my feet and I almost wish I would faint so not to endure what was sure to come. Gasps exploded around the table, and I opened one eye to peek and noticed everyone fixated on my mother, except for Daniel’s date. She happily dug her fork into the roast chicken my mom made and reached for the green ceramic dish of mashed potatoes.
Despite opening both eyes, I still couldn’t find the courage to face my mother but heard clearly as she croaked and then whimpered and finally released a garbled sound. My gaze fell to the dog. His tail in between his legs as he’s s
lowly backed out of the room.
“I. How. This. NEVER!” The last word sounded like the spawn of Satan was being released from her bowels but took a wrong turn and came out of her mouth. My mom pivoted and ran up the stairs. For a short, fifty-something, never having done exercise in her life, she bolted up the steps like an athlete.
“Do you have any more of the asparagus? It’s really good,” Daniel’s date piped up, smiling innocently at everyone around the table. We all stared at her. Finally, Daniel got up and guided her into the kitchen.
“Well, I think that went well,” Grandma said while taking a sip from her bottle of beer.
“Should I go talk to her?” I looked at Dad who was shaking his head and frowning.
“Oh no. Just let her cool off a bit and then I will go have a chat with her. It will take her a little while to accept you leaving. Remember how she was when you said you were moving into the dorms at college with Aria? That was just down the road. She will be okay,” Dad pointed out.
I sighed and sat back down next to Aria, who gently began to rub my back. My dad excused himself from the table and headed upstairs after a few minutes.
There was moaning coming from the kitchen, and I realized my brother and his date were still in there. My father came down the stairs shaking his head and motioned for me to go up.
Just as I was passing him he blurted out, “Hey! This isn’t a motel, Daniel. What do you think you’re doing? We make food in there for Christ’s sake!”
Once I was upstairs, I went to the back of the hall and knocked on my parents’ bedroom door. I heard her muffled “come in” and opened to see my mom sprawled face down on the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, Mom. I just found out this week. I have wanted something like this for a long time. Please, don’t be mad at me.”
There was sniffing coming from her pillow. After a few minutes of silence, she sat up and placed her arm around me, brushing the hair from my face.
“I know, my love. It’s just that you are my baby. I’m very protective of you. When you were born I was afraid you wouldn’t live; you have no idea what that does to a mother. For weeks I cried and prayed and then cried some more. When you came home on April ninth, it was the happiest day of my life. I vowed I would always be there to keep you safe. Now you will be far away. How am I going to protect you?”
Suddenly I was crying. I wrapped my arms around my mom and squeezed her with all my might, like I used to when I was little.
“I love you, Mom. I promise to call you all the time. If you’re worried about me, you can always call me too. Also, I would love it if you and Dad visited.”
She was looking at the ground as she sighed. “I guess I could consider leaving the state for you. I just don’t understand why anyone would want to go anywhere else when they have everything right here? Big city, great people, beautiful country, a big lake, and my wonderful family.” She smiled and patted my cheek.
“The Earth looks different everywhere you go, Mom. Some people like to see the unique scenery and cultures and people.”
“I guess. Well, at least I will have a good reason to travel now. To see my baby girl.”
My mom and I hugged and talked some more before we made our way back downstairs for cake.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw Daniel’s girlfriend crying as he closed the front door behind her.
“Oh Daniel, did Dad kick her out?”
I’m surprised Dad didn’t kick them both out based on what I glimpsed when I passed the kitchen on my way to see Mom.
Daniel shook his head and shrugged as he headed over to the couch and sat.
“Nah. We just broke up.”
I stopped mid stride to the loveseat next to the couch and stared at him.
“But you were making out with her just twenty minutes ago. Did something happen?”
Daniel picked up the television remote and started channel surfing. “Yeah, she told me she wants us to get matching tattoos.” He barely glanced up to meet my eye before continuing, “Once a girl wants matching anything, the next thing I know I’m married with two point five kids running around my feet. I can’t have that, I’m too young.”
I grimaced. “You’re thirty-three.”
“Exactly. She was smothering me.”
“Daniel, you’re the worst.”
He winked and smirked as he nodded his head proving me right.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Payne’s Rule
When you know people, you know how to push their buttons.
People were terrible.
I was terrible but I thought more clearly. Nothing and no one could batter my heart. It was freeing.
“We’re better off without her.” I stopped to gather my thoughts and tried to remain upright.
“She was just too good to be true. We need someone more real . . . real . . . listic in nature.”
I took a step and almost missed the floor completely, wobbling before righting myself. “Morgana is funny, sexy, smart, and refreshingly sweet. Ha. That’s fun to say.”
