Beautiful Pt. 02

Here we are back with part two! Please rate and leave comments. This is part two of six, so you should read part one first. All characters involved in explicit scenes are over eighteen.

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Beautiful, Part 2

As Sandy drove me home her hand slipped into mine, or mine into hers, I wasn't sure, but it felt lovely. As we pulled into my driveway my van was there, which meant Paige was home. I could also see the lights flickering in Charlie's room. I'd almost guarantee he had the stream from the doorbell camera in a corner of his computer, so he'd know when I got home. Which meant no front porch kisses.

She put her Wrangler in park. "Can I walk you to the door?"

"Probably shouldn't." I nodded toward the house. "Snooping kids."

"Ah yes, the bane of every dating mother."

"And Scooby-Doo villain."

"True." We both smiled and I bowed my head.

"I had a wonderful time tonight."

Her eyes fixed me, taking my breath away. "Will you be free for lunch this week, Melanie?"

"Mm-hm. Any day."

"Good. I don't see patients Wednesday afternoon. Say one o'clock?"

"Sure." I put my hand on the door handle, but let it go and leaned back across the cab. Sandra met me halfway, and we kissed deep and long, and when I broke away I reveled a little in the dazed look on Sandy's face. I recognized it. It was the same look that Prescott Lassiter had had when I'd surprised him with a kiss after our first date back in high school. I didn't know I could still have that effect on a person, but it felt wonderful. My mother had always taught me that the most important thing in flirting was to leave them wanting more.

"Bye." I slipped out of the car and up the walk, glancing back to see Sandra watching me walk up the steps to my front porch. I smiled at her before I tapped on the lock for the front door, which whirred open. And I slipped inside.

I was greeted with the surround sound blaring some action movie from the family room. "Will! Half volume. Now!"

"Sorry, Mom!" The volume lowered. "How was your night?"

I smiled. "It was good, thanks. It's about time for bed, don't you think?"

"Okay, just ten more minutes on my movie. Please?" He flashed me his most winning smile. Damn, the kid is a born politician. I just hope someday he uses his superpowers for good.

"Fine, ten more minutes. I'm going to set the alarm, make sure everything is off when you come upstairs."

"Okay, Mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, sweetheart." I headed upstairs and poked my head into my younger son Charlie's room. He gave me a little harder time than his brother had, but I watched him shut down before I started walking back to my room. I saw Paige's door close as I turned toward my bedroom. I crossed the hall and knocked.

"Come in."

I opened the door. "Hi, sweetie. How was your party?"

"It was good. It ended up being just the team."

"So no drama?"

Paige blushed, her face twisting into a nervous smile. "I wouldn't say 'none'."

I slipped inside and closed the door behind me, sitting in Paige's desk chair. "Wanna explain?"

"Well, there's a rumor going around that a couple of the girls on the team are, well, that they like each other. Like, they're secretly dating."

"It's never a good idea to spread rumors, sweetheart. I'd just let it be."

Paige's voice was quiet. "But I know it's not just a rumor." She put her hand up before I could ask the obvious question. "It's not me, but it is a friend. And she's confided in me."

I went over and sat by my daughter. "Well, if she feels confident enough to confide in you, then I'd make sure I don't betray that, right?" Paige nodded, looking down.

"Yeah."

"So, how do you feel about it?"

Paige took a deep breath and glanced

"I worry about her. She's really scared, Mom. Her family," she shook her head.

"Disapproving?"

Paige nodded. "She hasn't told them, of course, but yeah. They're really religious."

I reached out and took my daughter's hand. "Sounds like she's going to need all the friends she can get, and I'm very proud that she counts you among them." Paige nodded. I looked at her seriously. "It's not a joke, though, sweetie. Mental health struggles and suicide are all much higher in LGBTQ+ youth, especially when they come from unsupportive families."

"I know, I read about that." She took a deep breath before grinning. "You're just lucky you grew up in a simpler time."

I laughed. "There are no simpler times, sweetie. Just different."

"Oh, I forgot! How was your date?"

I laughed, probably a little too nervously. "It, um, it wasn't a date. Just a girlfriend."

Now it was her turn to get serious. "You know it'd be okay, if it were a date? I mean, if you actually went on a date."

I smiled at her, trying not to look guilty. "Thank you, sweetie. You know, the same goes for you. Any prospects for homecoming?"

