Chapter 43
Cloud Nine
When Randi walked up the driveway after kissing Martin goodnight, she didn’t care what her mother might say. She was in love with a kind, considerate man, and it felt right. Martin’s kisses, and the way he talked to her, made her feel like she could do anything. The pups met her on the way and she bent down to greet them.
They were jumping all over her, kissing her, and in general, acting like they hadn’t seen her in years. They did this all the time and she loved on them and talked to them. “I love you guys, too. You’re so sweet. Did Julie go home? Did she feed you supper before she left you?”
“No. I fed them. Julie had to go home early. She forgot about a school project when you called her.”
The cool tone in her mother’s voice brought Randi out of her mindset of playing with the pups. She didn’t rise, but did look up. “Thanks. I did call her on short notice.”
“I assume that was Martin?” her mother asked, and this time Randi did rise.
“Yes. He had a script to study so we called it an early night.” Randi didn’t want to argue with her mother and she was hoping that they might just end this on a good note. Her mother didn’t seem angry.
Her mother turned and started to go into the house. Randi spoke, wanting to catch her before she went in. “Mom, I want to apologize. I know you don’t want me to see Martin, but I can’t stop seeing him. Not yet. I need to know if this is as real as it feels. I’m in love or falling in love and I’m afraid I’ll lose something special if I turn him away.”
Her mother nodded, and crossed her arms. “I can understand how you feel, but I can’t stand by and watch you make such a mistake. I’m standing by my word. If you keep seeing him you need to move out.”
Randi was shocked at the way her mother was acting, but she was also shocked at how she felt inside. If anyone had asked her a few months ago if she would go against her mother’s will for a man, she would have said, ‘no’. Now here she stood, doing just that.
“You’re serious?”
“Yes. I’m serious. You’re not seeing things clearly. This man cheated on his girlfriend with you. Doesn’t that mean anything? Doesn’t that show you what kind of person he is down deep inside.”
“I know we started off on the wrong foot. They were having problems, and I’ve told you, he tried to tell me several times and something would always interrupt him.”
“I just can’t believe my own ears, Randi! If you could just hear yourself, hear what you’re saying, maybe you would get off cloud nine and come down to earth. Maybe you could see the truth.”
“Mom, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m not going to stop seeing Martin. You may never understand how we met, or believe that he’s an honest person, but . . .”
“No buts. Either you are seeing him, or you are not. That is all I need to know.”
Randi shook her head in wonder, and she could see the surprise on her mother’s face when she spoke. “I’ll move out tomorrow. Is that soon enough?”
“What? You’re moving out?”
“Haven’t you heard anything I’ve said? I’m in love! I may marry this man. If you insist that I don’t see him, I have to move out.”
Her mother didn’t speak. She just stood there with a slightly smug look on her face. “Where are you going to go? What apartment can you afford that will take two dogs?”
Randi didn’t smile. She didn’t feel as smug as her words were about to sound. “I’m going to move into Martin’s apartment. He has a spare bedroom and they allow dogs. It’s not something I want to do, but if you force me to move out, that’s my option.”
“I raised you better than that.”
Randi stepped back. Her mother had never slapped her, but at this moment, she looked like she wanted to. She tried to put herself in her mother’s shoes and she could understand the anger. What Randi couldn’t understand was why her mother wouldn’t just let her make her own decisions.
“You raised me better, and I’m not going to sleep with him. I told him as much.”
“You’ve already discussed this with him?”
“I felt I had no choice. As you just said, I have nowhere else to go.”
Randi didn’t want to say something that she would regret so she turned to walk away. She had only moved a few feet when her mother spoke. “Are you trying to blackmail me into changing my mind? If you are, it’s not going to work.”
Anger wasn’t what Randi was feeling. It was disappointment and heartache. She didn’t want to cry so she pushed back the tears. “I’m not trying to blackmail you. Change your mind if you want, I’m moving out.
“I know you think you’re doing what’s best, but you’re trying to make choices that are not up to you.” Randi took a few steps toward the entrance to her apartment then spoke a few last words over her shoulder. She was on the verge of tears and she did not want to let her mother see her cry. “This is my decision, not yours. I’ll be out by tomorrow evening.”
Randi was thankful that her mother didn’t call after her. She knew that both of them would more than likely need a good cry and that they’d make up in a few days. At least, she hoped they would.
She focused her mind on the pups and her things that she would need to pack. For now she would take only the essentials and leave everything else for another day. She knew that she should have moved out ages ago, but for years, it had worked fine.
Though she didn’t tell her mother, she didn’t plan on staying with Martin. She wanted her own place. She did not want them to get too comfortable living under the same roof. Her mother was right about one thing; she had raised her better. She knew it was wrong to live with a man, but there was one thing different. She had no plans to sleep with Martin until they were married. It would only prove her mother right if she did something like that.
If it got to the point they were being tempted, she’d go to a motel. She was pretty sure the two of them could behave. They’d not even come close to doing anything while she’d lived in the mansion, or on the trip to Vegas.
The tears came while she packed, but it was more out of hurt. She knew that she had also hurt her mother, and that was part of the reason for her tears. She and her mom had always been close, and she hoped and prayed that, when all was said and done, they could mend their fences, put this behind them and go on, as if none of this had ever happened.