by I. T. Lucas
She buckled up and looked at Eva. “Where to?”
Lips curving into a smile, Eva turned the engine on. “The mall, where else? I didn’t find any boutiques I like yet. Not that I had much time for shopping. It was basically nonstop work since I moved to L.A. Even on weekends.”
“That’s good, right? Better than sitting around and waiting for the phone to ring.”
Eva exited the high-rise’s parking and eased into traffic. “I’m not complaining. I just wish more of it was local. Too much of my time is wasted on flying to Tampa and back. But most of my clients are there. Andrew promised to talk to his old boss, Turner, about sending some local work my way, but I think he forgot about it.”
“I’ll remind him.”
“Thanks.”
They arrived at the mall early, so it wasn’t as busy as it was soon going to get. The stores had just opened and salespeople were putting the last finishing touches to the displays.
“Nordstrom is running a big sale today. We should check it out first.”
Nathalie cringed. “I’ve never shopped there. Too pricy, and the salespeople are pushy.”
Eva waved a hand. “Leave them to me. And as to the prices, I always say that it’s better to buy a few good items than a lot of low-quality ones.”
Nathalie sighed. She’d asked for help and therefore shouldn’t complain about her mother’s choices. Worst-case scenario, they could continue on to Macy’s once they were done with Nordstrom. She’d humor Eva and check out her favorite store first.
“Lead the way, Mom. Today I’m your humble apprentice.” She bowed. “Teach me, oh wise master.”
Eva laughed and leaned to kiss Nathalie’s cheek. “You always had a sense of humor.”
It turned out Eva had been right. At the end of two intense hours, Nathalie was the proud owner of three new pairs of jeans, which Eva had frowned on but agreed were practical for a stay-at-home-mother, five very nice everyday shirts, one pair of elegant slacks with a matching blouse, two dresses for evenings out, a stretchy short skirt, and three new pairs of shoes, each with a different type of heel. A pair of elegant flats for a day on the town, a platform wedge for casual outings, and a pair of three-inch sling-backs to go with her new dresses.
The price tag hadn’t been as bad as she’d expected, but it was much higher than what she was used to spending on clothing. After years of counting every dollar, Nathalie had to remind herself that she could afford it.
But it was enough.
Hefting half of the bags, Nathalie eyed the café adjacent to the department store. “I’m exhausted. Do you want to stop for a cup of coffee?”
Eva grimaced. “Their coffee is terrible, especially after getting used to the fancy brand you serve at your café. Let’s eat lunch instead.”
“I’m not hungry, but as long as it’s nearby and not on the other side of the mall, I’m game.”
Eva transferred all the bags she was carrying to one hand and reached for Nathalie’s. “Let me at least carry your bags.”
“Na-ah.” Nathalie turned sideways and out of Eva’s reach. “You’re already carrying half of them. What will people think if I let my mother carry everything for me?”
Eva smiled and leaned to whisper in Nathalie’s ear. “That I did all the shopping. And you did none. You forget we look the same age.”
Chapter 47: Eva
Even with a bunch of bags in each hand, there was a bounce to Eva’s step that she hadn’t felt in ages.
How often had she dreamt about moments like this with Nathalie? How many times had her heart contracted with envy upon seeing a mother and daughter strolling through racks of clothing or sitting in a café?
Too many to count.
She only wished her own mother’s words hadn’t come out of her mouth now and then. But the shadows they’d cast on Nathalie’s fun had been temporary. Her daughter was a naturally upbeat person, and the small jibes that had irritated Eva growing up had bounced off Nathalie effortlessly.
Where did she get it from?
Eva wasn’t a cheerful sort and neither was Bhathian. She could blame the shit they had both witnessed for their gloomy predispositions, but she knew it wasn’t the case. A person’s biochemistry determined their level of happiness and not any external factors. At least that was what the psychology books claimed.
“How about CPK?” Nathalie pointed at the restaurant. “It’s the nearest.”