Cue the teenage eye roll. "Mo-om!"

I laughed, "I'm sorry. You have a good night."

I headed back into my bedroom, after one more stop off in Charlie's room to make sure he hadn't restarted his computer. I closed my door behind me and headed into my bathroom to wash my makeup off and change for bed. Suddenly I was alone with my thoughts for the first time since Sandy had dropped me off. It was odd, walking through the house with a huge secret like nothing had happened tonight. I'd even lied to two of my children. I can't remember the last time I'd done that.

Actually, I did. It was when my marriage had been falling apart. Paige had only been six. She'd known something was wrong, but I had kept telling her everything was okay, right up until the day her father moved out. Since then there'd been nothing to lie about.

I looked into the mirror. Who was I? A mother, an editor, sort of, and a lover? Here, now, it all seemed so ridiculous, but it had happened. My eyes closed as the image of Sandy, her gaze burning with desire, leaned forward and took my mouth with hers. I felt the flush of heat build inside me as our lips moved together in my mind, my legs rubbing together, intensifying the feeling. My eyes opened and I looked at myself again, seeing the blush in my cheeks, the darkening of my eyes. I may not be eighteen and gorgeous anymore, but I wasn't dead.

I stripped, heading back into my bedroom and turning the lock on my door. I headed to my dresser and opened the top drawer. Where was my vibrator? I pushed aside my bras and found it in the back. I also grabbed a nightgown before climbing under the covers and switching on my battery operated boy, ah, I guess I mean girlfriend.

***

"Hi, Mother."

"Hello, sweetheart." Mom leaned in and kissed my cheek before stepping out of the way to let us in. I did the same, and my three children filed past me, giving their grandmother shy greetings, which was normal. None of them were really close to her. Not surprising, since my mom was really hard, maybe even impossible, to get close to. I often wondered how close she and my dad even were.

After the kids went inside Mom turned away from me to follow them into the house, leaving me to come in behind her. Usually that made me feel rejected, but today I felt anger. It dissipated a little as I closed the front door behind me, smelling the incredible aromas hanging in the house.

One thing that I knew was that Mother hadn't cooked. She hadn't cooked anything in decades. Which meant either she'd called in her cook on a Sunday, or maybe... I poked my head into the kitchen.

"Miss Winifred?"

An old woman was standing by the stove, and her face split into a dazzling smile as she saw me. She set down the spoon she was holding and stepped towards me, and I let her wrap me in a hug. "Oh, child, it's good to see you."

I let her warmth suffuse me for a second. Winifred had been like a second mother throughout my childhood, my family's principal housekeeper and cook. Mother had taken intense pride in being able to hire domestic servants, and Father, who'd grown up with domestics, had made sure she only took on the very best. Father had always considered them an extension of the family, Mother, well, while she was never cruel, but she did not extend that feeling.

I gave her a gentle squeeze before I broke away. "Why do you still let my mother talk you into this? You're retired. You should be enjoying yourself."

She gave me a kind look. "I am enjoying myself." She turned back to her pots on the stove. "It'll give me a little extra spending money for Christmas. Besides, that man of mine and Jackson took my grandbabies on a fishing trip, and, Lord, you know me and boats."

"They must be getting big now."

"Oh, yes." She spent some time giving me a rundown of all of her children and grandchildren and everything they were up to. I could feel the pride in her voice, and she listened eagerly as I updated her on Paige, Will, and Charlie.

Our conversation lulled after a while. I was stirring the pot of rice bubbling in the back, and she glanced over at me. "You've got a little more color in your cheeks than last time, Melanie. Anyone new in your life?" Her grin made me blush, and I pulled my head in a bit. "There is! Don't worry, child, your parents won't hear about it from me."

"I don't really know if there's anything there."

"Oh, I think you do. When I met my Anthony, I knew right away. Sometimes you just feel it." She gave me a conspiratorial look. "I'll just ask you one question. Would your mother approve of him?"

I barked a short laugh. "Not a chance."

"I like him already."

I giggled like a schoolgirl, which of course is precisely when my mother poked her head into the kitchen. I'm not sure if her disapproval stemmed from my familiarity with the help or the fact that I was helping her cook.

"Melanie!" The tone of her voice brooked no dissention. "Your father's wanting to see you."

