A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(46)

“Mom, you look like you’re suffering from gas. What’s up?”

Eva’s eyes shot daggers across her Upper East Side apartment to where Katherine was fixing her hair, looking beautiful in her new birthday dress. “There’s no need to be crude. I was just thinking.” Eva cradled her wineglass. “How’s Ben?”

Katherine shrugged. “He’s good. Busy. He’s coming tonight with Abby.”

Eva sighed wistfully. “It’s wonderful that he’s settled down, married, and in a respectable job.”

Katherine took a deep breath, her arms falling to her sides. “I know you’re desperate for grandkids, Mom, but can we hold off just a little longer before I settle down?” She picked up her glass and gulped her wine. “And my job is respectable. I’m a teacher. A good one.”

Ignoring the retort about the job, Eva laughed. “Oh, darling, as much as I would love grandchildren, I just want you to be happy, and with someone who’ll look after you and love you. There’s no rush, you’re young.” She paused. “But there’s no one you’re interested in?”

Katherine avoided her mother’s gaze as she picked up her purse. “No. I’m happy as I am. In all aspects of my life.”

Eva stared at her daughter, wishing she could explain her fears better. She sighed. “I hope so.”

*

The Spanish restaurant in TriBeCa in which Kat had chosen to celebrate her twenty-fifth birthday was bustling. She, along with her friends and family, sat around a large circular table drinking wine and nibbling at the delicious breads laid out in its center. Her mother sat to her left, quiet but attentive, while Ben, Abby, Harrison, Beth, and Adam, God love them, with jokes and liberal pours of wine, tried to clear the tense atmosphere between mother and daughter.

“Carter got parole?” Ben exclaimed. “That’s great, Kat!” He lifted his champagne glass.

Kat laughed and did the same, ignoring the look of disdain that flashed across her mother’s face.

“So, when do your sessions start?” Beth asked.

“Sessions?” her mother interjected, her dark eyes flashing. “What sessions?”

“Kat meets with this … Carter three times a week,” Beth answered, her stare on her entree. “No security or anything.”

Eva blanched. “What?”

Great, Beth.

Kat breathed deeply, counting silently in an effort to keep her temper. “It’s part of Carter’s parole, Mom,” she answered, frowning over at Beth. “Very few tutors get the opportunity to do it. It’s important. You should be proud.”

Her mother gawked, her eyes damned near falling out of her head. “I would be prouder if you taught children in a middle-class elementary school. I mean, really, Katherine.” She put her glass down. “What makes these people, these prison officials, think that putting my daughter in danger will change these monsters one iota?”

“I’m not in any danger,” Kat assured her again.

Her mother blinked. “Your father thought the same. He was all for campaigning and helping the less fortunate, and look at the thanks he got.”

Kat’s heart thudded in her chest. “Carter’s not like them. He’s trying to better himself.

“Don’t dismiss my concerns, Katherine.”

“She’s allowed to worry, Kat. We all are,” Beth added. Adam placed a hand on her shoulder. Kat opened her mouth to ask what the hell her friend was playing at.

“Of course I am,” Eva said instead. “You’re my daughter.”