Love Love (30 page)

“
That’s great, Mom.” I roll
my eyes even though she can’t see me.

“
So, I’m going to finish up
at around four o’clock, and thought I could come by the apartment
so we could grab a bite to eat. It’s really going to be the only
chance I’ll have to see you. Tomorrow is a full day and then I head
back home.”

“
That sounds fine,
Mom.”

“
Great, so I’ll see you
later.”

“
I will. Bye.”

Fran looks over at me. “So what time
is she coming?”

“
Around four. Where do you
think we should go to eat? If it’s up to her, she’ll want to go
somewhere ritzy and I’m not up for that.” I look down at my
Converse. Definitely not up for ritzy.

Fran taps her finger against her
cheek. “What about Carmine’s on the Upper West Side?”

“
Perfect. I’ll call Brad to
see if he wants to come along. Do you want to call
Kyle?”

“
He has to work tonight, so
he’ll have to miss out on the fun.” She chuckles. “I’m sure he’s
all torn up about it.”

I dial Brad and wait to hear the sound
of his throaty voice.

“
Hey, Baby.”

My heart skips a beat just hearing it.
“Hey!”

“
What’s up?”

“
So do you want to meet my
crazy Mom? She’s here and we’re going out to dinner.”

“
Absolutely. What’s the
plan?” Wow, he actually sounds excited. I hope he feels the same
way after he meets her. Ugh.

“
I think we’re going to
head to Carmine’s. Do you want to meet us there after
work?”

“
Sure. That sounds
good.”

“
I’ll text you on the way,
okay?”

“
Okay. I can’t wait to see
you.”

“
Me too.”

At four o’clock sharp, there’s a knock
at the door. I throw a couple more Tums in the air and they land in
my mouth. Now I’m ready. I fling open the door. There she is;
impeccably dressed as always. She’s wearing a navy blue pencil
skirt and a white silk blouse. Subtle gold jewelry adds to her
look, and I notice she still wears those ridiculously expensive
Borgezie shoes. Her makeup is perfect, right down to the waterproof
mascara, and her hair is pinned up in her trademark bun with a
rhinestone clip.

“
Hi, dear.” She hugs me
gently and pats my back awkwardly, as an afterthought. Whoever
invented this uncomfortable hug, I’ll never know.

“
Hi, Mom.”

“
Let me look at you. Have
you been eating? You look a little thin, dear.”

My eyes go to the heavens. “Yes, Mom,
I’m eating.”

“
Well, I certainly hope
it’s not only that dreadful candy you can’t seem to stay away
from,” she says with disgust.

Let’s not talk about me. “So, we
thought we’d go to Carmine’s. They’ve got great food and it’s
relatively casual.” Thankfully, here comes Fran.

“
Hey, Mrs. W.” Fran walks
over and gives her a big hug. My mom doesn’t know what to do with
herself. She’s not used to this kind of affection; giving it or
receiving it.

“
Franny, wow, you look
terrific!” Nice. She looks terrific and I look
emaciated.

“
Thanks, Mrs. W. It’s good
to see you. How’s the fashion business?”

Ready. Set. Go.

“
Oh, Franny, it’s
fantastic. I’m living the dream, what can I say? I’m loving the
energy of New York; I’m meeting so many amazing people.”

“
That’s great!” Fran sounds
genuinely excited. I wish I could have that same level of
enthusiasm around my mom.

“
So, let’s head out,” I
chime in. And get this over with.

On the way to Carmine’s, I text Brad.
I hate to expose him to my mom, but I’m looking forward to seeing
him. Fingers crossed that she can behave herself and not offend him
with any of her snobbish remarks.

When we arrive at the restaurant,
Brad’s already there. He flashes me his dimple the moment we walk
in the door, and I want to do a lot more than just smile back. I
fold my arms around his waist and give him a gentle kiss on the
lips. I hear my mother clear her throat. “Dear, who might this
be?”

“
This would be Brad, Mom,
my boyfriend. Brad, this is my mom.”

“
You haven’t mentioned him
before.” She sounds affronted
and
she just insulted Brad.

“
Yes, and that would be
because I rarely hear from you.”

She shoots me a dirty look. I look
over at Brad with an apologetic smile. He grabs my hand and
squeezes. All is right with the world.

From the moment we sit down, my mother
starts in on him. “So, what do you do, Brad?”

“
I own a coffee shop in
Midtown.”

My mom gives me a disapproving glance.
I’d expect nothing less. She hesitates before she speaks. “That
sounds…nice. What did you get your degree in?”

“
Business
Management.“

“
Yes, and where did you go
to school? Do you have your MBA?”

I chime in. “Oh my God, Mom, enough of
the third degree.”

She never disappoints. Perfectly
poised, but impossible to hide the shards of ice that surround
her.

Fran knees me under the table and
gives me a sympathetic glance.

“
I’m just trying to get to
know your boyfriend, dear.”

Brad continues. “I went to Pace
University, and no, I don’t have my MBA.”

