“I’m so stuffed,” I complained, but I had no one else to blame but myself.
“I’m glad to hear that, sweetie.” Her blue eyes were alight with humor. “My son doesn’t like my cooking very much.”
“Come on, Mom.” Webb shook his head and smirked, “She’s lying, babe.”
Babe.
He called me that in front of his mother.
His mother whose table manners could rival Ms. Etiquette and whose gentle demeanor was evident in the way she held my eyes and her son’s.
I elbowed Webb, asking him to tone down the PDA.
He’s been keeping his arms around me everywhere we went today.
I loved the man, but jaysus, I didn’t need his mother thinking that I was a clingy girlfriend. That I needed to be hand held all the time. Or that I needed his arms around me all the time.
Of course I did but again, this is his mom.
The woman who birthed this herculean, six-foot-three beast of a man who could command an army of a hundred and never break a sweat.
“Son, it’s rude to imply that I’m lying in front of your girlfriend.” She smiled and I saw the dimple that Webb inherited from her make an appearance.
“You know what I’m saying, Mom.” Webb turned his head to my side and planted a kiss on my cheek, “I love your cooking. It’s just that I had too much ice cream and I’m so full because Athena didn’t finish hers and I had to eat hers, too.”
I gave Mrs. Worthington, she’d asked me to call her Magda, a conspirational grin. It was her idea to get the ice cream because she said her son couldn’t tolerate sweet stuff and since she was craving ice cream, she wanted to see if he would cave in and eat some.
Well he did.
Two scoops of chocolate cheesecake ice cream on a sugar cone and the rest of my mint chocolate chip had done him in.
By the time it was time for dinner, he could barely finish the heaping plate of Schwabische Kasespatzle (it was really hard for me to pronounce) that his mom made for us.
The dish was excellent.
It had a lot of cheese and a lot of pasta.
And it made me very sleepy.
“I’m so glad you came today, Athena,” Mrs. Worthington – err, Magda, said.
“Me too. I’m happy to finally meet you,” I replied. The first time Webb asked me if I wanted to meet his mom, I wanted to know more about him first because I didn’t feel like it was fair to have all of my life’s history laid out for him and I had no clue about his.
Now, when his Mom showed me his baby pictures, I could relate more.
We’d finished helping Magda clear out the dishes in the kitchen so now we were sitting by the living room.
She took out a big brown album and shared stories of Webb and his dad.
Webb’s phone chirped and he said, “Excuse me, ladies. I have to take this call. It’s Tony.”
Webb’s private security business was now growing and Tony’s services were more in demand. Liam headed the day-to-day operations and Webb conducted more of the meet-and-greets and decided if they could take on the client. They were hoping to hire at least three more people by the end of the month.
“I’ve never seen my son this happy,” Magda said, her hands landing on mine, above my own. “Thank you.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“When his father died, I saw him grow up from a boy to a man in an instant. It’s like there was a fire lit inside of him and he had to join the service to pay homage to his Dad. He’s always been a good kid, but he keeps a lot of stuff in his head,” she said, her eyes drifting to the portrait on the wall of her and her husband on their wedding day. “My husband was a good man. My only hope is that his father left him a legacy that his son would be proud of.”
“Your son’s a good man,” I said, hoping to ease her worries. “He always talks about his dad with so much pride. And he talks about you with so much love.”
The smile that showed on Magda’s face reminded me of Webb when he was really happy.
“Whoa! Whoa! What’s going on here?” Webb’s animated face teased us. “Mom, are you telling Athena of my childhood pranks?”
I rolled my eyes. “Pranks? You? No.”
Magda laughed and said, “I haven’t even started. I don’t want to scare her.”
Webb sat beside me and pulled me close to him. “Athena’s not easily scared, Mom. A few pranks with clowns and balloons and fireworks aren’t going to keep her away from me.”
“I hope not.” Magda returned, even the way she sat had an air of elegance, she was a beautiful woman.
“It’s going to take a lot more than any of your stories to freak her out and make her love me less.” His blue eyes winked at me and he added, “Right, sonnenschein?”
Magda’s eyes grew wide.
He’d mentioned love and sunshine in one sentence.
I swear I saw her eyes dreaming of grandkids right about then.
I smiled because one day, I hoped her dreams would become reality.
I leaned on Webb’s shoulder and replied, “Right.”
“What time are you flying in, Dad?” My question hung in the air as I tried to concentrate on my pace.
I’d been running for three miles now when my phone rang.
Webb was busy with another contract so I was alone jogging up the path off of Mulholland Drive.
That’s right.
I was alone.
And safe.
And free.
“I’m leaving here in two hours. We can meet up tomorrow for brunch. Or will that be too tight of a squeeze in between your classes?” I could tell he was busy because he was talking fast.
“Dinner would be better,” I said, feeling the burn of the run in my thighs.
“Okay A.I. I’ll text you before we go up in the air.” He said, “Love you.”
“Love you too, Dad,” I answered and let the sounds of Alan Walker flood my ears once again.
I saw hummingbirds hanging out on the soft leaves of the chapparals and bumblebees feasting on the greenery.
I took a breath in and closed my eyes.
This –
This was the feeling of freedom.
It felt like a lifetime ago when Webb had called me from Florida, letting me know that Caterina had my father in her hands.
Initially, it was all a shock to me – that this woman from his past would come to haunt him after all these years.
But I learned that life held a lot of surprises.
After my dad was released, he worked on helping Caterina’s mom. It wasn’t even a question if he was going to help her or not. I didn’t hear much of her treatment details but it seemed as if my dad’s research was making a lot of progress in forestalling the effects of her disease.
My father didn’t care whether you’re the son or the daughter of a bastard; if he could help someone in need, he would.
When I’d asked Webb how he felt about seeing Caterina, he’d said it was freeing.
He’d been shackled by the memories of her and what they’d lost that now he felt that he had found complete closure.
There was an instant where my mind had gone to the what if? What if he still loved her? What if he was going back to her?
But he’d quelled that with a simple statement, “I love you, Athena.”
He wasn’t a man of big words.
But his words held all the weight.
I pressed answer to the incoming call, “What do you want for dinner, babe?”
His warm voice filled my ears.
I loved to tease him.
“You.”
“I’m serious, babe. I’m too tired to cook and Vero’s off. Do you want Italian or Chinese?”
I answered with a giggle. “I want American with a side of German.”
His laugh almost made my ear drums burst. “Babe, come on.”
“I’m telling you the truth, dahling. I want you. Order whatever you want, but after we’re done eating, I want you. With whipped cream.”
“Fuck.” I could hear the arousal in his voice. “How do you do this to me?”
“Hmmm… A woman’s gotta keep a few secrets for her own.”
“Are you gonna be back soon? You know I can’t stand blue balls,” he huffed. I pictured him standing in his office with a tent in his jeans.
“Your balls are never blue,” I teased, completely stopping from my run and turning back. “They’re always emptied out inside of me.”
“Fuck babe.” I heard the groan in his voice. “Come home.”
“I will,” I said, smiling and feeling lighter than I had in years.
I was no longer in danger.
I was free from being the bait in the cat-and-mouse game that Caterina’s father played.
And like the many yesterdays before today,
I was happy to come home to him.