I put my finger to my lips and played them like a harmonica.
“Someone like that doesn’t exist. YouknowwhatIthink? I think she was just a figment of my imagination.”
I turned and faced my new partner. The one who really knew me. Who wouldn’t ever think about breaking my heart or ignore my cries of love.
I grabbed the slightly stained navy pillow. “Pillow, you have been in me. Fuck. I mean with. With me. For a long time. Where was I going with this?”
Snatching the tumbler of whiskey from the table, I moved a little too fast toward the windows causing my drink to splash down the pane. Watching the amber liquid trail down the glass, I remembered not even two weeks ago Morgana smeared her lips on this exact window. My mouth crashed onto the drenched glass and began to lap up the smoky alcohol. Before I realized it, my mind was racing to images of kissing her soft lips. How her greedy tongue would whimper for more.
“Did you need me to clean the window, sir?” Winston’s British cadence broke me from my fantasy, and I paused my make-out session with the window. I straightened but stumbled slightly in the process.
“Not right now, Win. Winston. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?” I continued to gaze out the window at the unusually calm lake water below.
“Very good, sir. Mr. Edgar Mimir is on his way up. Shall I show him in here when he arrives, or do you need some more time with your something?” His tone was dry as usual, but I knew he was mocking me.
“No, send him in. Did he say why he’s coming?”
“No, sir. He gave no excuse, just like yesterday and the day before that when you sent him away.”
“Yes, well,” I cleared my throat still refusing to turn around, “that will be all, Winston.”
“Very good, sir. I will take the decanter with me for a refill and return it momentarily.”
I heard his hard-soled shoes brush over the rug before landing on the hardwood floor, the sound diminishing until there was silence.
The decanter couldn’t have been empty already. How much had I drunk?
“Pillow, where was I?”
The sagging expression on Pillow on the beige couch did little to trigger my memory.
Before I could rattle my fogged brain, I glanced over to notice Edgar stroll into the room. The slight upturn of his mouth, steady stride, and perfect golden wave to his hair made it seem like he just stepped out of a Thor movie looking all . . . Thorish! He probably had a mighty hammer at home that could destroy pain.
I wanted that hammer.
“Henrik, I see you are having a liquid lunch, again.”
His god-like ass made itself comfortable on my leather couch. He almost disappeared into my décor with his matching cream-colored pants and brown cashmere sweater.
I, on the other hand, did not consider color or smell when picking out my clothes. I’m more like Loki’s urchin son with my stained gray T-shir
t that I’ve been wearing for three days and ripped dark blue jeans. While I was aware ripped jeans were fashionable, crotch rips, however, were not.
“Are you just here to point out facts or was there a reason for your visit? Last I checked, I didn’t work for Mimimmiirrr . . . Mimi R . . . Mimir . . . anymore.”
Winston returned, setting the full crystal decanter down on the mahogany coffee table. Without a word, he turned and exited the room, while I remained fixated on his silver ponytail swinging like a pendulum. Once he was gone, I decided to refill my glass.
“Why don’t we have lunch?” Edgar blurted out just as I reached for the bottle. My head swiveled in his direction as I closed one eye so that the three Edgars became one.
“Not. Hungry.”
Turning back to the whiskey, my hand cradled its neck as I saw another hand cover the top. Did I have three hands? I counted, one was on the neck of the decanter, the other was holding my glass, and one was on top of the decanter. I looked up the arm of the third and felt relieved as I discovered it was Edgar’s.
“Henrik, stop this. Are you just going to sit here and drink everything away?”
“Yes.” I swatted at his hand but found I didn’t seem to have much strength. Sighing, I stumbled back on the couch, spilling the remaining whiskey in my glass down the front of my shirt.
I pulled at the wet stain on my T-shirt bringing it to my mouth to suck it off. As I tried to rise from the couch, my foot got trapped under it and I fell on my face. The glass bounced off the floor and rolled over to the fireplace.
“Crap, I can’t get my foot out. HALP! Help me, Edgar, I’m trapped.”
A shooting pain raced up my leg as I attempted to move to a seated position. Edgar rubbed his chin to assess the situation.
“Why do you say you feel ‘trapped’ in a man’s body?” His gray eyes sparkled as he stared at my helplessness.
“Well, sometimes I get them menstrual cramps real hard,” I said before we both dissolved into hysterics.
Ah, Edgar. That’s why I loved him. He knew the perfect moments to break out a Raising Arizona quote.
Rules of Payne (Cake Love Book 1) Page 15
