4. Once More For Old Times’ Sake
4
Once More For Old Times’ Sake
N icole sat in a downtown restaurant waiting for Maya and, to a lesser extent, Kennedy to arrive. They were having a celebratory brunch for Maya. The Hustler’s Heir was a success in its opening, by whatever metrics small community plays were measured by. And Nicole wanted to shower her daughter with food and praise. She could have done without Kennedy tagging along, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
To her delight, Maya walked through the door without her worse half attached to her. “Sorry for keeping you. Traffic held me up.”
“Is it holding Kennedy up?” Nicole scanned the room, hoping not to spot Kennedy’s familiar figure outside.
Maya slid into the seat across from her mother. “Last we spoke, she said she had to make a stop, but she’ll be on her way.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad we get a moment alone. Feels like you’re always with Kennedy or your theater friends. It’s nice for me to get you to myself.”
“You got me to yourself for 23 years. Sure you aren’t sick of me yet?”
Nicole reached across the table and took Maya’s waiting hand. “No chance of that ever happening.”
The question of whether Maya was sick of her mother died on Nicole’s tongue. Swallowed down by a long sip of her water and the realization she might not want to know the answer.
Their waitress dropped off two menus and took their orders before disappearing. When she was out of sight, Nicole asked, too curious for her own good, “Where did you say Kennedy was again?”
“I didn’t say because I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“No, mom. I don’t need to know where my partner is 24/7.”
“I don’t know how you do it. The con artist in me can not comprehend how you can trust people so easily.”
“Maybe that’s why you were so successful. You were always looking for the angle, always questioning motives.”
Nicole’s mouth pulled upward at the memory of her thrilling past life. “You know me too well, always trying to stay one step ahead. But I hope you don’t think that way about Kennedy. She’s been good to you, hasn’t she?”
“Of course. We just don’t need to keep tabs on each other all the time. It’s called trust. You should look into it before you get into a relationship of your own.”
Nicole hid her snort behind her napkin. Maya knew as well as anyone Nicole didn’t do relationships. Not since her marriage to Maya’s father had Nicole been in a real one. Real defined as not using a man for his money.
Her con had been effective, but an unfulfilling one. There was no actual connection, only the one forged by lies. Though she’d given the con up at the same time Maya did, Nicole wasn’t as far removed from it as her daughter was.
In a year and a half, Maya got a job, made friends, fell in love. In the same span of time, Nicole transformed her cover of a party planner into an actual business. It was a real accomplishment, one she was proud of. But it was sobering to see her 24-year-old daughter have it all while she was still at the beginning.
Nicole couldn’t pinpoint why Maya had achieved so much when she hadn’t. It could’ve been her age. She was in the prime of her life. Maybe it was because she was a better person. That might have had something to do with it.
Whatever the reason, Nicole didn’t resent her daughter’s success. In fact, she felt relieved. All she ever wanted for Maya was a better life than the one she’d been given. Running cons, marrying men she didn’t love, living a dishonest life. It was the best Nicole could do to ensure Maya would never have to worry about her next meal or if the place she rested her head was safe.
Now, she didn’t have to.
“Very funny, Maya. You know I’m happy to live without the headache of a relationship. I’m more than content focusing on my career and you,” Nicole said before taking another sip of her water.
“You’ve been focused on your career and me for 23 years. Don’t you think you’ve earned yourself a bit of fun?”
Nicole shook her head. It wasn’t a subject she wanted to delve into. She deflected, saying, “I have fun. Seeing you succeed is fun for me.”
“Mom, I don’t want you to have to live your life through me because you’ve forgotten how to live your own.”
Maya didn’t say it with frustration or anger, but with concern that tugged at her mom’s usually icy heart. Nicole didn’t know how to tell her she was fine. More than fine. She was living a normal life, and she didn’t have the weight of her past looming over her for the first time in years. “Don’t worry about me. I have never needed a man to make me happy. That’s not going to start now.”
The look Maya gave Nicole unlocked a memory from Maya’s childhood. Before knowing what Nicole did for a living, Maya had begged Nicole to find a prince charming so she wouldn’t be lonely. Nicole assured Maya her only prince charming was her, but it wasn’t enough for her.
It didn’t seem like it would be enough for Maya now. She had become so… normal, and Nicole didn’t understand it. She snapped out of the con artist’s way of living and thinking so fast; it made her mom’s head spin.
Their conversation slowed when their meals arrived. When they sat in silence, it was a comfortable one. Nicole was glad for it. It was nice to not have to speak, just exist in the same space with her.
She finished her last piece of waffle when a notification appeared on her phone. Maya’s tardiness had delayed their brunch, and now it was time for Nicole to head to her office. She loved her job, but right now, she hated it for taking her away from her daughter.
After placing a few bills down to cover their meals, she got up. “I hate to leave, but I need to go into the office and do some prep work before my client meeting on Monday.”
“Can’t push it till tomorrow?”
“I’ll be spending the entire weekend prepping for it. Better to get an early start now.”
Maya swallowed her bite and nodded. “Sorry for running late. We’ll have to do this again. One on one time, I mean.”
“I know you’re busy with the play and Kennedy. Don’t feel forced to make time for me.”
“I don’t,” Maya assured. “Our relationship isn’t conventional, but you are the only constant person in my life. I don’t take that for granted. You’re always going to be a priority for me. I don’t want you to feel that you’re not.”
Nicole was touched. Her daughter somehow knew the exact words she needed to hear. “You’re a priority for me too. Let’s make sure we schedule another brunch soon, okay? Next Saturday? ”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll be on time.”
Nicole, unable to resist one last glance at her daughter, saw her still waiting patiently for Kennedy. She spotted the devil herself sitting in her parked car as she walked out.
Kennedy, on a call, only noticed Nicole when she tapped on the passenger side window. Her head jerked, her body relaxing a little when she saw it was Nicole. Rolling her eyes and the window, she asked, “What?”
“You’ve kept my daughter waiting for 45 minutes and counting. Don’t keep her waiting a second longer.”
“Do you ever get tired of acting like an overprotective father? I get you had to be both for Maya when she was a kid, but she isn’t one anymore. You can cut the act and treat her like the adult she is.”
“It’s not an act. I care about my daughter’s happiness.”
“She is happy. With me. I don’t see why you insist on wasting your energy fighting it. If you really cared about her, you would accept our relationship and move on.”
She swung her door open and brushed past Nicole. Only coming to a halt when Nicole asked, “What was more important than joining us for brunch?”
Kennedy turned back with a grin, the glint in her eyes telling. Nicole recognized the look. It was the same one she and Maya had every time they pulled off a con. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said, bringing Nicole out of it. “I’m late. I have to go.”
Nicole let her, but she wasn’t letting this issue go. Between her phone calls and being secretive to Maya, Kennedy had some explaining to do.
Nicole’s days of running cons were over. She planned to keep it that way, but if Kennedy was starting up one of her own, Maya needed to know.
That’s what Nicole told herself as she blew off work and parked her car a short distance from the restaurant. She wasn’t spotted by Maya and Kennedy when they left in their separate cars a half hour later. If Maya knew what Nicole was about to do, all the progress they’d made would be ruined.
The realization scared Nicole. The alternative scared her more. If Kennedy was up to no good, Maya would know the kind of heartbreak Nicole experienced with her first ex-husband. She wouldn’t let that happen to her.
If Nicole could save her daughter from the pain that would come with the truth, she would. Even if that meant crossing a line and doing the one thing she promised herself, she would never do again. A con.