“So how often did she text you?” I asked.
“Not once,” she said looking up at me over her salad.
“That’s odd. I must have fifteen texts from her today.”
“It’s not odd,” Jess said smiling sympathetically at me as if I couldn’t see something so obvious.
“No?”
“No. I told you. She has a crush on you.” Jess said playfully.
“No, she doesn’t,” I said emphatically.
“Yes she does,” she answered in the same tone. Then playfully again, “She wants to jump your bones.”
“Oh for God . . . No, she doesn’t.”
“Three years. Without a man,” Jess pointed out. “I’m surprised she didn’t hump you the minute the guard left.”
I just shook my head, returning to the sandwich.
“What?” Jess prodded. “You can’t tell me you don’t find her attractive.”
“So? Yeah she’s pretty, but so what?” I took her hand in mine. “I already have a pretty girl.”
“Uh huh,” she said teasingly. “Even though she has bigger boobs she than me?”
“Hmmm,” I said, looking off to the side and stroked my chin exaggeratedly. “Bigger boobs. Never thought of that…”
A pack of crackers hit my forehead, and we broke into laughter at the absurdity of the conversation.
*****
“Hey Mom!” Jess and I exclaimed as we opened the door.
Mom gave us both a hug as she stepped through the door. Even though this had been her house for years, she waited until we invited her in.
“Sorry for dropping by unannounced,” she said, putting several grocery bags down. “I wanted to surprise you. Plus, I wanted to make sure you were eating right, so I bought some groceries.”
Jess and I rolled our eyes but thanked her. If she hadn’t done this regularly since they moved out, we might’ve suspected that she was checking on us to make sure Maggie hadn’t tied us up and was torturing us. Still, this was the first time Mom had done this since Maggie moved in, and our tension levels spiked the moment we opened the door.
We walked into the kitchen carrying the bags. Maggie was in there, getting something to drink. Both her and Mom froze when they saw each other. Both of them had a wide-eyed expression that conveyed both fear and curiosity.
“Mom, this is Maggie. Maggie, this is our Mom.”
“Hello,” Maggie said meekly.
“Hello.” Mom said finding her resolve.
Maggie quickly excused herself and disappeared into her room. Mom watched her go, then turned to us.
“She’s in my old room?” she asked surprised.
“Well, yeah,” I said. “Gives her privacy, and we weren’t using it.”
“Well, it is your house,” she said reminding herself as much as us.
“We’re about to make dinner,” Jess said putting away the groceries. “Wanna stay?”
“Sure,” she said, sounding a little unsure. “How can I help?”
In an hour dinner was ready. Mom and Jess gathered around the kitchen table, while I went to fetch Maggie.
“Your mom still here?” she asked
“Yeah. She’s going to eat dinner with us.”
“Maybe I should stay in here tonight.”
“Nonsense,” I said putting my hand on her shoulder. “You live here too. And if there’s one rule we have, it’s we eat together whenever possible.”
“When did we have that rule?” she asked with a crooked smile
“About five seconds ago.”
She laughed but shook her head. “I dunno Jace…”
“Relax. Once she gets to know you, Mom’s going to love you.” She looked at me curiously. “Trust me.”
I pulled her up off the bed and onto her feet. She let her momentum carry her forward and into me. She wrapped her arms around me and put her head against my chest. I held her for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her against me. A moment later she pulled away, nodding.
“Okay. I think I’m ready,” she said.
Taking her hand, I led her to the kitchen. We sat at the table and started dinner.
Two hours later Mom and Maggie were laughing and talking like old friends. While Maggie didn’t have much to say, Mom definitely kept the conversation going, usually telling embarrassing stories about Jess and I and the series of follies of our youth. I was beginning to regret insisting that Maggie eat with us.
Eventually it was time for Mom to head back home.
“Jace? Walk me to my car,” she said.
“Sure.”
We stepped outside into the cool night air. It was just turning cold enough where I could see my breath, and the chill in my lungs felt invigorating. I took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling when Mom stepped outside behind me.
“I’ll admit, she’s a nice girl,” Mom admitted.
“Yeah, she’s pretty good. Just made a few mistakes.”
“Big mistakes, but yeah.” Mom said as we walked. “She really has changed her look, hasn’t she?”
“Yep.” I nodded. “I think she changed it all when she first went in and she couldn’t get the dye or keep her piercings. But then I really believe she really wanted to change and leave that old life behind her.”
“I’m proud of you, you know?”
“What for?”
“Believing in her. Standing your ground. Dad and I were worried, but I think she’s going to be okay.”
