‘You know, you’ve worn glasses since you were in primary school,’ her mother mused with a little shake of her head. ‘You look quite lovely without them, Lucy.’
The soft comment was so unexpected—and nice—Lucy ended up grinning. ‘I finally decided to get contact lenses.’
‘It makes a real difference to your face. And your red dress… I didn’t realise… I would never have dressed you in red…but red suits you. Especially with your hair down and fluffed out.’
Lucy’s heart suddenly soared. To get compliments, not criticism…it was almost as unbelievable as winning the car. ‘How about putting down that garden hose so I can give you a birthday hug?’
Her mother actually laughed. ‘Well, you certainly have given me a big surprise.’
The hose, of course, couldn’t just be dropped. The garden tap had to be turned off. Long-time habits weren’t discarded in one fell swoop, but her mother did move briskly and her arms were open, ready to hug her daughter back when Lucy met her halfway between the car and the tap.
‘It’s lovely to see you, dear,’ she murmured, then pulled slightly away to offer a wry little smile. ‘I’m sorry I was so put out on the phone last night, but I’ve missed your calls and when I couldn’t reach you, I had a silly, panicky sense I was losing you.’
‘You’ll always be my Mum,’ Lucy reassured her on a rush of guilt. ‘I’ve just been caught up in lots of things lately.’
‘So I see.’ A few wise nods. ‘Well, let’s have a look at this prize you’ve won. Does driving…Orlando…?’ She looked totally bemused at a car having been personalised with a name. ‘Make you feel like a million dollars?’
‘Yes, it does,’ Lucy answered, surprised into impulsively suggesting, ‘Hop in, Mum, and I’ll take you for a spin around the block. Best way of showing you what it’s like.’
She hesitated. ‘The house is unlocked.’
‘We’ll only be a few minutes.’
‘But…’
‘Take a risk,’ Lucy recklessly advised.
And to her further surprise, always-play-safe Ruth Worthington actually did, proceeding to settle herself somewhat gingerly in the low passenger seat.
It was only a short ride but her mother seemed to enjoy it, smiling at Lucy as the wind ruffled her hair. When they returned to the house, she got out and said thoughtfully, ‘It gives you a sense of freedom, doesn’t it?’
Lucy laughed, amazed and delighted she was getting such an open-minded response. ‘And a bit of zip in my life.’
‘Not too much zip, I hope. Speeding is not sensible.’
‘I’ve been watching that I don’t. The car has a cruise control button to save me from going over the speed limit on the expressway, even accidentally.’
‘Good!’ She waited until Lucy had collected her bag and they were walking to the house, then archly asked, ‘So who is the man?’
‘What man?’
It earned a dry look. ‘I might be one year older tomorrow, but I’m not senile, Lucy. Everything adds up to a new man in your life. And I’m happy for you. After all, you are twenty-eight.’
‘Mmmh…’ A safe, non-committal reply.
‘You can tell me all about him after you put your things in your room,’ her mother invited with an indulgent smile.
Not all about him, Lucy darkly decided. Her mother didn’t deserve to have her birthday ruined. And she’d been so nice about the car, even seeming to understand why Lucy had kept it instead of trading it in. Although she didn’t have the whole picture—the motivating force being the need to impress James with a new exciting image. Lucy wasn’t sure how much of the picture—featuring James—could be given before disapproval kicked in.
She was trying to calculate this as she unpacked her bag and put away her clothes. The wretched weight of the deceit she had allowed to stay in place with James today crept up on her and it was suddenly very clear that she couldn’t go through with deceiving her mother about anything. She would hold back about her pregnancy for a while, but not about James being her boss, nor how much the relationship meant to her.
She wanted her mother to understand, needed her to be supportive. That was probably expecting too much, but…what was their relationship worth if she couldn’t confide her love for a man and hope for a sympathetic ear? Maybe it was weak of her but she was tired of being independent, working everything out for herself. Josh was a good friend—the best of friends—and being able to lean on his shoulder was a big help…but she really wanted her mother.
Tears pricked her eyes and she hurriedly blinked them away. Silly to get all wet about it. Nevertheless, if there was ever a time to confide, this was it, and Lucy headed out to the kitchen, determined to lay out the truth…except for the pregnancy bit.
However, in the hours of chat that followed, Lucy did do a bit of judicious editing—the very private stuff—although she could see her mother mentally filling in the blanks. To her deep relief, while a few worried frowns occurred here and there, no criticism came at all.
‘You’re very much in love with him, aren’t you?’ It was more a statement than a question, accompanied by a look that seemed to understand everything.
Lucy had to blink hard. ‘Yes, I am,’ she answered huskily. ‘I was strongly attracted to him all along. I really lived to go to work, Mum. It’s more so now.’
She nodded. ‘And James…does he love you, Lucy?’
‘He hasn’t said so…but it feels like that.’
‘Well, I hope it will turn out right for you.’ She paused, reservations creeping into her eyes. ‘I don’t want to be a wet blanket, Lucy. It’s lovely to see you all bright and beautiful and glowing with love. But…have you considered…’
‘What if it turns out wrong?’ Lucy said the dread words for her—the same words that resided in her heart, causing it to ache with uncertainty.
Her mother sighed ruefully. ‘Sometimes these office affairs don’t last. It’s easy to fall into them…proximity. But you have such a close working relationship with James, I think your position would become untenable if he…decided he’d had enough and wanted to take up with someone else.’
Pain sliced through her. He couldn’t go from her to another Buffy. It would kill her.