“Yes, maybe you should listen to your wife about how you speak to me.”
“Give my wife an hour and she’ll be saying the same thing. So again, how did you find out where I live and what do you want?”
Instead of answering, she snubs her nose and walks into the house. I can’t imagine what she’s thinking right now. This house, by far, is nicer than anything she’s ever owned. Each marriage for her has been about social status and class. Each new husband has to have a bigger bank account than the last or he has to be younger with an influx of money coming in.
“Mother.” My tone is a warning, letting her know that I’m not going to continue to play this game with her.
“My daughter-in-law called me.”
I look at Joey, who blanches and shakes her head.
“Joey did no such thing. She didn’t even know your name until security called to let us know you were at the gate, so try again.”
“I don’t mean her,” my mother sneers as she points toward Joey. “My sweet Jules, she called all upset that you were cheating on her and that you left her pregnant and alone.”
I groan loudly, wondering when the hell my life is going to be somewhat normal for one day. That is all I want. One day where I don’t have to hear about Jules.
“I don’t even know where to start with this bullshit, Mother. First of all, you’ve never met Jules so you don’t even know what she’s like. Second, Jules and I were not together when I married Joey, not that it’s any of your business. Third, while she’s pregnant, the baby is not mine and I have the proof.” I take a deep breath and Joey places her hand on my back, rubbing smoothly. “If you’re concerned about Jules, I suggest you go to her place and spend some time with her. I’m sure you guys can bond over the antics you both use to get men.”
She waves her hand as if she’s dismissing me. “But you’re my son, clearly you want me to spend time with you. Besides, you were raised better then this. You love Jules. You should be there for her. It shouldn’t matter that the baby isn’t yours.”
Once again I find myself pinching the bridge of my nose. I have no doubt Bronx, Rob, and Rebekah are laughing at my expense as they listen to my mother. The only thing that would make this moment even better is if Matt and Jules show up. My life is turning into a freaking circus.
I’m trying to come up with a response that doesn’t hurt her feelings, not that I care. I know I should be excited that she’s here, but her intentions aren’t pure.
“You know what, Mother—”
Joey interrupts me. “We love for you to visit. You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner as well,” Joey answers for me. I want to scream because she invited her for dinner, but she did the same for Jules. Maybe I should remind her that her good faith intentions toward Jules came back to bite us in the ass. I’ll be sure not to let my mother wander around my house unsupervised. I wouldn’t put it past her to pocket something she thinks has value.
“Yes, that will be fine. Would you mind showing me to my room? I’m exhausted from traveling and need to freshen up.”
“Um …” Joey looks at up at me, her eyes full of worry.
“We just moved in and our spare bedroom is already occupied by Rob. You’ll have to find someplace else to stay.”
The shocked and hurt look on her face doesn’t bother me even though it should. I don’t care if we had all the rooms made up, I wouldn’t let her stay here. She never had time for me when I was growing up, I don’t know why I have to bend over backwards for her now.
“Well, I’ll be.”
“You should’ve called first. I could’ve saved you the drive up the hill if I knew you were in town. I’m sure there are vacancies somewhere.”
She brushes me off again and heads toward the patio. I have no doubt she’ll start drinking, forcing the issue that she won’t be able to drive later.
“So help me—”
“It’ll be fine, Josh.” Joey wraps her arms around my waist. “Remember, I love you and there isn’t anything she can say or do that is going to change that. And those people out there, they’re our friends, not Jules’, so even if your mother starts spouting crap about her they’ll shut her down. She’s outnumbered here.”
“She shouldn’t even be here.”
“You’re right, she shouldn’t, but clearly Jules is grasping at anything to keep you in her life. I feel sorry for her, honestly.”
“Me too.”
I kiss Joey lightly, wishing that we were the only ones in our house. “I’m sorry she’s here,” I tell her, looking into her eyes. She smiles softly and that’s enough to make things okay.
“We’ll deal. It’s what we do best.”
“Yeah, but I’m tired of dealing. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t left me yet with all this drama surrounding me.”
“Ha,” she says, laughing. “Next week when the cameras start following us around you can remind me why I’m still with you.”
I gently tug on her ponytail. “You’re getting the wedding of your dreams and you don’t have to lift a finger. In my opinion, that should make me the best husband ever.”
Joey rolls her eyes and laughs. “Come on, we have company that we have to entertain.” She drags me outside even though I come willingly. When we get out there, everyone is sitting around the table, about to eat.
“Oh, I have stuff in the refrigerator,” Joey says. Rebekah stands and offers to help. I want to run back into the house, but Rob and Bronx look at me like they need to be saved. Reluctantly, I sit down next to my mother.
“You have a very nice house here.”
“Thank you,” I say, honestly. The compliment is unexpected, but I’ll take it.
“Does she work and pay rent or does she just clean and give you sex?”
Bronx spits his beer out all over the table and starts coughing. Rob pats his back and any ounce of compassion I had for this women is now gone. The gasp coming from my right is from Joey, who heard everything.
“Actually, Joey owns the house.” Rebekah puts a bowl of potato salad down on the table. “She lets Josh live here.”
