Page 41 of Imperfections Seduced
“How’s that going to make him feel like a man?”
“By letting him feel like he can take care of his woman. Men want to feel like they’re needed, even if they’re not. Never let them feel emasculated. If you do that, they’re going to find someone else to make them feel like a man. Sit up straight and pay attention, Catherine! I’m giving you my best pearls of wisdom.”
“I’m listening to every word you say, Mother. I can’t wait to hear what else you have to impart. I’m pretty sure with the experience you’ve had over the years you know exactly what you’re talking about.”
“Then pay attention. Lesson two: make sure he loves you more than you love him. That way, when and if trouble arises, he’s more likely to forgive you for your mistake. Huh! You know that lesson well, don’t you?”
“What kind of mistake, Mother?”
“Darling, it can be anything from burning his favoriteshirt while ironing or spending too much at Tiffany’s. What is that look for?”
“What look?” I wave my hand in the air with a flourish, eyes open wide with a regal tone in my voice. “I’m listening to your worldly knowledge of women and men. What did you call them…your priceless pearls or gems of wisdom?”
She puts on her stern expression, perfected over the years. When I was a child, we butted heads frequently. She would want me to go right, and I would have rather gone up and around. I wanted to play soccer, and she wanted me to take ballet classes. In the end, if we couldn’t agree, the deciding vote would come down to my father, and who do you think he sided with? Me or his beloved wife who he had to deal with for the rest of his life? Exactly!
“Sarcasm will get you nowhere. Don’t be rude, Catherine. I’m your mother; you might not think I know what I’m talking about but I do. I know what’s best for you.”
“I know you think you do.”
She raises her perfectly arched eyebrow—which she pays way too much money for to be done every other week—and purses her lips. “Maybe if you listen to me, you too can catch a man like your sister, and end up engaged to someone like Nicholas Alexander.”
There it is—guilt. I wish I could evaporate into thin air at the mention of his name and his so-called engagement to Kate.
“Your sister’s happily engaged and getting married soon. Next she’ll be having babies. I want the same for you. Wouldn’t it be nice if both of you could have kids around the same time so they could be close in age and grow up together with Sasha? Wouldn’t that be nice?”
I wish I could sink into this couch to get away from this conversation. If she only knew there’s a good possibilityshe could get exactly what she wants. I can see it now, next year this time, Kate and I could be sitting across the table from each other at Thanksgiving dinner with our matching newborn babies fathered by the same man at the same time. How dysfunctional is that? It would be a Jerry Springer holiday special in the making.
“Cat, are you listening to me? I don’t think you heard a word I said.”
“Mom, I heard every single word you said.”
Before she can continue with whatever else she has to say, the doorbell rings. “Saved by the bell,” I murmur.
“Speak up, Cat, I didn’t hear what you said.”
“I said I’ll see who’s ringing the doorbell.”
“Maybe it’s Kate, she said she was coming over tonight.”
I hope not. She’s the last person I want to see. I’ve been avoiding her like the plague for days.
“Ava’s supposed to stop by, maybe that’s her.” If it’s her, she has perfect timing, as usual. I don’t know how much longer I can take my mother talking about me, Nick, and Kate. I’m getting a headache thinking about this whole situation. It’s been a week now, he’s texted me about twenty times since we had sex, and I haven’t looked at any of them. I’m scared and angry, I’m trapped in a terrible nightmare, and I think I’m going to wake up any minute now but I can’t because it’s real. Real fucked up.
Ava is fabulous as usual, with her new flowing strawberry blonde locks, Birkin bag, red bottom heels, and color-block mini dress. I have to smile to myself. She never fails to be fabulous. She can be wearing jeans, sneakers, and a tank top and she will still look ready for a runway.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Reed.” Ava walks over to my mother, and they hug and kiss before she sits down next to me on the sofa.
“Ava, maybe you can help me explain to my daughter that she needs… How would I put this?”
“She’s giving me life lessons on how to get a man.”
“Not just getaman; justanyman won’t do. He has to have a never-ending stream of financial security. If he doesn’t, what good is he going to be to you?”
Ava and I look at each other at the same time with a wide-eyed stare.
“I agree with you, Mrs. Reed—just any man won’t do. What type of man do you think Cat needs, besides the obvious financial security? I might be able to help her find that man.”
“She needs a man that is able to take care of her and provide for her in style. He should be, and he should also come from a family of, good breeding.”
