I want You Deeper

“Come on in,” Nicholas said as he stood in his foyer, greeting his mother who had just sarcastically, but he was smiling as

waltzed right into his home. He’d unlocked the door as soon as she buzzed in at the gate, but people typically knocked or rang the doorbell once they were on his front porch.

“You cooked?” Donna asked, looking shocked. It made him wish he could say yes, he’d spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen rather than on the phone with his distributors, working out an issue. But he couldn’t say that.

“I had it catered,” he answered instead.

That was the language his mom spoke. She wouldn’t relate to him saying he’d ordered up food using an app one of his favorite colleagues developed and had it delivered to his front door.

“I see.”

She followed him into his dining room, which he rarely used these days. He was too busy working, not to mention attending weddings and high school reunions.

“Smells delicious.” Donna eyed the table setup as she walked to the place setting all the way at the end of the table. It wasn’t that long a table, but he’d made sure to put the two settings at either end to keep some distance between them.

One problem with that. “I guess we’ll have to do this like a buffet,” Nicholas commented, looking at the food he’d set in the center of the table.

It would be unreachable to either of them.

“I have a great live-in housekeeper.”

“Patrice. I know. I’ve met her.”

Donna picked up her plate and headed to the center of the table. Meanwhile, Nicholas stood back, slightly amused at the sight of his mother spooning green beans onto her plate. She looked like a mismatch for the scene, with her designer pink silk skirt suit and ornate jewelry.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

“I’m sure she could recommend someone who could help out around here.”

There his mom went again, meddling.

“I have someone who comes in every day,” he said, hoping to put a quick end to it. “She takes care of everything while I’m at work. I wouldn’t want someone living here with me. That’s just…”

He started to say creepy but stopped himself. If that was how his mom preferred things, who was he to make her feel bad about it? Instead, he stepped forward and started filling his plate while his mother moved to take her seat.

“I owe you a huge apology,” he said as soon as his butt hit the chair, plate full of food. There was no point in making small talk for the next half hour or so while he waited for the right time to have a serious discussion. Maybe they could talk about this and get it out of the way, then go on to better things.

Nicholas picked up his fork and prepared to dig in. “I should never have said those things to you. I shouldn’t have lied to you in the first place. I was way, way out of line. I love you. That’s all that matters.”

Donna shook her head. “No. I was the one who was out of line. I’ve realized that I waste time worrying about what other people think, and worse, I put the pressure on you and Nate to make me look good. Instead, I should focus my energy on spending time with you and Nate and the women in your lives.”

Nicholas forced a bite of roasted potatoes down his throat. There was no woman in his life. Should he point that out?

Obviously, Donna quickly realized her mistake. “The women you choose to be in your life. I trust you to find the right person when you’re ready.”

She stared at him as though she was eagerly awaiting his response. She wouldn’t meddle, but he knew she had questions about Charlie.

“I thought I’d found that person.” He took a deep breath. Why was he sharing this? More importantly, why did it feel so good to say the words out loud? Nicholas shrugged, boiling all his issues down to one sentence. “She wasn’t that into me.”

He’d give his mom credit. She didn’t respond. He could tell by the way her eyes narrowed that a war raged inside that head of hers. She wanted to say something. She was dying to interfere. But she wouldn’t.

And that gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, her meddling was over.

“Did I ever tell you the story about how I knew your father was cheating?”

What in the world? Of all the things he expected his mother to say right then, that was the last of them. But he was curious where she was going with this.

“I don’t think so,” he dared to say. He went through the motions of eating, but he felt like his entire system had frozen as he waited for her to say more.

“He didn’t see me anymore.” She set her fork down and patted her mouth with her napkin. “It wasn’t just that he didn’t look at me with love in his eyes. He looked right through me like I wasn’t even there.”

“We noticed.”

Maybe Nicholas shouldn’t have admitted that, but it was true. He and his brother had noticed how distant his father had been in the months leading up to suddenly moving out. That was why it wasn’t a surprise that he decided to walk out and never get in touch with Nicholas or Nate ever again. He’d sent his child support payment as ordered by the court, and they’d stayed in the house without him, but he’d checked out of the family long, long before he moved out.

“I was hoping you didn’t,” Donna admitted. “I tried to keep things as stable as possible for you and your brother.”

“We noticed that, too. I can’t speak for Nate, but I definitely saw all you did to keep our routines the same and make up for Dad being gone. I don’t think we ever told you how much we appreciated that.”

His mother had tears in her eyes, and he wondered if he should maybe push the conversation back to small talk. He definitely didn’t want to make the mood any heavier than it had to be.

“Thank you for saying that.” She sighed and resumed eating. “I think I got off track there. My point was, there’s a way you and Charlie look at each other that… well, let’s just say I miss that feeling. It makes me long for the days when I was young and in love.”

As much as he’d been glad his mom had stopped meddling, he couldn’t help but latch onto what his mother had just said. Charlie looked at him a certain way? Sure, he’d thought that was exactly what he’d seen, but the fact that someone else was pointing it out…

“Don’t let fear keep you from falling in love.” His mother spoke those words fairly quietly, in a voice he barely heard. It was as if she wanted to convey advice without meddling, so that cryptic sentence was all she’d give.

“I could say the same for you, Mom.” Nicholas stopped eating for a moment and stared at his mom. She looked up, stopping mid-chew, her brow furrowed in confusion. “You haven’t dated since Dad left. That was a long time ago. It’s long overdue.”

“How do you know I haven’t dated? I have a life you don’t even know about.”

Okay, now things were getting interesting. “You’ve been dating? Are you seeing someone now?”

“Of course not.” She shook her head. “I love my life just the way it is. I have a full schedule filled with social events and plenty of friends. You couldn’t pay me enough to get in another relationship.”

“So when did you date?”

“I was in a few relationships when you were in college and the years soon after. I decided it wasn’t for me. I like my freedom.”

Nicholas had to say he was pretty impressed. He’d always thought of his mom as this person who lived for her children and her social standing. It turned out she was an independent woman who had made a good life for herself. She’d managed to create stability for Nicholas and his brother while also keeping her obligations and taking a job as an office manager. He hadn’t given his mother nearly enough credit.

“But that’s not to say I would trade my marriage to your father for anything. I loved having a partner to share my life with, and it brought me two amazing sons. To be able to do that with someone you truly love, who will commit to you for life and not stray, well, that’s the dream, isn’t it?”

Nicholas couldn’t believe it, but his mom’s meddling was actually helping this time. She made a good point. He’d felt a connection with Charlie that he couldn’t remember ever feeling before. There was something there. If he didn’t at least check to see if Charlie felt the same, he could be walking away from something real. Something amazing.

“Thank you.” Nicholas set his fork down and looked his mom in the eye as he said those two words. No matter their differences recently, he really did love his mother and he wanted her to know. His gratitude wasn’t just about the words she’d said to him tonight. It was about everything she’d done for him, all the sacrifices she’d made. It was a thank you that was long overdue.

She smiled. “You’re welcome.”