Friend For Tea
Dahlia
It’s been four days since Marlie called and everything shifted again in my world. Four days where Vex barely left my side. And four days that I didn’t go to work.
Fear should be building inside of me. Instead, I’m calmly prepping a platter of cookies for tea with Imogene.
“Do you think the boys will ever come back inside?” Imogene folds herself into one of the barstools.
“Eventually. But men need to stare at their new toys for a while, especially ones that involve fire.” Vex watches it like a little boy in a candy store.
“Is there a bigger barbeque anywhere?”
“Probably not.” But we’re now the proud owners of a smoker, flattop, gas grill, and wood grill. “As long as they don’t set fire to the house, I don’t care.”
“That gives us time to chat. How are you feeling after Monday?”
We can’t talk about Marlie freely even here. “Sad. But this time off has helped.”
“Are you going to go back to work?”
“Vex doesn’t want me to. ”
She laughs. “Of course, he doesn’t. That man is besotted. He’d handcuff you two together if you’d let him get away with it.”
Or lock me in his library. Both sound wonderful. “I’m going back to work next Wednesday.”
“Have fun with that. If he’s anything like Payne, it’s going to be an uphill battle.” Even with the frustration in her voice, Imogene keeps a soft smile on her face.
Payne can’t be half as stubborn as Vex. “What’s he doing to drive you nuts?”
“The therapist said I need to think about moving out. Payne almost flipped out. He seems to think this arrangement is permanent.”
“Like you moved in forever?”
She nods.
“What do you want?” That feels like a big question. One I should be asking myself.
“I want to spend forever with Payne. But not like this. It’s like… does he love me because I’m broken? Do I only feel this way because of what happened in the—” Her voice breaks.
Her heart must be breaking. I lean across the bar and take her hand in mine. “Vex and Payne do this kind of thing a lot.” Too often. Yet not often enough. “Did you ask if he’s ever fallen for another woman?”
“He said he hasn’t. That I’m the first.”
“And do you believe Payne?”
Imogene nods.
“Then you can eliminate that worry.”
“But what if I don’t love him?”
Oh. “You need to figure that out. Maybe your therapist is right.”
The front door opens and Mom shouts, “Dahlia!”
Imogene pops off the stool. Her head swings around and she searches for a place to hide .
“Imogene—” I keep my voice pitched low. “—that’s my mother. You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you.” But Mom might hurt me when she finds Vex and Payne out in my garden.
Not good.
So not good.
“Your mother?” Imogene’s body settles a bit, but her hands keep trembling.
“She likes to show up unannounced on occasion to check on me.” More likely, she wants to meet Max.
“Dahlia, are you home?”
I wish I wasn’t. Though she’d probably go house to house looking for Max if I wasn’t. “We’re in the kitchen.” In deference to Imogene’s stress level, I keep my voice as low as possible while shouting to Mom.
“We? Do you have a man over?”
Mom! What if I did? Though Max would probably laugh it off, since I don’t doubt his mother would do the same.
She freezes as soon as she steps into the kitchen. “That’s not Max.”
“This is my friend Imogene.”
Mom completely ignores Imogene even as her eyes move back and forth between the two of us. “Have you developed an eating disorder again? Your father was wrong. You shouldn’t have moved out. You weren’t ready.”
“I never had an eating disorder.”
“What do you call what you did in high school then? And why does your friend look like she hasn’t eaten in months?”
“A diet.” I wasn’t trying to kill myself by losing weight.
“That was not a diet. That was you trying to lose weight to shrink your chest. By the time you were done, you looked like a stick.” My mother’s haunted eyes stare at Imogene, but she’s seeing me.
“Mom, Imogene doesn’t have an eating disorder. And I didn’t have one either.”
“You don’t? ”
“No. I love food!” Imogene barely manages to force a comforting smile. “I just… didn’t have access to food for a while.”
There’s no way Imogene wants to have that conversation with my mother, nor do I. “Imogene was homeless.” Which is actually sort of the truth.
“Oh. Oh. Well then, let’s get you something more substantial than cookies and tea.”
Which is hysterical, because Mom lives on cookies and tea.
“Your father is bringing in the groceries, but I’m sure Dahlia has something in her refrigerator.” Mom starts to walk over to the fridge and stops. “If you need a place to live, Imogene, we have a guest house you can use until you get on your feet.”
And that’s pure Mom. She’s thoughtless and pushy, but she’ll never turn away from a person in need.
“I’ve got a place now, but thank you,” Imogene whispers with tears in her eyes.
“It’s a really nice guest house. Dahlia lived there for years.”
Way too many years.
“Your fridge is full?”
Wait, Mom said groceries. Why does everyone think I need them to go shopping for me? “It is.”
“And there’s meat in it. When did you start eating meat?”
“You were a vegan?” Imogene’s hand settles a bit.
“Not quite a vegan. I ate cheese and eggs.” Why did I even stop eating meat? It had to be some teenage thing. “One of the cool girls in high school said meat was gross, and it kind of stuck.”
“You care too much about what people think.” Mom starts unloading the fridge onto the bar.
I still do. “I’m trying not to.”