I nodded, before smiling at Winifred, who nodded out toward the living room. "Go on child, I'll see you later."

I ignored Mother's look of disapproval as I passed by into the living room, where all three of my children were gathered around my father as he told a story.

"So there I am, pulling with everything I have," Dad made like he was holding a fishing pole, leaning back into his chair as if he was battling some leviathan of the deep, "and then it happened." He clapped his hands together, pushing one up into the air. "She leapt out of the water, at least four feet, blue, yellow, and silver scales glinting in the sunlight. With the exception of your grandmother in her wedding dress, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

"Did you catch it, grandpa?" Charlie was wide-eyed.

"I did. We fought for over an hour before I had her in the boat."

"Are you going to have it mounted?"

"Oh, no, I let her go. It would have been a crime to kill something so beautiful just for a wall decoration. At least, I think so. But I have some great photos."

He linked his phone to the T.V. and spent the next twenty minutes showing us all the pictures from his trip. We saw alligators in the everglades, manatees floating in the gulf, and, of course, the famous blue marlin. He also showed us pictures of the many different foods he'd tried while in Florida, of course. That, combined with the increasing aroma of Miss Winifred's jambalaya, was making me very hungry.

Fortunately it wasn't too long after that we were gathered around the dinner table. My father said grace, making a point to ask a blessing on Miss Winifred and her family. I knew Dad would make sure she had enough to take home for them as well. I took the large bowl of steaming white rice, scooping a generous portion into the wide, shallow bowl at my place. I passed the rice to Paige on my left, feeling my mother's gaze on my daughter as she took her helping.

Paige's eyes flicked to her grandmother, and she took a smaller scoop than I knew she would take at home.

My mother gave her a significant look. "Careful dear. You'll be shopping for a homecoming dress soon."

I felt a stab of anger. How could she speak to my daughter like that? But, then how could fat-ass me say anything? I moved slightly in my chair, looking down at myself. I'd let my weight destroy my life, drive away my husband, sink me into a depression that lasted years, and that I wasn't anywhere near fully past.

"Remember, Paige, men are visual creatures." The rice reached my mom and she took a scoop about half the size of Paige's. "If you want to get the man you want, you have to make him need, not just want, to pursue you. So, do you have someone you'd like to ask you to the dance?"

Paige gave a little smile and shook her head. "Not really, I'm mostly focused on the season. It takes a lot to keep up with the team and school."

Mother's face screwed up ever so slightly as she took a sip of her wine. "I don't like that you still do that. All that time in the sun is not good for your skin. And I've seen pictures of you playing with that horrid mouthpiece in. It's not attractive."

My father harrumphed. "She'd look a lot less attractive missing her front teeth because she took a ball to the face, Helen. So, I hear you have a new coach, Paige. What do you think of her?"

Paige's face lit up. "She's amazing, Grandpa, she's like, you just want to run through a wall for her, y'know? She thinks I've got a chance to play at the D-I level in college."

As the two of them kept talking, Mother gave me a harsh look, telling me I was a failure and that I was ruining my daughter's life all in one fell swoop. I fought back tears. That wasn't fair. I may be a total train wreck in my own personal life, and an unlovable whale in my love life, but I was NOT ruining my daughter. She was a strong, smart, beautiful young woman, and I was proud of her, whether she had a boyfriend or not. If only I could say that to my mother.

The jambalaya was, of course, amazing. Both of my boys took second helpings, but Paige didn't, even though she hadn't had much to start with. Of course, I'd done the same. It was hard not to, with my mother both literally and figuratively in my ear.

When we'd finished I told Paige, Will, and Charlie to help clear the table. My parents and I went into another room while they complied. I could sense Mom's disapproval at her grandchildren doing chores, but I wasn't going to budge on this. Meals required work, and my kids needed to know that. Dad went over to the bar to pour himself a brandy.

"I'll take one too, just a small one."

"Sure, Doodlebug."

While Dad bustled around with the glasses and bottles, Mother turned to me. "Melanie, you need to put a stop to this, with Paige, playing that silly game in college, too?"

I forced myself to keep from rolling my eyes. "She wears sunscreen, Mother."