“Sounds good to me.” Eva wasn’t finicky. As long as she didn’t have to cook it, she would eat most anything. That was another thing she and Bhathian had in common. The only reason they didn’t get fat on all the junk they ate was that Bhathian worked out the calories, while she was mindful of the quantities. With no time for an exercise routine, it was her only option.
“Do you want to sit outside, or inside?” Nathalie asked.
The outside meant open to the mall, not the outdoors, but she still preferred it to the stifling interior with its overwhelming food smells.
“Outside, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I love watching people.”
They got seated next to the fountain. Eva put down the shopping bags and opened the menu. “What do you recommend?”
“Everything is good. What are you in the mood for?”
“Do you want to share a pizza?”
“Sure, and let’s add a salad to share as well.”
Eva closed the menu and put it on the table. “Perfect.”
The waitress took their order and brought them bread to munch on until their food was ready. Nathalie grabbed a piece and dipped it in oil. “I should be watching what I eat if I want to lose the pregnancy weight, but instead I’m eating all the time. Especially bread. It’s the worst, I know, but it’s the only thing that calms me down. I’m a basket case.”
That was news to Eva. Nathalie looked so happy and content in her new role as a mother. “Why are you nervous? Is everything okay between you and Andrew?”
Nathalie rolled her eyes. “You jump straight to the conclusion that it must be his fault. It isn’t. Things are great between us. Andrew adores Phoenix and helps as much as he can. In fact, before she started sleeping for longer stretches of time, he wanted to take care of her all night long and let me sleep. I had to insist he got some shuteye before going to work.”
“What about the two of you? Being parents and being partners is not the same.” Fernando and she had been a great team in raising Nathalie, but not in taking care of their marriage.
Nathalie smirked and leaned closer. “The fun times are back, and we are going at it like a couple of rabbits.”
Eva felt herself blush. A rare thing since she didn’t get embarrassed easily. But hearing her daughter talk so openly about sex was shocking. “Too much information, Nathalie.” She whispered the rest. “I’m your mother.”
Nathalie crossed her arms over her chest. “We are both adults. I think we can talk about sex.”
Eva sighed. “I’m a product of a different generation, Nathalie. It’s difficult for me to adjust to this openness you kids have. I’ll try, though. I have no choice.” She lowered her voice to a whisper again. “Being immortal means I have to fit in with the current generation.”
Nathalie’s smile melted, and her brows dipped to form frown lines between her eyes.
“What did I say?”
“I’m worried. I should’ve transitioned already.”
“Didn’t Bridget say that it would take time for the levels of your pregnancy hormones to get low enough to allow it?”
“She did and still does, but I had her take a blood sample and check what’s going on exactly. The levels are only slightly elevated. I even had her call Annani and ask her if she remembered anything about women in my situation having difficulty transitioning.”
“And?”
“Annani said that back then she was too young and preoccupied with other things to notice.”
Eva reached over the table and clasped Nathalie’s han
d. “Don’t worry. You will transition. God didn’t orchestrate all of these seemingly impossible coincidences just to stop with you.”
“But what if God has already achieved his goal? Maybe I was only the vehicle Fate needed to give Phoenix life?”
For a moment Eva remained mute. What if Nathalie was right?
The possibility terrified her. One of the reasons Eva had run, the reason she was so ashamed of that she’d shared it with no one, was that she couldn’t fathom watching her child grow old and die while she remained eternally young.
God couldn’t be that cruel, could he?
Of course, he could. For a believer like her, reconciling suffering and injustice with a benevolent God was the hardest part.
“It’s possible. I won’t lie to you and say it’s not. But I don’t think it’s likely. You’re a good person, Nathalie. You’ve earned it. And I’m going to pray for your safe and easy transition every day until it happens.”
“Thank you.” Nathalie chuckled. “I’m not a big time believer like you, but for some reason it makes me feel better knowing you’re praying for me.”
Eva nodded.
