Page 30 of Unrealistic Expectations

But Jessica suspected that Laurie just wouldn’t listen.

Laurie ignored the fact that neither Jessica nor Galvin responded to her insults. “How did you two meet?”

“We’ve actually known each other since college,” Galvin said. His voice was tight, and there was a tic in his jaw that Jessica had only noticed when he was sitting in traffic on the 405. Her mother was definitely as irritating as traffic on the way to LAX, so that seemed appropriate. She wished there was a way to tell him that getting angry at Laurie would only make things worse. The only way to manage her mother was to ignore her antics and pay her off.

“Mom, you were telling me that you just broke up with your boyfriend?” Jessica said. Laurie loved to talk about herself. Recounting her own dramas was her favorite pastime.

Laurie threw the rest of her drink back, and Galvin’s eyes opened wide—with either shock or admiration—she wasn’t sure which. “I don’t know why you didn’t come and visit me and Reg in Tucson over Christmas.”

“Well, you didn’t invite me. Considering that I’m biracial and your boyfriend was in a motorcycle gang known for virulent white supremacy, I figured that I’d skip it and spend the holidays with Luke’s family.” Jessica had often wondered how her parents had ever gotten together. Laurie had always claimed “not to see color” unless her current boyfriend happened to hate Black and brown people. Laurie became whatever her current situation required of her, so she hadn’t defended Jessica against any of her numerous racist boyfriends’ shitty comments and slurs.

“You shouldn’t believe everything you read.” Laurie had asked Jessica to keep an open mind about Reggie, the latest in her collection of violent losers. “Reg was truly a sweetie, and he was really looking forward to meeting you.”

Jessica sniffed. “I’m sure, but it sounds like you broke up.”

Laurie waved her hand dismissively. “Not really, just a little, temporary disagreement. I just came here because I missed you.”

Jessica just nodded. They needed to move this along. When she’d said that thing about Reg being a racist, she’d felt the tension in Galvin’s body ratchet up from across the room. She liked that it made him so mad and that she could tell what he was feeling without words. Luke had always ignored her mother’s hijinks and then complained about her after she left. He’d never once even looked like he would jump in and defend Jessica from one of Laurie’s sneak attacks.

“I just came because you posted about this one on Instagram.” Laurie pointed a narrowed gaze at Galvin, and Jessica immediately understood what was going on here. Her mother knew that she would never post about her relationship on social media and hadn’t known that Luke had walked out on her. Of course she would be curious as to why Jessica was talking about a relationship on Instagram right after she’d launched a book. And Laurie’s comment on the book was, “Men are men and I love men being men. Why would I want to change them?”

So Laurie was here to investigate and see what she could extract from the situation.

“What do you want, Laurie?” Jessica asked. Then she looked over at Galvin—for what she wasn’t sure—but the look of steely resolve on his face gave her the kind of reassurance she hadn’t known that she needed. She was glad that she’d asked him to come over today, even though it was probably revealing too much about herself and the way she grew up right now.

“Well, I know you got a big check the day the book came out—”

Laurie must have done enough research to know how much money she’d made from her book advance and how book advances were paid out. And the last time she had visited had been right after she’d signed her book deal and posted the announcement on her private social media.

Jessica’s shoulders drooped and she put her forehead against the table. She hadn’t cut her mother completely out of her life yet because she’d always hoped that she would change—even a little bit. But Laurie was always going to be working whatever angle would keep her flush with cigarettes and cheap booze. Jessica would be frustrated with a client who refused to set boundaries around this kind of behavior, and it made her feel weak and stupid. But setting boundaries would infuriate Laurie. She would blow up her phone, post nasty things about her on social media, and show up with one of her shitty boyfriends so that he could feel sorry for her because her daughter was so mean to her.

Sometimes just giving in was easier than dealing with one of her mother’s tantrums. Because even though she was a truly awful parent, Jessica still loved her. Even though Laurie had had a lot of truly terrible relationships, it was her way of using the skills she had at her disposal to feed and clothe her daughter. Even though her mother struggled to take herself and her life seriously, the perfect, fun, spontaneous adventures they’d had while Jessica was growing up lingered in her psyche.

Jessica had done everything in her power to be nothing like her mother as an adult, but they’d been a team from the time that Jessica was a toddler. She’d never quite been able to completely shake that mindset. The connection had turned toxic and hurt her more than any other relationship she’d ever had in her life. But it was still there, and Jessica couldn’t let it go.

Before she could open her mouth and her checkbook, yet again, Galvin spoke. “Laurie, do you have a place to stay in town?”

“I usually stay with Jessica.” Her mother sounded defensive, and Jessica was about to warn him off, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was totally focused on Laurie in this intense way that she’d never seen out of him. It was clearly sort of freaking her mother out. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“Well, I really care about Jessica, and your presence here is upsetting her, so it’s definitely my business.” Galvin’s words shocked her a little. Galvin had told her how he found her beautiful and how much he admired her, but he’d never said he cared about her. “I think that you should either get a hotel for the night—on me—or Jessica is going to come stay with me tonight.”

“Young man, this is family business.” Laurie rarely raised her voice, and never around a man, so it was shocking to hear her yelling at Galvin. “I think you should leave.”

“I asked him to come over, Laurie.” Jessica decided to drop the “Mother” thing for the moment. This exchange was volatile enough on its own.

“Why?” Laurie stood up with her cocktail glass and headed back to the liquor cabinet. “It’s pretty clear to me that he’s some gigolo that you hired to cover up the fact that you can’t keep a man.”

“At least I know when they’re not worth keeping.” Jessica’s mean side came out sometimes when her mother got like this. “And at least I’d never try to blackmail my own kid.”

Laurie stomped her foot. “It’s not blackmail, when it’s family.”

“Enough, Laurie.” Jessica started when Galvin spoke. He stood up and walked toward her mother. “Where’s your bag? You’re going to leave right now. I’m going to call a car and check you into the Chateau Marmont for the night. Put as much booze and food as you want on your tab. Then, tomorrow at noon, another car is going to pick you up and take you to LAX. Let me know how much it will cost to change back your flight so you can crawl back into whatever hole you crawled out of to traumatize your daughter today—sooner rather than later.”

Her mother was stunned into silence. So was Jessica. She’d never been able to stand up to her mother—at least not in a lasting way. It was shocking, but it felt great. Jessica wasn’t sure what to say. It had probably been a mistake to ask Galvin to come over, but he’d fixed it—temporarily or not.

“And you’re not going to say anything to anyone about the duration of my relationship with Jessica. Because it’s none of your business. By some miracle, she ended up kind, compassionate, smart, and responsible. Just from sitting here today, I don’t think that had anything to do with you.” He was wrong there, but Jessica didn’t want to correct him. She didn’t have the courage to kick her mother out. She should probably feel like he was overstepping a boundary, but no one had ever stood up for her like he was. The way she’d built her life as an adult had everything to do with how much she didn’t want to be her mother. But it still felt nice to have someone recognize how different they were. “And maybe wait for her to call you and invite you before you show up next time?”

Laurie didn’t speak, but she put down her glass and walked toward the door, where she’d dropped her bags when she came in.

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