Chapter Eighteen Mo
Chapter Eighteen
Mo
Mo hated leaving Jess, but a client was coming in early for his car the next morning and if he didn’t sleep in his own bed, he’d be useless. He tucked away his smile again as he unlocked his front door. There wasn’t anything wrong with feeling a little bashful, a little happy. But he felt like his emotions would have him jittery and far too distracted if he couldn’t keep a rein on things. He looked into Maddie’s empty room quickly and went straight to his own for a shower. Climbing into bed, he realized that he hadn’t checked on his plants, but now he was too comfortable; he wasn’t getting out of bed. There was one thing that was still bugging him a little. He wasn’t 100 percent sure that Jess hadn’t accelerated things because she was in a bad place emotionally.
What if I did take advantage of her? Even just a little?
He rolled onto one side, then the other. He realized he hadn’t texted her good night, so he grabbed his phone.
Mo:
Good night m’lady
She might have been asleep already; she’d said she was bone tired when he left. He reached over to put his phone down when it buzzed in his hand.
Jess:
Do I have an official nickname now?
He smiled.
Mo:
Sure
Jess:
Then I wish you good night, m’lord
He chuckled but paused before replying. There was something he’d meant to bring up after the movie, but they hadn’t gotten around to it.
Mo:
M’lady. What if you dressed as Westley?
Jess:
Westley?
Well, Westley as the Dread Pirate Roberts. From the Princess Bride. For your garb. You could move around easily to shoot without worrying about how your clothes are moving around.
Doug had emailed garb suggestions a week earlier. All the choices for women had been oversexualized, and the blacksmith suggestions had been fire hazards. Mo and Jess had vented their frustrations to each other during a video date. They were moving closer and closer to the event, but it had been nice for Mo to keep it from his mind as much as possible. Being confronted with choosing garb had forced it to the forefront, along with the steely-cold tension of anticipatory anxiety that flared in his jaw whenever he imagined how it would go.
Right then, there had been a long pause between Mo’s last message and the little ellipsis starting on his screen. Mo’s throat was a little tight. He worried that he’d insulted her by suggesting she dress like a man, before her reply appeared.
Jess:
That is an *excellent* idea, Fezzik the Giant.
Fezzik?
Mo:
?
It’s a basic costume. No billowing sleeves. Should be safe near fire.
She was right about the sleeves. And Mo liked basic. He smiled.
Mo:
Sounds like a plan.
She sent a smiling emoji.
The idea to say something about dressing up together and having fun together like she had with Cassie passed through his mind. But he didn’t know if bringing it up would raise positive feelings or painful ones. He decided to let it rest.
Mo:
Then I wish you a good night, m’lady Roberts.
Laughing emojis appeared.
Jess:
Good night m’lord Fezzik.
He sent a winking emoji back.
—
He felt better, but there was still a lingering doubt about how things had gone. Jess had already said that she was doing something she’d wanted to do for a long time. She knew her own mind, he wasn’t going to ask again just because he was having difficulty processing. But he also knew that he would still be looking up at the ceiling ruminating in an hour or two if he didn’t talk out his concerns with someone else.
—
“What’s wrong?” Khalil said immediately after answering the phone.
“Why?” asked Mo.
“It is well past your bedtime. The last time you called this late, Grandpa was dying. Before that, you were at the ER with Mads for appendicitis. So who is it? I’m ready.”
Mo rolled his eyes. But Khalil wasn’t wrong about it being late.
“I’m sorry—”
“Oh God, it’s Mom. It’s Mom, isn’t it? What happened? Was it an accident? She always drives too—”
“Khalil, shut up,” Mo snapped. “No one is dying. I’m calling because I’m confused about something.”
The line was silent for a few moments.
“You are calling this late because you’re confused ? You. Calling me. ’Cause you’re confused?” Khalil asked.
Mo suppressed a growl of frustration.
“Fine,” he said. “Confused probably isn’t the right word. Unsure is better.”
“What the hell?” Khalil asked. “Mister Big Brother, always certain he’s right in any circumstance is un…Wait a minute. It’s about Jess, isn’t it?”
Mo’s skin flashed hot. He ran his nails through his beard.
“Yes.”
“What happened?” Khalil asked.
Mo was stuck. He didn’t want to say the precise words of what had happened, but he needed to share at least a general idea so Khalil could actually help.
“Let’s just say,” he grumbled, “that things have accelerated, but I’m concerned about the circumstances before it happened.”
