Page 47 of With This Lie

Lucas

We headout of the city, northbound toward her mother, and I’m nervous. The last time I met a mother, it was when I got engaged. Not that I could tell her any of that. For all she knew, I’d met plenty of mothers, including my wife’s. Today probably isn’t the day to tell her the truth either. I didn’t know exactly why her mother wanted to talk to me anyway. Wanting to talk to me about Dani’s birthday seemed strange. I guess I’d find out.

“So, is she going to threaten to kill me if I hurt you or something?” I ask.

She laughs. “I doubt it. I mean she knows you’re married so I don’t know why she would approach you like that. She’s never met anyone I’ve ever dated or seen. Maybe she’s just having a moment of wanting to be really motherly. I’m not sure.”

“Well, I’ll try my best to impress,” I say.

“Just be yourself,” she says, smiling at me.

She weaves her fingers into mine and settles back into her seat as we settle into the drive. We fill the time with bits of conversation, spans of comfortable silence, and of course only the best curated music until we arrive at the gates of the prison. We park and get out.

“Leave your stuff here. Just take your license. It’s easier,” she says.

I take my ID out and leave my wallet in the car with my keys and phone. She takes hers out and leaves her purse and phone behind. I walk around the car to her and she takes my hand.

“You ready?” I ask her.

She nods her head. “Are you?”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” I say, smiling at her.

We walk to the gate and make our way through checking in and presenting our licenses. Dani shows me the way and goes first through the whole process. We get to the end leading into the courtyard and she stops for a moment. She takes me by the hand again and squeezes it. She lets go just as quickly and walks to a woman in the back-right corner. For whatever reason, her mother isn’t at all what I expected.

Her mother, Charlotte, is a small woman. Her slender shoulders and narrow hips do not paint her as a murderer, or a prostitute for that matter. In my mind, she was shapelier, more voluptuous. Her long graying hair is neatly braided and pulled to the side. Her eyes are as striking as her daughter’s. Even with just this first meeting, she carries herself with an air of sophistication. I wonder to myself how a woman like her became a prostitute to begin with. Survival, I suppose.

“Mom, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is my mom, Charlotte,” Dani says, smiling and glancing first to her mother and then to me.

“Ma’am, it’s so nice to meet you,” I say. “Dani has told me some lovely things about you.”

Charlotte looks at me and squints a little, taking my hand in hers to shake. “Hello, Lucas. Dani has told me many things about you as well,” she says.

Her reply isn’t quite as warm as I expect, her tone flat and level. I’m caught off guard. Dani shifts. Perhaps she is too. We all sit; Dani and I on one side, Charlotte on the other.

“How has your week been, Mom?” Dani asks, shifting the conversation.

“Same as always. I can’t complain,” Charlotte says. Her eyes keep shifting to me as if she’s searching me for something I don’t think I have. Then she looks back at Dani. “How about you, princess?” she asks her.

“It’s been okay, except someone tried to break into my apartment, I think,” Dani says.

Her mother shoots a look in her direction, taking her eyes from me completely. “What happened?” she asks Dani, alarmed.

“I’m okay,” Dani says. “Lucas showed up right after and I haven’t really noticed anything else.”

Charlotte looks at me again then back at her daughter. “Well, just be careful,” she says to Dani.

“You know I am,” Dani says.

Up to this point, I’ve just been quiet, not wanting to interrupt their moment, but Charlotte shifts her entire body in my direction and I know it’s coming.

“So, Lucas. Dani tells me you’re married. Don’t worry, I’m not going to drill you about it. I understand the dynamic. But I have just one question,” she says to me.

“Okay,” I say, hesitantly.

“How many Danis have there been?” Charlotte asks me.

“Mom!” Dani says. “Lucas, you don’t have to answer that.”

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