Chapter 59
Beauty Sleep
“You slept in late today,” Celia’s mother said, as she came rolling out of the bedroom. “Even after a night’s sleep your hair still looks great. Did you have fun last night? You must have, you were out kind of late.”
“No. You went to bed kind of early. Yes, I had fun and yes, I slept late, but I’m trying to gain some extra strength for a move we’ll be making.”
“Move? Where are we going? Is Martin kicking you out, dear? I never thought he would do anything like that.”
“No, Mom, this has nothing to do with Martin. This has to do with me, all me.”
“Dear, I don’t think you should be moving anywhere just yet. You need your rest and you do need to think about where you’ll be going and if there will be good access.”
“I know and we’ll be working on that. I might not get to move as quickly as I’d like but I’m ready to move on and get out from underneath Martin’s care.”
“That must have been some date,” her mother said, shaking her head as she handed Celia a cup of coffee.
“Well,” she said, not able to keep a smile from her lips, “I must say it was really nice. Mike is very sweet and I like him.”
“I see more than a little bit of like in that smile.” Her mom sat down at the table and looked at her. “You come in here talking about a move and say how much you like Mike. What’s going on? Are you planning on moving in with him?”
“No! No. Not at all. I’ll be moving into the house that he and I are working on, if he thinks it’s doable. He’s going over there today to look things over. It will be closer to the dealership and there will be access to a bus for Roger. It’s not as nice as this place but it will feel like I’m moving in the right direction.”
“Roger is not going to be happy because he loves this place but we’re moving out soon.”
Celia laughed. “Who wouldn’t? I might stay here a few more days but he gets his warning today that we are going to move. I want him to get a job and I’m going to start trying to work part time with Mike. He thinks I can sell cars and I’m going to try.”
“Good. I like to see my children taking control of their lives. I’m happy for you but let’s talk more about Mike and that date last night. Did you feel any sparks? Do you think there might be a second date in your future?”
Again, Celia found it hard to keep the smile from her lips. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up but, yes, I think there will be more dates. Mike is interesting to say the least.”
Her mother leaned back. “That’s all you can say?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Was he a gentleman? Did he kiss you? What did you talk about? Where did he take you? I want to know it all. I’ve missed so much of your life by us living apart. I want to catch up.”
About half an hour later when Roger came walking in, Celia was wrapping up all she intended to tell her mother about her date. She told her a few things but left out that they had sat outside in the car for over an hour, kissing and holding hands. It had felt good and it had felt real.
Roger looked like he’d been up for a while. As he sat down at the table, he said, “I’m starving. Can you toss me a sandwich together?”
“What have you been doing?” Celia asked. “I hope you were not like me - sleeping the day away.”
“No, I was working on Mike’s websites. I’m not finished but I’ve been working all morning. I have the main site done but there are five stores and each one offers different things - one rents cars, another has car shows, one caters to the rich and famous, and so forth. I just need to get all the details taken care of.”
“That’s great. A mini job.”
“Yes. I’ll need to get out to the stores and take some pictures for each site. I think he’ll like them. He’s not a computer geek and for that I’m thankful. The site they had up, why, Sis, you could have done better.”
“Wow, that’s not good.”
“I know. I think he’ll be impressed. I’m hoping he’ll let me do more. It might turn into a part-time job if I can show Mike the websites are bringing in more business.”
Celia reached out and patted Roger on the hand. “Good because in a few days, we’re going to start needing money. We’ll be moving out of this place and closer to town.”
“What? Why?” Roger asked.
“Because I’m no longer dating Martin Taylor and this is not my house. He wants to get it on the market and sell it. I wanted to buy it, but you talked me out of that.”
“But I’ve not even had a chance to get in the pool.”
“Well you better get in it. I’ll give you a couple of days to get used to the idea, but don’t get too attached to this place. If you are staying in L.A. you will be moving with me, and for now, there will be no pool.”
“Wonder if Martin has a website he needs worked on?”
Celia laughed. “I have no idea but I don’t mind if you ask. He may be able to talk to someone and find you work. But don’t expect him to keep this place so you can work on his site.”
“I wasn’t. It just hit me that he might need some help. A good website says a lot about a person, and I’m good at what I do.”
“He is good,” her mother said, as she sat a plate of chips and a hearty looking sandwich in front of Roger. “But Celia is right. It’s time she and you both get on your own, and if you want to start out together to make ends meet, that will be just great.”
“I think so, too. Who knows Mom, you and Dad might want to move out here and get away from those long, cold winters. It’s really nice out here all year long.”
“I don’t know about that but we’ll see. I do hate the cold and your dad would like being near so many golf courses. I’ll mention it to him when I call him later.”
“Do that and tell him I miss him and that I appreciate all those years of hard work and taking care of us. I can see now that it wasn’t easy for sure.”
“Maybe you should tell him that yourself. I think it would mean more coming from you.”
“I bet you’re right and I’ll do just that tonight.”