Page 4 of Mistlefoes

“Mom…” I protested. I’d never told her I’d had planned to get married, that I’d found the right guy but he’d cheated on me. That would open a whole other can of worms with her and she’d redouble her efforts in a scheme tomake it right. “Maybe, I just wanted to be a wedding planner back then.”

She was silent for a long moment, but before I could change the subject, she was at it again.

“You didn’t know what a wedding planner was back then. Anyway, you know, if you moved home, there’s a bigger dating pool here than in that tiny—”

“Geez, Mom!” I exclaimed. I had hoped we wouldn’t go here tonight, but the way things were going with my store, she might get her wish. Just a few hours ago, I’d been listing backup plans in my notebook—the main backup plan being to move back to St. Louis.

“I’m just saying, there are lots of nice boys where I work.”

“Boys? Mom, I’m thirty-two—”

“And I’m fifty-four. To me, they’re all boys. But they’re nice and your age—or around it, anyway—and they have jobs. When you come home for Christmas, I’ll set up something so you can meet them.”

“I don’t—”

“I know you’re not sure if you’ll make it back for the holidays, but I can keep hoping,” she interrupted. “And if you can make it, I can arrange for you to see one of them. Maybe, a couple of them. I just want to see you settled.”

She wanted me settled and moved back to Missouri. She didn’t need to say the words. I heard them, anyway.

Mom guilt. What was a Friday night without it?

I wasn’t sure what possessed me, but I had to nip her plans in the bud—even if Ihadbeen considering part of what she wanted. The going home part, anyway.

“I think my boyfriend would be upset if I went out on a blind date back home, Mom. Even if you’re the one to set it up,” I blurted.

“Boyfriend?” she gasped, practically squealing and sounding much younger than her age. “Who?”

Reindeerpoop!

Me and my big mouth. That had been stupid to say, and I was screwed. I closed my eyes, praying for an alien abduction.

“What’s his name?” she demanded. “Tell me all about him! We should do a face-thingy with you two, so your dad and I can meet your guy.”

“Uh… Facetime isn’t really a good, um…” Thinking on my feet, I glanced back out the window. Struck speechless, I stared through the slight opening between the sheer curtains, my eyes wide and my mouth dropping open.

“Seriously, Jack?” I whispered. Even as I gaped at him, he was putting out more stuff. Couldn’t he leave well enough alone? Hadn’t he ever heard the sayingLess is more?Obviously not.

“Jack?” she exclaimed. “Is he there with you? Put him on speaker, so we can talk to him.”

“What? No. No, he’s not here. He’s outside, doing…Christmas stuff. He’s on a ladder putting up lights. Besides, you already know Jack.”

I imagined her blinking several times as silence ensued. “Wait.Jack.Didn’t you two break up? He’s such a nice boy.”

Yeah, a nice boy who’d cheated on me. I’d never revealed that to my parents. It was just too…humiliating.

“No…” I hedged, dragging out the word. I’d broken up with him. He hadn’t broken up with me. “We’ve just been… Well, you know…” I trailed off as I picked up my glass of water, needing to soothe my suddenly parched throat.

“Sleeping together?”

I choked on the sip, spewing it. “Casual,” I sputtered. “Jesus, Mom. We’ve beencasual.”

“Is that code for something? I don’t know all the cool lingo.”

“No, it’s not code. We’re just being…well…casual.That’s all.”

“Okay, well… When will he be around? We don’t live nearby, but we still want to meet the people in your life. Your father and I should at least have the peace of mind of knowing you’re seeing a nice man.”

Jack? Nice? I barely contained my snort. He’d be nicer buried under a snowbank. Naked, so his cheating dick could freeze off.

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