Chapter Four
“What’s the matter, hun? You’ve barely touched your meal. I know this is your favorite.” Lena Redmond looked at her daughter’s plate which consisted of barbeque pork ribs, collard greens and candied yams.
Ever since she’d moved back to the east coast with her son, Gloria resumed having Sunday dinners with her mother again. Rae joined them for the free meal but Lena never minded because she always cooked enough to feed an army.
“I guess don’t have much of an appetite.” She pushed her food around her plate with her fork. In most circumstances, she would have finished this plate and gotten a second helping because her mother was an amazing cook but for some reason her appetite simply wasn’t there.
“Well, whatever you don’t finish, I’ll eat,” Rae piped up with her mouth full of ribs.
“Don’t speak with your mouth open, Rae.” Lena scolded gently before turning her attention back to her daughter. “Sweetie, something is obviously wrong because your head hasn’t been with us since you arrived.”
What was wrong with her? Gloria couldn’t quite pinpoint when she fell into this funk but it was around the time she started going to the gym. She’d had two workout sessions with Landon and though he’d been nothing but professional with her, she couldn’t help but think that he was flirting with her at times. He’d always compliment her and tell her how nice she looked.
And then, there was the way he’d look at her with that intense green stare of his as if he was interested in her as a woman and not just his old mentor and gym client. She’d get wet and not just with sweat. But surely, she had to be imagining things because there was no way he could possibly want her. Cordell had pretty much drilled it into her head that no man would find someone like her anything other than sloppy and unappealing. Landon was just being nice she was certain.
She had to be nuts for even thinking about her former student like that anyway. He was ten years her junior, attractive and probably had a type that looked nothing like her. But, why did that thought depress her so much?
“Hello?” Lena snapped her fingers in Gloria’s face. “Hey, Earth to Gloria.”
“Huh? Sorry, Mom. I guess my mind wandered,” Gloria apologized.
“I’ll say. What’s going on? Are you having trouble at your job?”
Gloria shook her head. “No, school is great. The kids are well-behaved for the most part and the staff is really supportive.”
Lena frowned. “Well, I know it can’t be my grandbaby because he’s a perfect angel.” She smiled affectionately at her grandson who was quickly stuffing his face so he could get back to the book he’d been reading earlier. He seemed completely oblivious to the conversation going on around him.
“He’s an angel until one of his experiments goes awry and he makes a hole in the wall.”
Lena patted CJ on the arm. That’s okay, one day you’ll look back at it and laugh when he’s a famous scientist who has managed to cure all diseases known to man.”
CJ raised his head and looked at Gloria. “Mom, I’m finished. May I please be excused?”
Gloria raised a brow. “Did you even chew? I don’t even know why you have teeth, if you’re just going to wolf your food down like that.”
“Moooommmm,” he groaned.
“Fine. But don’t make a mess.”
He gulped down his milk before leaving the three adults at the table.
“Okay, now are you going to tell us what’s bothering you,” her mother asked. “Lena Redmond could be very single-minded when she wanted to be. It was how she managed to raise her daughter alone after Gloria’s father had passed away from a work-related accident. Using the money she’d received in a settlement for her husband’s death, Lena had gone back to school and earned her BN and then her Masters to become a Nurse Practitioner. Gloria never wanted for nothing because her mother always made sure she had everything she needed. But, it was also that same determination that never let anything get past her like now.
“Maybe it has to do with that trainer of hers.”
Gloria brought her head up and glared at her friend. She’d told Rae in confidence about her attraction to Landon and how she felt like such a creep for lusting after her former student who didn’t see her in a romantic capacity. There were a few times when she had imagined that he was flirting with her but it was probably all in her head. After their first session together, she’d confessed her thoughts to Rae. Now, she regretted bringing the subject up. “Really Rae?”
“What about this trainer? Is he giving you a hard time?” her mother asked.
“It’s not that, Mom. Landon is great.”
“Landon, is it?” Lena looked at Rae and the two grinned like a couple of conspirators. The last thing Gloria needed was for her mother and best friend to gang up on her. That’s how she had wound up signing up for that stupid dating website in the first place.
“It’s not like that, Mom. Landon used to be one of my former students who now co-owns a few gyms in the area. He’s my new trainer.”
“Don’t forget to mention that this kid is all grown up and you wouldn’t mind him giving you a different kind of workout,” Rae said in a sing-song voice.
“Remind me to never confide in you again. Yes, I find him attractive. But, he’s just my trainer. You know, it’s quite possible to be attracted to someone and not want to act on it.”
“Why ever not dear?” Lena asked. “Is he not single?”
“Mom! Please don’t start. It’s bad enough that the two of you bullied me into signing up for a dating sight. Now, you’re implying that just because I think someone is cute, I want something more than friendship with them. I think a lot of Hollywood actors are attractive but that doesn’t mean I’m going to end up with them.”
“Oh, honey, sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince. Don’t let that creep of an ex-husband and a few bad dates keep you from finding companionship,” Lena advised.
“You two are making something of nothing.”