Nathalie reached for another piece of bread. “How are things going with Bhathian?”
“We are good.”
“Any plans for moving in together?”
Eva shook her head. “I don’t see the need. We see each other almost every day anyway.”
Nathalie tore a little chunk off the piece of bread and dipped it in the oil. “It could save time on the drive back and forth.”
“Bhathian works in the keep and needs to be there every day. He’ll have to drive back and forth anyway.”
Nathalie didn’t eat the small chunk. Instead, she tore another one. “I think you’re scared. That’s why you’re keeping your distance and cling to your old ways.”
It was on the tip of Eva’s tongue to deny it and say she was scared of nothing, but it wouldn’t be true. Not entirely. She wouldn’t call it scared, though. Cautious was a better word.
“I don’t want to rush into anything I may regret later. It is much easier to make a clean break when you don’t share a home. Trust me, I know. When I divorced Fernando, I walked away with nothing but my clothes.”
A sad smile tugged at the corners of Nathalie’s lips. “There wasn’t much to take.”
“That’s why I didn’t. Luckily, I had my government pension to live on.”
Looking down at the piece of bread in her hand, Nathalie nodded. “What happened? Why did you leave? You ran years after the divorce, so that wasn’t the reason.”
Eva had dreaded the day Nathalie would ask that question again. It had been easier to be elusive about it when Nathalie was a teenager, but now that she was a grown woman with a family of her own, Eva would have to do better.
“Fernando and I weren’t a good match. I was not what he needed.”
Nathalie pinned her with a hard stare. “How can you say that? He loved you. He still does. In his confused mind, you guys are still married.”
Looking into her daughter’s big brown eyes, Eva sighed. Nathalie wouldn’t let her off the hook until she spilled it.
“If he loved me so much, he wouldn’t have cheated on me.” And there it was. The cat was out of the bag.
Nathalie nodded. “From the bits and pieces you and he threw around, I gathered that much. But I still find it unbelievable. Let’s face it, you’re supermodel gorgeous, while Papi is, and was even then, a bald, overweight, average-looking man. Why on earth would he cheat on you? And he loved you. I’m sure of that.”
“Looks are not everything, Nathalie, although I’m sure Fernando was so blindsided by it that he failed to notice the other stuff.”
“What stuff?”
The conversation halted as the waitress arrived with their order, mother and daughter staring each other down as they waited for the girl to depart.
Eva shifted in her chair. “Fernando had a great personality. He was a happy kind of guy, charming, talkative. He loved people, and they loved him back. I, on the other hand, was the opposite. Still am. People don’t change much. I’m gloomy, being around people tires me, and I prefer solitude. He loved to show me off and boast that he’d snagged a pretty wife, but he didn’t like spending too much time with me.”
The realization was new. If not for that psychology book, Eva would’ve never thought of that as an issue. But it was spot on. On the scale of happiness, Fernando was a nine while she was a five, maybe even a four, and in that regard, Bhathian and she were much better matched.
Nathalie shook her head. “But he loved you nonetheless. How could he have done it to the woman he loved?”
Eva sighed. “You worked with him, you’ve seen how he was with women. Always charming, always flirting. You were too young and too blinded by your adoration of him to realize that it wasn’t as innocent as it looked. The conquests stroked his ego, uplifting him whereas I depressed him. I’m not excusing his behavior; God knows how much anger I’ve carried around throughout the years because of him. But I’m starting to understand why.”
Nathalie fiddled with the salad, moving the greens around to coat them with the dressing even though they were thoroughly and uniformly covered. “No wonder you are afraid to take things to the next step with Bhathian. Especially since your history with him wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns either.”
Eva pulled the salad bowl away from Nathalie and loaded her plate with half of it, then pushed it back. “A smart person learns from past mistakes.”