Mom reaches out and squeezes my hand. “I know you are. I know. Imogene, is there anything you don’t like or are allergic to?”
“No.”
My father steps into the kitchen with half a dozen bags in his arms. “You upgraded your security system.”
Vex did.
“I’m impressed. That’s state-of-the-art technology.”
State of the art… It should have gone off when they walked in. Vex knows my parents are here. Is he going to come inside? No… Vex wouldn’t do that. Whatever this relationship is, it isn’t the meet your parents and book the country club type.
That’s one less worry. “It seemed like time for an upgrade.” AKA Vex insisted.
“You can’t be too safe.” Dad sets the groceries on the bar. “I’ll be right back with the next batch.”
Next batch? “Mom, what’s going on?”
“Why would you think anything is going on?”
Because Dad just brought in six bags and he’s going back for more. “Because you know very well, I don’t need flour.” Let alone six five-pound bags. This is enough to feed an army.
“Your father and I were talking—”
Which translates to you had an idea and talked him into something I’m going to regret.
“—you never got a housewarming party.”
Housewarming? Party? “Mom.”
“What? It’ll be perfect. Nothing too formal. We’ll just invite your neighbors to come over on Sunday. We’ll need to start baking today. You don’t want them to think you’re a bad host or unwelcoming.” Mom packs the chicken on the sandwich she’s making for Imogene. “Do you cook, dear? I’m sure Dahlia and I could use a bit of help.”
“I do. It’s always been a hobby of mine, but I haven’t had an opportunity in a long while.”
“Well, that’s just perfect. Dahlia mentioned she has several very nice single men living in the neighborhood. ”
“Eugenia, you aren’t tormenting Dahlia about that boy, are you?” Dad sets another armload down.
“Of course not. I was just inviting Dahlia’s friend to the party.”
Dad gives her a knowing look and turns to head back outside.
Just how much food do they plan on making?
“Your father thought I was going to ask you about Max, but I told him I wouldn’t.”
Mom doesn’t break a promise, but those calculating eyes of hers make me think she’s going to find a way around that promise.
“Imogene, have you met any of Dahlia’s neighbors?” She slices the sandwich in half and slides it across the bar, holding it just out of Imogene’s reach, waiting for an answer.
“Mom, she doesn’t have to answer that.”
“Why wouldn’t she? I’m your mother. I need to know about all your friends and neighbors.”
“Mom.”
“Fine. Fine.” She pushes the plate over to Imogene and waits silently for her to start eating.
Imogene takes a big bite, and Mom’s shoulders relax for a brief moment. “Was it terrible being homeless?”
“Mom.” She has better manners than that.
“I’m sorry that was rude. It’s just seeing your friend made me think of my cousin Mia.”
Mia? Mia? “I don’t remember any relatives named Mia.”
“That’s because Mia ran away when you were little.”
Ran away?
“I don’t even know why. We were so close. It happened right after your brother got sick. One minute we were talking about her going to prom with her boyfriend, the senior. My parents were whispering about them getting married and everything. Then my life got hectic over the summer when we were going back and forth to the doctors and hospital that we lost touch for a while. Next thing I know, everyone is whispering about how she ran away.” A tear slips out of Mom’s eye. “Mia was the sweetest little girl. She wouldn’t have survived on the street.”
“Eugenia, why are you crying when we’re supposed to be getting ready for a party?” Dad stops before entering the kitchen.
“You know us girls. We get silly sometimes.”
Dad’s not falling for that one bit. “Why don’t we go upstairs and settle into our room? The girls can finish emptying the truck. Right, girls?”
There’s more?!? “Sure, Dad.”
He wraps an arm around Mom’s shoulders and leads her upstairs.
“Your parents are so cute.” Imogene sighs.
Sickeningly so sometimes.
“I want that.”
Me too. “Let me just grab the bags out of the car.” Imogene isn’t strong enough to start doing that yet.
Dad parked in front of the door.
“You have company.” Vex's voice comes from my left. He’s leaning against the house out of sight of the windows.
“I wasn’t expecting them.”
“You look a lot like your mother.”
Um… okay? “People tell me that all the time.”
“Good to know what I have to look forward to in the future.”
The future? Oh… OH. I scramble down the steps, almost tripping over my own two feet.
Vex grabs my upper arms, stabilizing me. “Careful.”
But I don’t need to be when you’re around to save me.
“How long are your parents staying?”
Forever! “Probably just for the weekend.”
He pulls me close. “I’ll sneak in after they’ve gone to sleep.”
Nope. No. That can’t happen .
“Why are you shaking your head at me? Sneaking in won’t be a problem. They’ll never know I was there.”
Impossible. “My mother will know.”
“Is this like the whole sex thing?”
I put a finger on his lips. “Don’t even say the word. She’ll know we’re thinking about it.”
He chuckles with my finger still touching his lips.
Sexy. A shiver runs down my spine. “You can’t sneak in.”
“How will you sleep?”
I won’t, but Vex won’t take no for an answer if I say that. “My father will be there.”
“Dahl.” He stares down into my eyes with worry and longing. “I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I.”
