“Gemma? Phone call. You know you aren’t supposed to get personal calls here,” her manager said. The portly man was practically huffing from the effort of walking from the office to the diner.

“Is it Dashiell?” she asked, her arms full of dirty plates.

“No, some lady named Trisha,” he said. “She was pretty rude. I don’t need to deal with that,” he warned.

“I’ll take care of it,” she sighed. She had no idea why her mother was calling but her happy morning suddenly took a sharp downturn. She hadn’t talked to her mother in months. Mostly because her mother had no idea what her phone number was. Gemma had to call her to talk. She used to call more regularly to let her mom know how Dash was doing, but Trisha could barely rustle up a token enthusiasm about her grandson. She was only interested in whether Gemma had found a new man.

In Trisha’s world, a woman’s worth depended entirely on whether a man was interested in her. It didn’t matter whether the man in question was a good person or a stable, helpful partner as long he would occasionally work and take you out to the local bar to buy you a few drinks.

Dumping the dishes in the sink, Gemma wiped her hands and darted to the office. She had tables to manage.

Grabbing the phone that her manager had left on the desk, she picked it up with a curt, “What, Mom?”

“Really, that’s how you are going to talk to your mother?”

Gemma didn’t answer; she just waited.

“Fine, don’t have a decent conversation with your mother. I’m calling because Kyle won’t stop calling here. He wants me to talk to you about the child support payments.”

Gemma let her head fall back, and she stared at the ceiling. She had learned over the years that reacting to her mother was never useful. In fact, the more she engaged, the worse it would get.

“Why would my ex-husband call his former mother-in-law to complain about child support?” Gemma knew the answer. It was because he was a lazy son of a bitch and he was desperate to get out of his obligation. If he had a spare thought in his head, he would remember that Gemma never listened to her mother and would frequently do the opposite of what she suggested.

“He’s a deadbeat; you know that. Why are you still trying to squeeze a penny out of that lump? Just let it go, tell him he doesn’t have to pay so he’ll stop calling me and bitching.”

“That money is for Dash, mom. He doesn’t get to get out of it because it’s inconvenient or he’d rather drink that money. The order wasn’t even for much anyway! The judge only ordered him to pay two hundred dollars a month – that’s nothing. He paid me once, and even that payment was late. Now he’s behind over forty-five hundred dollars. Dash deserves that money. I barely get to see my son because I work two jobs. After rent, my next biggest bill is babysitting. I know how Kyle spends his days, laying on the couch and getting drunk. I run from sun-up to well past sundown to provide for our son. Why don’t you suggest to your former son-in-law that he get a damn job?”

“You always were stubborn. You are the reason any of us still have to talk to him. You know damn well he’s never going to pay. He’ll just keep pestering us.”

“He’s Dash’s dad, Mom. He doesn’t get to ignore his son. He hasn’t talked to him in months. I don’t care if maintaining the child support order just gives me a tiny bit of satisfaction knowing he’s suffering; he deserves it. Don’t call me again about him, unless it’s to tell me he won the lottery and is going to pay me his back support.”

Gemma hung up the phone. She couldn’t believe her mother was siding with Kyle. Usually, if there was money involved her mom was all about getting it and fast – but she’d always liked Kyle. She thought he was a catch for a girl like her. Pathetic that a mother would think a man like him was a catch.

She could only imagine what her mom would think about Eddie. She’d probably be on her doorstep asking to move in if she thought Gemma had access to a doctor. Not that Gemma thought of Eddie as hers, even though she was sure he would disagree.

Sighing, she went back to work and tried to get caught back up on her tables. Her good mood was now shot. Her brain wasn’t thinking about the amazing orgasms and happy morning. Now it was about her sucky mom and her loser ex.

Before, she was dreading Eddie stopping by the gas station, but now she really needed to see him. She needed that immediate comfort his touch brought. She felt like she could breathe around him. The weight around her lifted.

Just thinking about that relief made her think about him. She had to wonder if he was thinking about her; she wanted to tell herself not to be silly. He was a doctor – probably saving someone’s life, while she was apologizing for bringing someone scrambled eggs instead of sunny side up.

Her life was so tiny compared to his. He was a doctor. He went to college and could cut people open and put them back together. He might be attracted to her, which she was still baffled by, but really, after a week, what on earth could they talk about? He would tell her how he set a broken bone or cleared someone’s artery. She would tell him about the trucker who passed out on the floor of the diner.

That reality made her think Eddie’s infatuation would be short lived. On the other hand, he knew what she did for a living. He knew where she lived. He even knew she hadn’t finished high school. It wasn’t like his expectations for her were out of line with who she was. It still just made her wonder - what on earth did he see in her?