“
I see,” my mother says,
disapproval dripping from that nasty little tongue of hers. “It
must be somewhat interesting, meeting people from all walks of
life.”

Someone shoot me now. Brad doesn’t
skip a beat, though. My superhero. “Yes, it is Mrs. Willis. I get
to meet all sorts of people, some pretty wonderful ones actually.
That’s where I met your daughter.” Score.

“
Still addicted to coffee,
Gabby?” My mom shakes her head and turns down her nose at me. “It’s
a terrible habit and so unhealthy.”

She says it like I’m addicted to
crack. Get a grip, Mom. I raise my eyes to meet Brad’s and grab his
knee under the table. “Yes, especially now.” God, I just want to
plant my lips on his and kiss him senseless. I’m sure my mom would
appreciate that.

“
So are you enjoying being
in New York, Mrs. Willis?” Leave it to Brad to save the day and
change the subject. This should get her going for a good fifteen
minutes.

“
It’s fantastic. There’s so
much to see, it’s hard to take it all in. Plus, I’m so just busy
with getting new fashion ideas for the store, that I don’t have
time for much else. It’s a nice change from California, though.
Things definitely move at much faster pace here.” She turns to me,
planning her next move. I can see it on her face. “So, Gabby. Have
you managed to get a promotion yet? It’s been almost three years,
after all.”

“
Not yet, Mom.”

“
Well, maybe you need to
start working harder. If you’re going to have a chance of moving up
in the company…”

Thankfully our food comes and there’s
so much of it that it takes the pressure off the conversation for a
little while. That is, until my mother opens her mouth…again. “So
Brad, tell me what you like about my daughter.”

Fran chokes on her salad. I’m turning
blue and silently being rolled away by Oompa Loompas. Gah! I never
should’ve invited Brad. This is so humiliating!

“
Well, I’m not sure where
to start. It’s a pretty long list.” A man after my own heart. Oh,
that’s right, he already has it. “She has a knack for clogging
toilets.”

I burst out laughing and the spaghetti
flies out of my mouth and lands on my mother’s shirt.
Brilliant.

“
Gabby! This is a new
blouse, for heaven’s sake.” Oh well, not anymore.

“
Actually Mrs. Willis, your
daughter is incredibly special. I first noticed her sense of humor,
and then everything else followed. Her thoughtfulness, the way she
cares about other people, the way she appreciates life. Her overall
sweetness. She has a beautiful spirit.”

Sadly, all of the things Brad listed
my mother knows nothing about. My mother sighs and looks bored and
completely unimpressed. Completely unfazed by the man singing her
daughter’s praises.

Brad captures my chin between his
fingers. Brown eyes to blue, we’re lost. He leans close to my ear
and whispers. “I want to kiss you like crazy right now.” I have an
incredible urge to take him in the bathroom and let him do just
that. Eh, What the hell.

I look over at my mom. “Can you excuse
us for a minute?”

Frank winks and Brad looks confused,
but stands anyway. Grabbing his hand, I lead him towards the
ladies’ room. Now I’m the one who’s completely insane.

“
Gabby, what’s wrong? Are
you okay?” He always shows such concern for me; little does he
realize I tuned my mother out in seventh grade.

When we get to the hallway, I turn my
head from left to right, and then duck inside the ladies’ room,
pulling Brad with me. It’s a single bathroom, hooray; but locking
the door is essential. I push Brad up against it and crash my lips
to his, plunging my tongue into his mouth as he grabs my hips and
pulls me close.

He breaks the kiss, stunned
and panting. “Gabby, what was that for? Not that I’m complaining,
but
whoa
.”

“
You talking about toilets
turned me on.”

He runs his hand through his shaggy
hair and laughs, then takes my hand and kisses my fingers one by
one.

I look up at him with apologetic eyes.
“I’m sorry about my mom.”

“
There’s nothing to be
sorry about. She’s nice…in a nasty sort of way.”

I give him another quick kiss. He sure
knows the way to my heart.

“
I’m actually having a hard
time believing you’re really her daughter. You’re nothing like
her.”

I lift up on my tippy toes to find his
mouth. “You get another kiss for that.”

We walk back out hand in hand, and I
suddenly feel so much better. When we arrive at the table, Fran’s
smirking and my mother looks confused.

“
Everything okay,
dear?”

“
Yes, Mom, everything’s
fine.” More than fine.

My mother looks at her watch and then
at me. “I hate to cut the evening short, but I have to get back to
review some details for tomorrow’s events.”

“
No problem, Mom.” No
problem at all.

One by one, Mom gives us all her
conventional awkward hug. “It was great seeing you, dear. I’ll chat
with you soon. Brad, it was a pleasure meeting you. Franny, great
to see you as always.”

We say our goodbyes and I can finally
breathe again.

***

Brad’s
traveling out of town for two days to meet with some people about
possibly opening up another shop. It’s the first time we’ve been
apart since we started dating a couple of months ago. I’m going to
miss him, a lot.