“Before it happened?” Khalil asked. “Oh! It? ”
Mo sighed.
“Yes, it happened.”
“I told you she was into you! This is awesome, Big Brother. Good on you.”
Something about that rubbed Mo the wrong way. Like he’d attained some impossible achievement. He grunted because he didn’t know what to say.
“Are you guys a thing?” Khalil asked.
Mo figured that he was right, especially since nicknames were now involved. But he hadn’t asked Jess if she was okay with it being an official thing, so he certainly wasn’t going down that road with Khalil.
“Let me get to the point,” he said.
“Okay, shutting up,” Khalil said.
That would be a miracle.
“She had a bad day yesterday. Some stuff with her family. We’d already planned dinner at her house tonight and when I got there, she was still upset. I’m worried that I took advantage of how down she was.”
“Hmm,” Khalil said. “Who made the first move?”
“Well, she kind of made all the moves, and I followed. I asked her if she was sure, and she said she was.”
“So you’re good,” Khalil said. “Especially since she made the first move.”
“I dunno.”
“Okay. Wait and see about the next time,” Khalil said.
“What do you mean?”
“Wait to see if she does the same thing. If she only turns to you when she’s upset. Then you’ll have your answer.”
Mo considered for a moment. Maybe Khalil wasn’t wrong. That was a reasonable way to know without bugging Jess. And Khalil did have a lot more experience with women than Mo did.
“Did you make sure she came first?” Khalil asked.
“Of course.”
“Then she’ll probably be eager for more. Wouldn’t surprise me. Us Sarda men are gifted in the bedroom.”
Mo’s face caught fire, and he fought the urge to hide under his comforter.
“Can we please not?” he asked.
“God, you’re shy. Can’t even talk about it,” Khalil said.
Mo cleared his throat.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll consider your perspective.”
“As you should,” Khalil said. “But what about you?”
“Me?” Mo grunted.
“Are you good with how it went down? It sounds like you weren’t expecting it to happen when it did,” Khalil said.
He was right; Mo hadn’t expected it at all that night, even though it was something he’d been quietly hoping for for a while. He’d been dampening his happiness about it by focusing on any bad feelings Jess might have.
“I wasn’t,” he said. “But I’m…happy it happened.”
Khalil coughed.
“Happy?” he asked. “Did you just use the words ‘I’m happy ’?”
“Okay, I’m hanging up the phone now,” Mo said.
“No, no, wait, this is a historic moment; I gotta write this down!” he laughed.
“Good night, Khalil,” Mo said.
“Night, night, sleep tight,” Khalil sing-songed.
Mo could hear the smile in his voice. He grunted again.
—
Late the next morning, Mo returned to the reception area of his shop and picked up the client orders that were sitting on Beverly’s desk. She turned in her chair a little to face him and folded her hands in her lap.
“Mo,” she said slowly. “Are you all right?”
“Um…yes, Bev,” he said, confused. If anything, he was better than he’d been in a long time.
She tilted her head to one side and squinted at him.
“How’s Maddie?” she asked.
“She’s great,” he said.
“Any new awards or achievements or anything? She’s such a smart kid.”
He did appreciate Bev asking about Maddie. She was kind and patient with her when she came into the shop. Bev always had a friendlier smile for Maddie than anyone else.
“No,” he said. “Nothing new.”
“Hmm…You’ve had a lot of pep in your step this morning,” Bev said.
Mo wasn’t sure what to do. His ears were beginning to burn, and his throat was dry.
“Have I?” he croaked.
Bev nodded slowly.
“Mmhmm…” she said. “It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen you look so…happy.”
Great. I said the word and now people can see it.
“Oh, um…that’s good, I guess?”
“It’s very good,” she said. “But if it’s not Maddie…I wonder, does it have something to do with that young lady who was in the other day when her engine wouldn’t start? The one whose car you stayed late to finish?” He realized that she was fighting to keep her lips from spreading into a smile. He could cover up and say that it was something else, but Bev didn’t miss a single thing that happened in his shop. She’d know that he was lying.
“Uh, yes,” he said.
Bev’s face lit up, and she gave him the smile she usually reserved for Maddie.
“That’s excellent news, Mo. I’m very happy for you,” she said.
His cheeks got warm, and he took a quick look around. There were only two people waiting on their cars. A very old man reading a newspaper and a young woman wearing headphones as she watched something on her phone. They were in the farthest seats from Bev’s desk.
“Um, thanks,” he said.
