Somebody to Love (Gideon's Cove #3)(118)

Indeed, as Taymal would say.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

PARKER WAS AT BLOSSOM on a Tuesday morning, lugging buckets of fresh flowers into the cooler, when an unexpected visitor walked through the door. “Mom!” she said, setting down the gerbera daisies with a slosh.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Althea said.

“What are you doing here! Again without calling! What a nice surprise!” She hugged her mom, who looked strange…wait, it was that she looked normal, actually. The Botox had worn off, and Althea’s face had lost that tight, shiny look.

“I know, I know, I should’ve called. I wanted to surprise you again.” Her mother looked around the shop. “This is very pretty, Parker. Oh, you have a dog. I forgot.”

“This is Beauty. Beauty, come say hi.” The dog declined to leave her little bed, but she granted Althea a small tail wag. “So, Mom. What are you—”

“I left Maury.”

Parker blinked. “Oh. Wow.”

Althea sighed. “Do you have any coffee? A nonfat vanilla soy latte would really soothe my soul about now.”

“I have plain old coffee. How would that be?”

The story was, Althea said, that she got tired of walking on eggshells, trying to please a curmudgeonly old man who was, she suspected, going to dump her anyway. “One day, darling, I said, ‘Althea, what are you thinking? You deserve better. You’re more than someone’s wife.’”

Parker nodded, a little stunned. Her mother had never gone more than eight months without a husband, had been first married at age twenty-one to Harry. Being a wife was her entire career. “That’s huge, Mom.”

“I know. But the truth is, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. So I figured the first thing would be to visit my grandchild.” She paused. “I didn’t call because I was afraid you’d say no.”

“Mom! I wouldn’t say no! I’m really proud of you. Of course you can stay with us. The new place is small, but we have a guest room. It’ll be great!”

Althea smiled. She had lovely crow’s feet, Parker noticed. “I was sort of counting on that.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I couldn’t keep it up, Parker. It’s exhausting, trying to be the person someone wants you to be and completely losing the person you once were.” She blew her nose. “I promise I won’t stay forever. It’s just been so long for me, I don’t even know where to start.”

“Here. Here’s where you start.” She leaned over and kissed her mom’s cheek. “Nicky will be so happy when he sees you.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. We’ll surprise him when he gets off the bus. He comes here after school.”

Parker spent the rest of the day showing her mother around the shop, letting her watch as she filled orders, talking about Nicky and the adjustments to their new lifestyle. They got lunch from the deli down the street and ate it in the little sitting area in the shop.

“So you’re happy?” Althea asked a trifle suspiciously.

Parker took a bite of her sandwich and thought about the question as she chewed. “I am. I love doing flowers, and even though I thought I’d hate it, I like that Nicky’s in school. Though I did cry a lot the first couple of weeks.”

Her mom smiled. “What about—what was his name?”

“Collier?”

“Oh, did you date him?” Althea asked excitedly.

“No. He’s a nice guy, but kind of a dope.”

“Yes. Well, actually, I meant the other one. The one who was living with you.”

“James.”

“Yes. Did that ever…?” Her mother raised her eyebrows. So odd to see her with normal facial movement.

“We parted ways,” Parker said. She was quiet for a moment. She’d spent the past week berating herself for sending the manuscript. It had seemed cute; in the face of his nonresponse, it now seemed really stupid. She should’ve been more direct. Just written him a note, or called him and said, “Look, I’m sorry, I miss you, please give me another chance.”

“Don’t be sad, sweetheart,” Althea said, patting her hand. “We’re two single women. We can do facials and have movie nights, and I can make your favorite dinner.”

“Do you even know what that is, Mom?” Parker asked, smiling.

“No. But you can tell me, and I’ll give it a whirl.”

* * *

NICKY WAS INDEED EXCITED to have Faraway Mimi up close. He wanted to show off the new house, especially the fort he’d made in his room, so Parker switched his booster seat to Althea’s rental car and let him go home with her. Her mom beeped the horn and turned at the corner.

Parker watched them go, a little bemused. Aside from a few summers here and there, she hadn’t lived with her mom since she was thirteen years old. The cynical side of her wanted to take a bet on how long it would take Althea to find another husband. The better part of her was proud. Althea had never left a husband willingly. Well. Except for Harry.

Althea had put up with a lot from her husbands over the years, proving the old saying that if you married for money, you earned every cent. But she’d married Harry Welles before he’d become a big deal; she’d loved him once, and when he cheated on her and traumatized their only child, Althea walked away. Her mother had protected her, as best as she’d known how, and that…that was worth a lot.