“Gloria Marie, I haven’t been your mother for 39 years without knowing when you’re not being truthful. So, you have a little crush. What’s wrong with that?”
“Mom, come on. Do we have to talk about this?” She pushed her plate away, her appetite completely gone now.
“If something’s bothering you, then yes, we absolutely do. Besides, I’m very curious to hear about the first man you’ve been interested in since that crusty ass Cordell, broke your heart.”
“Mom!” Gloria exclaimed. Her mother had never quite approved of Cordell when they’d been together but she’d always held her tongue. But after the break up, it was like the floodgate opened and Lena didn’t miss taking a shot at her ex son-in-law. “CJ may hear you.”
Lena rolled her eyes. “If he doesn’t already know his father is a bum, then he will soon enough. Anyway, stop trying to change the subject and tell me about this Landon fellow.”
Gloria sighed in resignation. Rae and her mother were like two dogs with a bone. “There’s really not much to tell. Like I said, he’s a former student of mine from when I taught in Philly. He had come from a troubled background and acted out quite a bit. But, he settled down quite a bit after I started working with him for a while. We lost touch after I got married and moved to Seattle with Cordell. Anyway, when I went to the gym I didn’t recognize him but apparently, he knew who I was right away.”
“He’d changed that much?” her mother asked.
“Yes. He must have hit his growth spurt after I moved away and he was broader, probably from working out so much. And I guess, he grew into his looks. He looked nothing like the boy I remembered. If it weren’t for the distinct color of his eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it was him.”
Lena grinned. “So, he’s handsome now, huh?”
Gloria shrugged. “Yes, but it doesn’t matter because nothing will come of it.”
“Why not?” Rae chimed in. “You’re a woman and he’s a man.”
“Have either of you been listening? He’s a former student. So, I’m significantly older than him.”
Lena frowned. “How much older are you? I was older than your father by a few years but that didn’t stop us.”
“A few years, mom. I don’t think Landon is even 30 yet. I’ll be forty soon.”
“So what? He seems to have his stuff together and he owns a few gyms so he must be doing well for himself. You know, if it were the other way around and he was older than you, no one would bat an eye.”
Her mother had a point but Gloria still couldn’t let it go. “That’s very progressive of you, but you’re running on the assumption that he’s interested in me as well. I don’t even know if he has a girlfriend or not.”
“You said he’s always flirting with you.” Rae said once again sharing more information than Gloria wanted her to.
“You know, you have a big mouth, Rae. And just because he was flirting, it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe that’s his way of getting me to relax around him when we work out. For all I know, he does that with all his female clients. Look, my failed marriage and my disastrous reemergence into the dating pool have taught me that I’m probably better off by myself.”
Lena sighed. “Gloria, sweetie, I know you had it rough with your ex. But, he was never worthy of you. He was too full of himself to see you for the jewel you truly are. And here’s the kicker, he knew you were a better person than him but he just didn’t want you to realize that because then you would have seen that you were too good for him. That’s why he was constantly trying to chip away at your self-esteem. There were many times I wanted to cuss that man out, but I held my tongue out of respect for you. That fool can’t even be bothered to check in on his own son. Cordell is not worth all this angst, baby. As for those dates of yours, assholes are a dime a dozen but when you find the right one, don’t allow something as silly as age to get in the way. As a matter of fact, the man I’m seeing now is younger than me and I love it. Old men are no fun. All they want to do is sit in front of the television.”
“Mom, you never said you were dating anyone.”
Lena shrugged. “I’ve been seeing Marcus for a few months. I never mentioned it before because it wasn’t anything serious but now he wants to make things official.”
Her mother who was in her early 60’s was still an attractive woman who was active and didn’t look a day older than 40. “When am I going to meet him?" Gloria asked.
“You’ll meet him soon enough. But, we’re not talking about me. I want to know more about this Landon fellow. He must be someone special if he has you mooning over him like this.”
“Mom, I’m serious, can we please just drop the topic. Nothing is going to come out of this. It’s just a silly crush. He’s a good-looking man and I find him extremely attractive.”
“But—“
“Mom, please. I don’t want to discuss this anymore,” Gloria said as firmly as she possibly could while remaining respectful toward her mother.
“Fine. But, I will say this last thing. You’ll never know how he feels about you unless you speak up. You may be surprised. You’re a beautiful woman, Gloria. Celebrate that beauty.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re my mother. You’re supposed to say that.”
“I tell you that all the time,” Rae pointed out.
“But you’re my best friend.”
Rae rolled her eyes. “Fine. We won’t bring it up again until you’re ready to talk about it. But at some point, you have to stop living your life based on what a few assholes have said to you and live your life for you. Say something to Landon about how you feel or not. The worst that can happen is that he’ll tell you he’s not interested and then you’ll know for sure so you won’t continue to tie yourself up in knots. And the best case scenario, you might start something wonderful with great guy. The truth is, sweetie, it’s not your ex or those disaster dates holding you back. It’s you.”
Rae’s observation took Gloria by surprise. Was it true? Was she her own worst enemy?