“Of course, Mo,” she said. “Don’t worry. That’s all I’m going to say about that.” She turned her chair back to her desk and resumed working on the forms in front of her. Mo walked back to his office, passing through the shop floor. He’d been tucking away thoughts of Jess as soon as they cropped up. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to think about her. He felt like his feelings were too big for him to concentrate on anything if he paid attention to them. He thought he’d done a good job of hiding what was going on inside, but evidently not.
Although Bev is always perceptive. She even notices if I’m getting sick before I realize it.
He put the client orders on his desk and felt like he should check his phone. To his very pleasant surprise there was a message from Jess.
Jess:
Good morrow, m’lord Fezzik. (did a little googling on Faire vocab, so I’m trying)
Mo:
Good morrow then, m’lady Roberts. I’m impressed with the effort.
Thanks. Just checking on you. Ready for photoshoot day?
—
Mo had been more than happy to be distracted from their photoshoots scheduled for that weekend. But he couldn’t continue ignoring it if he wanted to get his hands on a Fezzik costume.
Mo:
I am not. At all.
Jess:
Is it being photographed or getting the garb?
YES
Jess replied with several laughing emojis.
—
Mo smiled, broad and free. Someone knocked on the not-quite-closed door.
“Hey, Mo,” David said, pushing his way in. “I’m having trouble with the…Are you all right?”
Mo realized he’d looked up with the smile on his face. He quickly tucked it away.
“I’m fine,” he grunted.
David blinked at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile before,” he said, eyes wide.
Mo grunted again, narrowing his eyes.
“Right,” David said. “I’ll come back later.” He left, closing the door behind him. A charge of embarrassment prickled Mo’s scalp. He returned to his phone.
Jess:
My skin is itchy just thinking aboutit
Mo:
Same
Jess:
I’m sure you’ll look great
Mo wanted to tell her that she always looked great no matter what, but he didn’t want to be weird. But maybe that wouldn’t be weird. They’d slept together. He should be able to compliment her. He started to say that, but the ellipsis started again.
Jess:
You probably don’t need your official garb, since it’s only advertising photos.
Mo:
You’re probably right.
Class is starting in a minute, gonna go. Please don’t stress too much about it today.
Okay, I won’t.
She sent a winking emoji, and Mo smiled again. Then he tucked it away.
Mo:
Have a good day, m’lady.
Jess:
You too, m’lord
—
That evening, as he took a long shower and scrubbed the grime from under his nails, Mo finally felt like it was safe to let his feelings unfurl. Madison was at Diane’s, so there wouldn’t be any questions to answer. He didn’t have to hide the fact that, now that he and Jess might be a thing, he didn’t know what to do with himself.
He’d just sat down to trim and file his nails when he heard a crash and a muffled thud from next door. He snatched his keys off the hook and rushed over.
“Mrs. Sargysan!” he called out after letting himself in. At first there was no answer. He called out again as he started walking down the hall. He reached the kitchen and found her on the floor.
“Mrs. Sargysan are you all right?” he asked, kneeling down beside her. The kitchen light was off, the tablecloth and assorted broken dishes were on the floor. Mo pushed the upturned chair out of the way and leaned over her.
She groaned. Mo started breathing again. He took another look at her and all of her limbs were at the correct angles, so maybe she hadn’t broken anything. She began to sit up.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said. “Maybe lie still for another minute?”
“The floor is cold, Mo,” she said, voice scratchy. “Are you really going to make an old woman lie on a cold floor?”
At least her spunk was intact.
“No, of course not,” he said. “But what if your hip’s broken?”
“Impossible,” she said, grabbing his arm and pulling herself up. “That one’s titanium.”
Mo sat back on his heels and looked around again. The chair, the broken dishes. It was too dark to see well. He jumped up to flip the light switch, but nothing happened. He went back over and looked at the light fixture. No bulb. Then he caught sight of one in the corner on the floor and the pack of new bulbs on the counter.
“Mrs. Sargysan,” he said. “Did you try to change the lightbulb?”
“So what if I did?” she said, still sitting on the floor. She reached for his hand.
“I don’t want you to get up yet,” he said.
“Who said you have a vote?” she asked, beginning to push herself up. He bent down to wrap his arm around her waist and lift her into the chair that was still upright.
“Are you sure you didn’t break anything?” he asked, squatting in front of her. “Does anything hurt?”
“Mo, at my age, everything hurts. But nothing too out of the ordinary right now.”
He couldn’t tell if her color was right, but her breathing was back to normal. He frowned.
