Page 10 of Valentine Dare

6

Trent

She lookednervous as I parked outside mom’s offices. I wanted to reassure her that everything would be all right.

I turned off the engine and unbuckled my seatbelt, and she did the same. It was as if we were moving to the same rhythm as we got out of the car. Why the hell were my palms so sweaty?

The next thing I knew, we were standing on the other side of the car, looking at each other. Not saying a word and not feeling the need to break the silence. Until I spotted mom in the corner. Smoking. Something she did in secret, because she didn’t want us to know that she’d restarted her bad habit, and we pretended we didn’t know. Smoking was her stress reliever. She started after dad died, and at times she smokes when work got to her.

“Hey there!” she shouted, after throwing her gloves in the trash. She often wore gloves so her hands didn’t smell of smoke, then she popped a mint in her mouth. I saw her do all of that from the side of my eyes, but pretended I saw nothing.

“Oh mom. Didn’t see you there.”

She was waving with her oversized shirt bouncing on her body and her skintight jeans hugging her curves. Mom looked good for her age. She had us young and had always kept a strict fitness routine and ate well. Her only weakness was smoking.

Jenny’s head spun around, then back again. “Is she really your mom?”

I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Mom drew closer, and as we were near, Jenny said exactly what I’d heard so many times.

“Damn, you guys could easily pass for sister and brother. She looks good for her age. Just her hair’s slightly lighter. That’s the only difference between you guys, really. And as for the body, I mean she doesn’t look like she’s had one kid, let alone three.”

I decided to do the introductions. “Jenny this is Claire, my mom and mom, Jenny. One guy who was a friend soon turned into an enemy after he tried hitting on her.”

Jenny whispered, “I thought guys dug that kind of thing.”

I was puzzled. Why would she think a friend hitting on your mom would be sexy? It hit me like a ton of bricks. Her exposure to men has been Kurt and his friends, her dad and uncle, whoever he was. Her world had no good role models, which was why she was alone. I didn’t know whether to put my arm around her and comfort her, or just to kiss her due to her innocence. Either way, spending time with Jenny was having an effect on me, and we’d only been together a couple of hours. The better part of an afternoon.

“Hey you.” Mom smiled as she put her arm around Jenny. “You’ve had a horrible day. Come here and give me a hug. I just feel so bad for what’s going on.”

As Mom pulled away, I could see Jenny trembling and pulling her in closer. There were cars pulling in and out of the parking lot, but when it was a bit quiet, I acknowledged that mom wasn’t just giving Jenny a hug, she was comforting as she sobbed in her arms.

I signaled that I would go into the building, behind Jenny, as mom continued to stroke and pet her. Comfort in which I had a feeling Jenny wasn’t used to, but it had taken her by surprise, and she’d welcomed it with open arms.

* * *

I waited inside the building,made a couple of calls to my brothers and organized my week ahead as much as I could from my phone. I was a little OCD when it came to such things. Mom said she wished I didn’t take all of dad’s traits so I could spread some to Brent who was a lost cause. He started the day waking up asking what day of the week it was, then spent his time in the shower figuring out what to do for the day.

“Well, it seems that I helped her get a lot of her chest.” Mom sighed as she walked out of her office, leaving Jenny inside it.

“Uh-huh.”

“What a shit storm! Anyway, before you came over I decided to make a few calls, and things are not looking good. I told her that she needs somewhere to stay.”

She leaned in and kissed me on the head before moving away and then rubbing the side of my face. I knew what she was thinking; she was thinking about dad. Whenever she had that look in her eye, it was of him. Even if it was five years since he died in the tragic car accident and our world had been turned upside down, she still held on to his memory. So, many times when I’d heard her cry at night, I wanted to tell her time would be a great healer. This is what I’d read so many times about the subject. But, what did I know about love? I’d never experienced it the way that she had. I was too young, but knew one day my time would come.

“Mom, I need to get going. Is there anything that you need from me?”

She shook her head. “No. Don’t worry, I’ll take Jenny home when we finish up here.”

“I thought you had a big case and loads to catch up on, which is why you were working today.”

She giggled. “I do, but I finished it all when you called, and I was about to go home and spend the night in a bath and catch up on some much-loved TLC.”

Jenny came out of the office to the waiting area where we were sitting as if she didn't want to be alone.

“I’ve ruined your Sunday. Sorry, I’m just a pain. If you have plans then you can go ahead and do them. I’ll figure something out….”

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