"That's not all of what I'm talking about. You know what women's college teams are like, what kind of women they're filled with." She hesitated over the word 'women,' and I knew exactly what she meant. "Men just assume, and there could be rumors which could materially damage her prospects."

Or she could just find a man who lives in the twenty-first century and appreciates a strong, confident, independent woman. I almost said it out loud. Instead I caved in to my fear, something I was really good at.

"She hasn't made any decisions about it yet." That wasn't really true. Paige had wanted to play college hockey since her dad took her to a Tarheel match when she was ten.

"Well, make sure she makes the right decision, dear."

"So do you really think Paige has a chance to play D-I?"

"Absolutely." As soon as I'd gotten the kids headed towards bed I'd closed my door and called Sandy. It had been the only thing I'd wanted to do from the moment we'd walked out of my parents' house. "She's got all the talent she needs, and more importantly she has the work ethic, unlike some others. Once I finish shoring up those fundamentals she's going to really be something."

Obviously I wasn't going to stand in the way of Paige playing in college, something that Bill completely supported as well. I just wished I could stand up to my mother about the whole thing.

'That's great. I know she'll work hard for it."

"And she's teachable, which is more than I can say for some of the others." I giggled at Sandy's comment before sighing. Sandy continued, her voice concerned and questioning. "How did the rest of the dinner go?"

"How do parents do that? Make you feel like you're five years old, completely incapable of standing up for yourself? She's worried playing hockey will make guys think she's gay, or expose her to lesbians." Sandy laughed. "I'm serious."

"I know. I can promise you playing sports cannot make a young woman gay. They either are or they aren't before they ever start."

"Says the lesbian field hockey coach."

"I can promise you I was gay before I ever picked up a hockey stick."

"I know, but for my mom perception is everything."

"And that shows you're doing a great job." She touched my arm. "You know Paige isn't like that, right? She's all about substance over perception. And with all due respect to Aristotle, perception is not reality. And nothing shows that better than sports."

My cheeks heated up and I pulled my knees up to my body. "What about dating? Isn't that all about perception?"

I could almost hear her smile. "No, it's about attraction, at the start at least."

"That doesn't bode well for me." I tried to put a note of humor in the statement.

She leaned forward slightly. "I don't know about that, I hear you have someone on the hook." There was a purr in her voice that made me blush harder.

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. In fact, she'd like to take you out to a late dinner after the game on Friday, if you're free."

"You don't eat beforehand?"

"Hell no. First game of the season? I'll be a nervous wreck."

I brushed my hair behind my ear. "Okay. I can't wait."

"So, do I have to wait till Friday to see you?"

A smile cracked across my face at the husk in her voice, which made me giggle like I was thirteen. "No. I told you I'm free for lunch any day."

"Awesome. So we're till on for Wednesday? There's a Peruvian place over on Wake Forest Road I've been wanting to try."

"That sounds amazing. What time?"

We talked for another twenty minutes, mostly about our favorite foods and cuisines. I didn't have any idea what Peruvian food consisted of, but I couldn't wait to find out. Sandy's breadth of experience was far and away broader than mine. The closest thing to abroad I'd ever been had been my honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dad traveled so often for work that I guess it didn't seem like much of a vacation for him, I guess. I'd always assumed Bill and I would travel when the kids got bigger, but obviously that never happened.

I opened up my door and headed out into the hallway. I could hear music from the other side of Paige's door, so I knocked. "Sweetheart?"

"Come in."

I slipped inside as Paige pointed a remote at her stereo, decreasing the volume. "What's up, Mom?"

"I, um, just wanted to talk to you about, well, about Grandma. What she said."

"Are you going to try to talk me out of playing hockey in college?" There was a sad, almost resigned tint to her voice.

My eyes went wide, shame lancing through my chest. "No, of course not, Honey. You know I wouldn't do that." I sat down on the edge of her bed. "You can chase any dream you want, and I'll always be here cheering you on, you know that. Besides, you're eighteen; you're an adult now. Your Grandmother only has as much say in what you do as you let her have."

"Thanks, Mom." Paige smiled shyly at me. "So, did grandma rag on you about what you ate when you were my age?"

"Oh, she still does." I tapped my temple. "She lives in here a lot. Don't let her do the same to you, okay?" I reached out and took her hand. "You are a beautiful, healthy young woman. Don't let anyone ever tell you different. Not even me. Especially not me."