“Why didn’t you call me? I was home,” he said. She put a wrinkly hand on his shoulder.
“I’m not going to call you for every little thing, Mo,” she said. “Besides, what if you were entertaining that young lady of yours?” She winked at him. “I hope things are progressing as they should.”
His ears got hot.
Do I have a sign on my forehead?
He cleared his throat.
“Um…” he said. “Everything’s fine. But how did you know?”
“Maddie told me you have a new friend. A woman.” She shrugged.
“Oh,” he said.
“She your girlfriend yet?”
His whole face lit into flames. He couldn’t talk with Mrs. Sargysan about romantic feelings . He couldn’t have a discussion that might make his shyness overwhelming and cause him to shut down. Shutting down with her would be disrespectful.
“Ha! Good,” she said. “It’s about time you had a little romance in your life. Good for Maddie, too.”
“They haven’t met yet,” he said.
“That’s not what I mean.” She stretched her leg out and winced.
“I’m calling an ambulance,” Mo said, standing quickly and sliding his phone from his pocket.
“No, sir, you are not,” she said, glaring at him. “You want me to be broken and broke? Put your phone away.”
Mo obeyed.
“What I was saying is that it’s good for Maddie to see her dad in a happy relationship. To see you doing well with someone you like who supports you,” she said, cautiously bending the arm she’d fallen on.
“Oh,” Mo said.
“Have you told her yet?” Mrs. Sargysan asked.
“Jess? Yes, of course she knows about Maddie.”
“No, silly,” she said, looking up at him. “Have you told Maddie that Jess is your girlfriend?”
“I…um…” His voice was too shaky at first. He took a deep breath. “I don’t know if she’s my girlfriend. We haven’t talked about that.”
Mrs. Sargysan squinted at him.
“What on earth are you waiting for? Talk about it. You’ve been mooning around here having whispered conversations on the phone in your yard; you’re out later than I’ve ever seen. And when you come home, you’re all lit up. She’s your girlfriend, and that’s that.”
Mo wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn’t a surprise that Mrs. Sargysan had noticed his behavior. He had not been acting like himself at all. But he couldn’t just decide that Jess was his girlfriend. Mrs. Sargysan was eyeing him.
“She would be stupid not to say yes,” she said. “And I know you’re not the type to spend your time around stupid people.”
“Okay,” he said. “You’re right, she’s not stupid.” Suddenly the disorder in the kitchen jumped out at him, and he realized that Mrs. Sargysan was in no state to clean it up. He grabbed a bulb off the counter and reached up to screw it into place. The room flooded with light, and Mrs. Sargysan blinked a few times.
“Yes,” she said, looking around. “Definitely better.”
He righted the other chair and went into her pantry for the broom and dustpan. In a few minutes, her kitchen was in order, and Mo relaxed a little. Mrs. Sargysan hadn’t moved from her seat.
“I still think we should get some help,” he said. “I can take you to an urgent care.”
“Don’t wanna,” she said.
Mo stifled a chuckle. She sounded like Maddie when she was little.
“What if I call your nephew?” he asked.
Mrs. Sargysan rolled her eyes.
“Fine. I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t get checked out,” she said, her arms folded. “But if we’re doing all that, can you help me to the couch?” She held out a hand. Mo reached out for her and held perfectly still as she pulled herself up. She began shuffling along with him to the living room but seemed winded before they’d made much progress down the hall.
“Um…do you want me to carry you?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes again.
“All right, fine,” she said.
He scooped her up carefully and carried her to the couch. Placing her on it, he noticed that her breathing had quickened.
“Are you sure you’re not in pain?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just not used to being picked up and carried around. Got a little dizzy.”
Mo’s heart clenched.
“I don’t like ‘dizzy,’?” he said. “I—”
“That makes two of us,” she said, cutting him off. “Don’t worry; it’s stopped now. Do me a favor. There’s an ice pack in the freezer. Two, actually. Bring them both, please?”
Mo hustled to do as she’d said. When he’d rearranged the pillows to better support her and put the packs where she wanted them, he stood straight.
“I’m going to go call your nephew,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll want to take a look at least.”
Mrs. Sargysan harrumphed. “His number’s on the corkboard next to the phone. Do you have a date with Jess tonight?”
“No, I’m free,” he said.
“In that case, if you have to, I guess you can stay until he gets here.”
Mo kept his lips straight even though a smile was fighting its way out.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll have our own date night.”
Mrs. Sargysan laughed as Mo returned to the kitchen to make the call.