Page 8 of Deja New
“No, it’s not,” Leah said dully.
(??????????)
Angela managed to tactfully say nothing, or even raise an eyebrow, and when Archer didn’t scowl, or burst into tears, she realized that whatever was upsetting Leah about being pregnant, he knew all about it. Which in its own way was kind of cool.
Leah broke the short silence. “I’ll explain.”
“You don’t have to,” Angela replied at once, not meaning a word of it.Please, please explain! Explain until you’re blue in the face! But not really!
“I know I don’thaveto,” Leah snapped. Her lips thinned and she added, “I’m sorry. I’m in a foul mood. It’s like this: I had a terrible mom.”
“Okay.” Angela knew Leah’s mom; everyone did. A B-list actress from the nineties, a gorgeous redhead in the style of fifties pinup queens, never as famous as her daughter, and went to her grave trying to change that.
“So I don’t know how to do it. I’ll be bad at it.” She met Angela’s gaze dead on. “I’m afraid. That’s what this is. That’s all this is: pure fear.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“It’s absolutely true: I am scared shitless.”
“No, no, I meant about your mom.”
“It’s definitely true,” Archer cut in. “Leah’s mom was the worst.”
“Not that, either! Imeantthat Leah won’t be a bad mom just because she had one. It doesn’t...” Her gaze went from Archer to Leah and back to her cousin. “It doesn’t always follow. There’s not an Insighter in the world who won’t tell you that. We see a lot,” she said, turning to Archer. “But it’s not all bad. That’s one of the myths. We see plenty of the good in people’s pasts.”
A weak snort from the bed. “Stop generalizing. And ‘bad mom’ doesn’t do it justice.”
“Okay, but it’s not like you cornered the market in crap parents.” Although it sure sounded like Leah’s B-lister mamahadbeen a worse-than-usual momager... at least, according to the tell-all book by the actress who onlyplayedher daughter.*“I mean—jeez. You know about my dad. And what we’ve got to try to do for my uncle. It’s the whole reason you came to town. And my mom freaked you out so hard you hit the floor.”
Angela’s Insighting ability was nothing compared to Leah’s. If Angela’s ability could be likened to being the best actor in drama club, Leah’s made her Sir Anthony Hopkins (who, rumor had it, had been the Sun King in an earlier life); but it was strong enough that Angela didn’t go out of her way to touch strangers. She’d been amazed when Leah had stuck out her hand, and even more amazed when her mother had shaken it. “Youhitthefloor.”
Leah was already shaking her head. “That was—that was more morning sickness than anything else.”
“Sure it was.”I’ll bet you don’t go out of your way to touch strangers. Quite the opposite, I think. So why’d you want to touch my mom? I think I know.
The color was coming back into Leah’s face and for the first time, Angela knew how to talk to her.She’s really invested in the bad-mom thing. Okay. She feels better if she fights back a little. Okay.“It can’t have been that bad.”
“Mine was the stage mom from Hades, and that was on hergooddays.”
“Mine’s a ghost,” Angela said.
“Mine exploited me for money.”
“Mine is so out of it people think she’s on tranquilizers. PS: She’s not on tranquilizers.”
“Mine slept with the judge assigned to my emancipation trial, which is why I remained un-emancipated for so long.”
“Mine slept through all my birthdays, both my graduations, and Archer’s crime prevention award from the city of Minneapolis.”
“Mine— But you’ve never lived in Minneapolis.”
Archer shrugged. “Long story.”
Leah stared at the father of her child, and Angela had the impression she was holding back giggles. “Okay, we’re definitely discussing that later—”
“Oh, God.” He groaned.
“But getting back to the more interesting and depressing conversation, my mother slipped Valium in my tea, then brought me to a plastic surgeon’s office. The only reason I didn’t get non-con breast implants at age thirteen was because I woke up too soon. And also, the surgeon wasn’t a sociopath.”