“Excuse me?” my mother says.
I look to Rebekah who smirks.
“In case you didn’t know, Joey is royalty as far as us Americans go.”
“How so?”
I roll my eyes at how my mother’s demeanor has changed suddenly.
“Well, I don’t know if I should really divulge Joey’s financial status. I mean that is really for her, you know, if she wants to tell you who exactly she is.”
I glance quickly at Joey, who is hanging her head. It’s only by chance that I see her laughing.
“Well, Josephine, what is it that you do?”
“Joey, her name is Joey,” I tell my mother.
“Surely it’s short for something more professional.”
“Yeah, no, it’s my name,” Joey says. “As for what I do, I sign up for reality television shows and marry rich actors.” Joey shrugs while the rest of the table breaks out in laughter, except my mother narrows her eyes at Rebekah and I know that her wrath is going to be entertaining.
I pace the floor, waiting for my mom to arrive. I wanted to go and pick her up, but Josh said that with the cameras already following me, it’d be a shit storm of media attention that I don’t want or need. When I complained, he laughed and told me to get used to it.
“You might as well sit down,” he calls to me from the living room.
“She might be here soon.”
“Babe.” His voice is right behind me and his hands are now on my shoulders. Sighing, I lean my head back into him. The small amount of anxiety I’ve been feeling is starting to dissipate. “She just landed. Give them time to get here. Traffic is a bitch right now.”
Behind us I hear someone grumble about having to edit his language. For the past three days the cameras have been on us. We have granted them access to every part of our lives, except for what happens in our bedroom and bathroom. If people want to see
what I’m eating for breakfast each morning or how Josh lounges on the couch, they’ll get to. Nothing is off limits. The other condition we placed on the production crew was that we wouldn’t allow cameras to be mounted in the home so if they wanted to film us, it had to be a live action crew and that means no nighttime filming. The last thing I wanted was to wake in the middle of the night and stumble into a tripod or trip over a crowd. When the lights go out, they go home. Home being the camper that is currently parked in our driveway.
Some may ask why I agreed to such an intrusive invasion of privacy and I wish the answer were simple. It’s not. In the end, it came down to money.
When I returned from my three-day hiatus, Josh sat me down and explained the contract and everything that it entailed. Mostly it would be the same, except they wanted to pay us and the pay was negotiable. The starting price tag was one million dollars to follow us around, film our lives while we got ready for our wedding, and to have the exclusive rights to film our wedding and reception. I was ready to sign because it’s what Josh wanted. For him the price wasn’t enough, and when he called Barry asking for more, I thought he’d tell us to take a hike, but he came back with a few more zeroes on the proposed figure and that was enough for Josh. To think that someone is paying us millions of dollars for exclusive rights to our wedding is crazy.
“I’m just anxious to see her, that’s all.”
“I know, me too.” Since our trip, Josh and my parents have grown very close and I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything better. Although I do wish my mother hadn’t asked for Josh’s underwear size, even if she’s shopping early for Christmas and buying him things for his stocking. There are some things a mother-in-law doesn’t need to know.
Speaking of mothers-in-law, mine is still in town, but holed up at a hotel somewhere. There was a long, drawn out battle on why she couldn’t stay here that ended with Josh suggesting she stay at the Beverly Hills hotel. She loved that idea until he told her he’d only pay for one night. He also failed to mention that my mother would be arriving soon and that the guest bedroom was for her. I know once Nina finds out she’ll be upset. I don’t think it’ll be because my mother is here, or the fact that Nina isn’t spending time with Josh, it’ll be because she’s not staying in our house so her social status as Josh’s mother isn’t getting the boost she wants.
Once Nina got wind that Josh and I were doing another stint on reality television she insisted on staying, stating she wanted to help with the wedding. That night I cried myself to sleep wondering what sort of nightmare my wedding was going to turn into now that she was around. I couldn’t very well tell her no, but I didn’t wholeheartedly agree either.
Josh finally pulls me toward the couch, bringing me to his chest as we sit down. The cameras move into position to record everything we do. I want to flip them off and maybe even stick my tongue out at them, but I promised that I would be polite. Josh turns the TV on for some background noise, but it doesn’t do anything to calm me down. I miss my mom and I want her here, now.
“I should’ve gone to get her.”
“The media would’ve been all up in your face, Joey. These guys here would’ve been there, alerting the paparazzi and your mother would’ve been subjected to a shit storm.”
“Mark the time,” someone says, causing me to laugh.
“You know, you won’t be able to curse at our ceremony because it’ll be live.”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll convince Barry to have a ten second delay because you know I won’t be able to hold back once I see you walking down the aisle.”
Yes, this is why we’re going through all the painstaking rigmarole of having a wedding—to see me walk down the aisle. I get it. I see his point, but we’ve been married for months now and nothing is going to change that.