****
“How many people are we cooking for?” Imogene chops peppers on the island.
That’s a good question, especially since it’s Saturday and this party is supposed to happen tomorrow. But I’m afraid that the solution to that problem will involve me running around the neighborhood knocking on people’s doors.
If she even suggests that, I’m running away and hiding in Vex’s library for the rest of the weekend.
“We got block party signs. Tomorrow morning we’ll put them in the front yard and people will trickle in through the day.”
That works.
“But I think we should go over and invite your close friends personally.”
‘Close friends?’ Imogene mouths behind Mom’s back.
I’m not falling for that trick. Mom’s pumping me for information about Max .
“You know, Dahlia, that boy—” She snaps her fingers like she’s trying to remember something we both know she already knows. “—you made friends with. What’s his name again?”
This is a battle I’m not going to win, and we both know it. “His name is Max.”
“Why don’t you go invite him and his family right now.”
Though phrased like a question, it definitely wasn’t one.
“We wouldn’t want them to miss the sign and not come.” Mom pours salt into the brine for the chicken.
There must be some excuse I can come up with in the next ten seconds.
The doorbell rings.
A reprieve… even if it’s only for a few short minutes. I rush to the door. “Hope, what’s going on?”
“My grounding is over, and I thought we could work on my book today?”
That would certainly help me hide from my mother’s machinations.
“Who’s at the door?” Mom walks over in one of my aprons, wiping her hands on a towel.
Trouble. This is going to be trouble.
“Mom, this is Hope. Hope this is my mother, Eugenia. Hope lives a few doors down.”
“Hi.” Hope gives a friendly little wave.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Mother gives her a friendly smile. “Did you have plans with my daughter today?”
“Not exactly, but she’s been helping me write my book.”
Mom’s eyes move to mine, and I can feel the wheels turning in her head. This spells nothing but trouble for me.
Vex’s library has state-of-the-art security. She’ll never find me there.
Mom walks over and takes Hope’s arm. “Why don’t you come tell us all about your book while we cook?”
“I haven’t gotten very far into it. All I know so far is it’s about a girl who learns to slip through time and space. She’s trying to find a way to bring her mother back to life. ”
Oh, Hope.
“But in each time that she saves her mother, the world becomes a nightmare.”
“That sounds like an interesting story. If there’s anyone that could help you, it’s Dahlia. She’s been writing books since she was a little girl.”
“Mom.”
“Well, you have been. You shouldn’t be hiding who you are.”
“Mom.”
“Go get one of your books and show it to Hope.”
“Wait, you’re an author?” Hope stares at me, and behind her Imogene does the same.
Why am I hiding it? Vex knows. If they don’t like my books, the world won’t end. “Yeah. If you open the bottom drawer over there, you’ll find one of my books.” Stress and fear flow through my body. Focus on something else.
Cookies. I need to finish this batch of cookies.
Vex isn’t going to be happy with me making cookies and brownies for the party. Can I sneak him some without my mother noticing?
Probably not.
Hope holds the book up. “You’re D. P. Flowers! I love these mysteries. Dad does too. He saves them to read when he’s flying for work.”
“Your dad travels a lot?” My mother feigns indifference as she works on the brine.
“All the time. He’s going to take me with him next weekend when he goes to the Netherlands. I got the cutest new coat to wear there since there's already several feet of snow there.”
“What does your father do?” Mom transfers the chicken from its packaging into the brine.
“Internet security. He’s the best at it.”
That’s an understatement, but a slick way of hiding who he is without acting like she is.
“You and your father should come to the party Dahlia is throwing tomorrow. ”
Mom didn’t just blame this mess on me.
“You’re throwing a party?”
The surprise in Hope’s voice makes me want to laugh.
“Of course we are. Look at all this food.” Mom swings her arm out across the island which is full of food we’re prepping and the table which is covered in cooling pies.
“My nonna makes this amount all the time. We have a big family that likes to eat.”
Mom’s jaw falls open.
“Hope, would you like to invite your family and everyone in the neighborhood?” I jump in even though it was fun watching Mom’s shock and confusion.
“Sure. I’ll go do that now.” Hope rushes off with my book in her hand.
As soon as she’s gone, Mom stops putting the chicken in and stares at me. “That’s Max’s daughter, isn’t it? Don’t even try denying it.”
Like I can lie to you. “That’s Max’s daughter.”
Mom walks over to the sink and washes her hands.
What does her silence mean?
“Would you finish the chicken and put it in the fridge? I need to go talk to your father in the library.” She walks away without waiting for an answer.
Imogene whistles. “You’re in so much trouble.”
The cookies can wait, but the chicken can’t. “And it’s only going to get worse.”
“Why don’t you tell your parents about him? You two are in love and all that.”
If only it was that simple. “What am I going to tell them? Hey, this is Vex, my vigilante boyfriend who kills people to keep the world safe, but every time he does it, he risks going to jail. But don’t worry, we’ll be happy together even if he ends up in jail for the rest of his life.”
Imogene stares at me for a long moment, then goes back to chopping the peppers badly. Cooking must be a new hobby for her.
My life is so messed up.