Page 58 of Inside the Penalty Box

“Of course he does.” I giggled. “He’s dating me.”

We both laughed and took another drink.

“Are things getting serious between the two of you?”

I’d just put my fork down when my cell phone vibrated on the table. I glanced at the screen and frowned when I saw my mother’s name there with a message to call her.

“What is it?” Lorelai asked.

I got up without answering her and grabbed my phone, dialing quickly.

“Aurora, what is it?” Lorelai asked again, panic setting on her face.

“It’s my mom,” I whispered, just as she picked up the phone. “Mom, I was going to call you right after dinner,” I said into the phone. “I’ve got great news.”

My mother said nothing. Instead, I heard her sniffle. Was she crying?

“Mom? What’s wrong?” I questioned.

The line was silent for a long while before I heard her sniffle again. “Aurora, can I come and stay with you and Lorelai for a bit?”

I frowned, glancing around our small two-bedroom apartment that we’d be leaving in a couple of weeks if all went well. “What is going on?” I asked.

“God, Aurora, I feel like such a fool. Joe, he isn’t the man I thought he was.”

“What? Mom, what are you talking about?”

“Please, Aurora, I have nowhere to go. I’m at the ferry terminal in Victoria. I need you to come get me.”

* * *

Mom and I sat on the couch in the living room while Lorelai made some tea.

“What happened?” I questioned as I placed a cool cloth on the back of her neck to help her calm down. When I’d found her, she was in tears, and she cried the entire way to the house, not saying so much as one word to me.

“I’m leaving him. He’s a horrible man,” she said, crying once again.

I couldn’t remember my mother being this upset over a breakup before. She used to just pick up the pieces and head to the local pub, have a delightful party by herself or with someone else to get it out of her system, and then continue with life. I didn’t understand what the difference was this time.

“What happened?”

“Remember when he whispered something to me after Dylan stormed out of the house?”

I nodded, watching as Lorelai placed a tray on the coffee table along with a plate of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

“I didn’t want to tell you what it was he said, but you knew I was upset.”

“Upset? Mom, I’ve never seen you brought to tears so fast.”

“He told me that my whore of a daughter had better never set foot in the house again.”

My stomach sank. Had I caused their breakup?

“Why would he say that?”

“Because I was stupid, and I told him about you and Dylan.”

I glanced at Lorelai, who shrugged her shoulders.

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