My mom and I will be meeting with the designer of my dress later today. When Josh told me what he did, calling the designer for help, I couldn’t believe it. I know he loves me, but to do that really showed how much. The dress I had bought in Alabama was something I fell in love with, but this new one will be different. Jules ruined the other one for me. It’s funny to think about everything she’s done and the dress was the only thing she could actually ruin. If anything, she made the love Josh and I share even stronger.
“She’s here,” Josh whispers into my ear, his whiskers brushing lightly against my cheek. I stir and stretch my arms.
“I fell asleep.”
“Yep you did. I think the camera crew appreciated it because they took a break. It’s not much fun watching me watch TV while you’re nestled in my arms, snoring.”
My mouth drops open. “I was not!”
“You were and it was cute.” He kisses my nose and helps me up. I run my fingers through my hair to straighten it out. Josh assures me I look decent and deep down I know I should run into the bathroom to make sure, but my front door is opening and my mother is walking in.
“Mom,” I say as my voice cracks. She drops her bags and holds her arms out for me. I don’t care if I saw her recently. I don’t care if she’s crazy and neurotic, she’s my mother and I love her. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Me too, sweetie.”
Once I let go of her, she’s in Josh’s arms. The cameraman moves to get a better angle and for once I’m grateful that they’re here because if his mother could see the expression on his face when he hugs my mother, maybe she’d understand that she screwed up and try to change her ways. It’s a small hope, but one I have nonetheless.
“Let’s show you around.”
I take my mom’s hand and start the tour. Right off I show her the bathroom that everyone uses and then bring her into the dining room.
“Joey, you have no walls.”
The windows are pulled back, letting the warm California sun into the home and brightening the massive space that makes up our dining and living room.
“We close them at night,” I assure her.
“And this fireplace.” Her hand trails along the brick until she walks to the other side. “Oh my, this home is lovely.”
She can say it, it’s freaking gorgeous. I pinch myself daily wondering how I got so lucky. That answer just wrapped his arms around me, kissing me on my neck.
We watch as my mom steps outside—sometimes watching people look around is better than giving them the tour.
“How do you leave for work everyday?” she asks Josh, who laughs.
“Believe me, it’s not the house that makes it hard to leave.” I don’t know what sort of face he makes at her, but she covers her heart with one hand, while fanning herself with the other. I can’t say I blame her, I often have to do that around Josh.
After showing her the office—which is currently an editing room for the production crew—we take her into the kitchen. “This is the kitchen and our breakfast nook.”
“Joey, your nook is bigger than my kitchen.” She’s exaggerating, but yes it’s huge and far too much space for Josh and me.
“This is the mudroom, laundry room, and direct access to the garage and this will be your bedroom.” Josh opens the door and lets her walk in. It isn’t anything magnificent, but the view of the hills is breathtaking. We’re up high enough that we overlook most of the valley.
“And you have a private bathroom,” Josh adds.
“And I feel like I’m far enough removed that I won’t hear you two having a little fun at night.”
“Mother,” I chide and slyly motion over my shoulder at the camera.
She shrugs. “It’s not like I don’t know you guys have sex … you were at my house for God’s sake.”
I’m officially mortified. Not only were Josh and I not discreet enough when we were at their house, but she’s now blasted it all over the airwaves because you know they won’t edit this part out.
My husband is no help as he stands here, laughing. “Come on, Ava, let me show you the rest of the house.”
She follows Josh down the hall, stopping in each of the rooms.
When we get to the second to the last room, he refers to it as the nursery. Her eyes go wide and her smile falls as I shake my head.
“Not yet,” he says, “but we’re working on it.” I know her and my father will make amazing grandparents and I’m willing to bet they move here, although I’d want to visit them often. I’d rather my children be able to grow up with land around them and a place to play instead of the concrete yard. We both know playing out front where we have a tiny bit of grass will never fly.
The last stop on the tour is our bedroom and the cameras aren’t allowed in there. After shutting the door, I lean up against it. “Finally, some privacy,” I say to both of them.
“Does it get annoying?”
“Yes,” I tell her. “It’s different from when we were in the house, though. Those cameras were all around us, but suspended. Never up in your face, but still there and you were never able escape to them unless you won a competition and you were given access to the master suite.”
“You’ll get used to them, Ava.” Josh stands, leaning up against the wall that opens to the outside.
“Do you ever fall asleep with that wall missing?”
“Often. Sometimes we get a nice breeze and if I don’t fall asleep outside, I definitely do on that bed. It’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever slept in.”
Mom continues to survey the room, including the bathroom, closets, and exercise room that only has a treadmill.
“Well, Josh, I have to say, I’m thoroughly impressed with your house.”
“Our house,” he corrects. “Joey and I bought it together. It may have been my money that paid for it, but with what she’s earning from the show, it more than covers her half. Not that I’m asking her to pay. Everything I have is hers.”
I go to him and easily fall into his arms.
“Joey, I don’t know how you keep any clothes on with him around. I’d be walking around naked and falling at his feet every time he opened his mouth.”
Josh blushes and so do I but not in the way that counts.
“Mother!”
“Eh.” She shrugs and walks out of the room, running right into the cameraman before I can stop her.
Twisted Reality (Blind Reality #2) Page 17