“I hope so.”
“Speaking of girls, any chance of a girlfriend somewhere?”
“You’re thinking Maggie?”
“Oh no. I don’t think I’m ready for that!” she laughed. “But maybe there’s a cute girl at the office you could take out?”
“Ha!” I laughed. “You know how hard it is for me to date Mom.”
“Yeah.” she sighed. “I know. I love both of you kids so much, but I’m sad that you can’t have a normal life.”
“Everyone’s normal is someone else’s strange,” I said.
“Well, aren’t you sagely.” she laughed.
“It’s true.” I shrugged. “This is what’s normal for me. Maybe I’ll find someone who can understand that Jess needs to be with me almost all the time, but I’m not sure where she would be.”
“It would make the honeymoon awkward.” she nodded.
“Okay, and that’s the end of this conversation.” I laughed, but hearing Mom even remotely referring to sex squigged me out.
Mom just chuckled at my discomfort and kissed me good night. She got in her car and pulled out of the driveway. Standing there until her taillights had disappeared, I heard footsteps coming up behind me.
“Still after you to get a girlfriend?” Jess asked.
“Yep.”
“She wants grandkids so badly.”
“I think she’d give up wine if one of us would reproduce.”
“Well, let’s not go that far.” Jess laughed, then she looked over at me. “I really am sorry I can’t do that for you.”
“And I told you there’s nothing to be sorry for baby.” I put my arm around her. “It’s the two of us, forever.”
“Well, maybe three,” she said, angling her head towards the house.
“Maybe. I mean, it’s possible she’ll stick around with us forever.”
“Wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Jess said
“You just like her boobs.” I joked.
“They are some nice boobs,” she said wistfully. “You should’ve them seen in Victoria’s Secret.”
“And you did?”
“Uh huh.” She said dreamily.
“Oh, you are so getting spanked later.”
“Promise?” she laughed.
Then, swatting me on the rear, she skipped into the house with me looking on, trying to keep my erection from being too obvious.
*****
Maggie received “free days” every so often. Those were days she was allowed to go almost anywhere she wanted. This allowed us to go see movies or go to the mall or whatever else we wanted to do. Today, Maggie wanted to go to Millennial Park. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and the place was packed with people enjoying the sunshine and semi-fresh air.
Jess had gone to get us a table at a nearby restaurant while Maggie and I had to run to the restrooms. While I was waiting for Maggie to come out, I sat on a nearby bench and relaxed for a moment. That moment was cut short when I heard someone call out behind me.
“Mags?! Holy fuckin’ shit!” a woman’s voice cried out.
I turned in my bench. Through the trees I saw Maggie talking with two other women. A few branches and leaves obscured me well enough that they couldn’t see me watching their exchange. The women were around Maggie’s age, but that was about the only thing they seemed to have in common.
The taller one sported a nearly shaved head with dark stubble. She wore a hodgepodge mix of clothes, none of which seemed to be in the best of shape. She also had on way too much eye makeup, but at least her black lipstick matched her black nail polish.
The other had a wild mane of red hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a brush in a few years. She was naturally pale and didn’t sport much in the way of makeup.
The most striking feature was how gaunt they looked. Their skin looked thin and hung from their skeletons like a sheet. Any beauty they might’ve had had long since been weathered away by whatever drugs they had ingested or injected.
“Olive, Sarah,” Maggie said, obviously uncomfortable with this chance meeting.
“Holy shit girl, look at you!” Olive, the no-haired one, said.
“Heard you got put away,” Sarah said, laughing. “What the fuck’d you do?”
“Something I shouldn’t’ve.” Maggie said, looking around.
“Holy shit!” Olive exclaimed, much to the annoyance of passersby. “You got a skanklet!” she pointed at the bulge around Maggie’s pant leg.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Hell, we need to celebrate you getting out! Like we used to!” Sarah said excitedly.
“Fuck yeah!” Olive nodded with enthusiasm.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small baggie with a white powder in it. Maggie took a small step back but didn’t take her eyes off of the drugs.
“This is some of the best shit, Mags. A few hits of this and you’ll be flying higher than the fucking clouds.”
“Yeah,” Sarah said, eyeing the bag like a long lost lover. “We know a spot just around the corner. No one will see us.”
Maggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, she shook her head.
“No. I don’t do that anymore. I don’t need it, and I don’t want it.” she said defiantly. “Get that shit away from me.”
“Oh ho ho.” Olive chuckled ruefully. “Looks like somebody went and got herself cleaned up. You think you’re better than