Page 70 of Hard To Leave

Chapter 23

Jack

My mother strolledinto the room looking as polished as ever in a red dress and black heels. “Hello, Jack.”

Her hair was styled short, not a strand out of place, and her makeup was heavier than usual. I noticed she was wearing the set of pearls that my father gave her on their thirtieth wedding anniversary.

“Mom,” I said, not bothering to stand to greet her.

She forced a smile, ignoring my snub. Chloe sat next to me with her hands folded in her lap. There was an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was bothering her, and my gut told me that it had nothing to do with my mother.

“You must be Chloe.” My mom extended her hand. My girlfriend, being the saint she was, rose to meet her with a warm smile.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Jenson.”

My mother waved her hand away with her thick gold bracelets rattling around her frail wrist. “Please, call me Jackie.”

“It’s my pleasure, Jackie.” Chloe’s voice was warm as her eyes skated across the room. “Oh…” She reached behind the couch and grabbed the flowers that she insisted on bringing. “These are for you.”

My mom’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why, these are lovely. Thank you, Chloe, how thoughtful of you.”

She looked around, searching for a place to put the vase filled with an assortment of multi-colored roses and lilies. “I was hoping to meet your little boy as well.”

I clenched my fist at my side. “That boy has a name. It’s Tanner.” I didn’t tell Chloe about my mother’s comments when we spoke earlier on the phone.

When she asked me to dinner, she was caught off guard when I told her that I would check with my girlfriend. She then proceeded to bark out question after question. Her voice got really quiet when the subject of Tanner came up. I quickly reminded her that she was in no position to judge anything about my life based on her own personal track record.

Her eyes blinked, and she looked down at her red painted nails. “Of course, Jack. My apologies. I was hoping he would be joining us for dinner. I have your favorite pot roast in the oven, and I stopped by the bakery to pick up your birthday cake for dessert.”

Chloe’s eyes went from me to my mother. “Actually, Tanner’s on a sleepover at a friend’s house. I promised him that he could come with us next time. He was really looking forward to meeting you.”

My mom stood up to grab a plate of appetizers that were sitting on the table. “I would like that. In the meantime, let’s get to know each other.” She placed the tray in front of us as I removed a piece of cheese off the plate and shoved it in my mouth.

My mother slid deep into her high back chair and sipped from her second glass of wine. “So, Chloe, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?”

Chloe shifted on the cushions next to me. I reached out to curl her body against mine, but I could still feel the tension rolling off of her. I didn’t like that one bit. I didn’t like the fact that my mother made her nervous. “I grew up in a little unknown town right outside of Myrtle Beach.”

“That’s nice. Did you go to school down here in the south? Jack’s father wanted him to attend a big university that had a good football program so he could go to the games.” She rolled her eyes. “But Jack insisted on going to a state school in Upstate New York instead.”

Chloe laughed. “Yes, I went to Coastal Carolina. It’s not as well-known as some of the bigger football schools, but it has a great baseball program.”

My mother perked up. “Oh, yes, it does. What is your degree in, dear?”

Chloe pulled on her white pencil skirt. “Unfortunately, I found out I was pregnant at the end of my junior year, so I decided to take that last year off to raise my son and never went back.”

I placed my hand on her knee, silently telling her that she had nothing to be ashamed of. She was a wonderful mom, who put her son first; there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, it made me admire her even more.

“I see.” My mother took a hefty sip of her chardonnay. “And the father. Is he in the picture?”

I coughed in my wine, not expecting her boldness. “Mom, what the hell kind of question is that? It’s really none of your business!”

Chloe patted my hand and gave me a weak smile. “It’s okay, Jack.”

I reached over and grabbed a few more appetizers off the tray. If there was one thing my mother was good at, it was putting out good finger foods.

“Unfortunately, he is not.”

I could tell my mother was about to fire off another round of questions, so I stepped in. “So, Mom, you said you wanted to talk to me about something important.”

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