“Still, sometimes you have to take a chance. Bhathian had no choice then but to let you go, just like you had no choice but to run. I was angry at you for leaving me too. It wasn’t easy for me, especially when Fernando got sick and I had to step up and take over running the café while taking care of him. But when I understood your reasons, I let it go. What would be the point of having you back in my life and still resenting you? Right? I love you, and I’m happy to have my mom back.”
Tears of regret pooled in the corners of Eva’s eyes. “I’m so sorry you had to leave college and shoulder all of it alone.”
Nathalie shrugged. “No harm done. It made me who I am. I know that I’m strong. I know that I’m capable and that no matter what life throws at me I can handle it. No college could’ve taught me that.”
Chapter 48: Andrew
“Hi, sweetheart.” Andrew took the shopping bags from Nathalie. “I see that the hunt was successful.” He pretended to weigh the bags hanging from both his hands.
“It was. My mom is a pro. A very opinionated pro, but I can’t complain. That’s why I asked her to take me shopping. I need some style in my wardrobe.”
“Did you eat?”
Nathalie sat in one of the armchairs and propped her legs on the ottoman. “We had lunch. I’m so tired, though. Shopping is exhausting.”
Andrew glanced at the bags and frowned. They were all from one store. It didn’t seem as if Nathalie and Eva had scoured the mall from one end to another. Or maybe they had but found what they were looking for only in that one store.
“Did you do a lot of walking?”
“Not really. We bought everything at Nordstrom, which by the way put a significant hole in our bank account. But the picking out and the trying on, over and over again, was tiring. The good news is that I’m good for a while. There is a whole new wardrobe in there that Eva deems appropriate. She called my other clothes schmattes.”
“What’s that?”
“Rags in Yiddish. She used to live in New York. They have a whole lexicon of those.”
“Schmattes,” Andrew repeated to taste the word on his tongue. “Yeah, it has an oomph to it that rags lack. More contemptuous.”
“Right? I thought so too.”
Andrew sat on the ottoman, took one of Nathalie’s feet in his hands, and started kneading. “It sounds like you had a good time.”
“I did. We talked, and I got her to tell me the reason she divorced Fernando. You were right
. He cheated on her.”
Andrew smirked. “I’m always right, except for when I’m not.”
A small smile tugged at Nathalie’s lips. “That feels wonderful. You have magic hands.” She closed her eyes and let her head drop back on the pillow.
Nathalie didn’t seem overly upset about confirming her adoptive father’s infidelity. Andrew switched to the other foot and kept kneading. Come to think of it, she rarely referred to him as Papi or Dad anymore. Only when talking to him directly. It made sense though. Whenever she said father, it wasn’t clear if she was referring to Fernando or Bhathian.
A moment later her breathing got slower and deeper. Gently, Andrew put her foot down, got up, and snagged the blanket they kept on the couch. He was about to cover her when it occurred to him that she would be more comfortable in bed.
As carefully as he could, Andrew snaked his arms under Nathalie and lifted her up. She muttered something incoherent and snuggled closer, tucking her hands between their bodies.
She felt so soft and so warm that Andrew was torn between letting her rest and undressing her and continuing the massage in a more intimate setting.
Fernando was watching his shows in his room, and Andrew had been hoping for a quickie with his wife before they had to pick up Phoenix from Syssi’s.
Maybe he could wake Nathalie up with some kisses?
In their bedroom, he laid her out on the bed and stretched out next to her. She must’ve been very tired to fall asleep in the chair and then keep on sleeping when he’d picked her up and carried her to their room.
But she was pouting in her sleep, and her lips looked so plump that he couldn’t help himself. Just one little kiss and if it didn’t wake her up he’d let her sleep and go pick up Phoenix from his sister’s.
Slowly, he got closer and touched his lips to Nathalie’s.
Andrew frowned. Were they hotter than usual? He kissed her again, this time letting his lips linger. They were definitely hot.
His palm on her forehead confirmed his suspicion. Nathalie was burning up. Panic seizing him, he shook her shoulder. “Nathalie, wake up, baby.”
