Uncharted

If the car ride to the hospital had been quiet, then the ride to drop Sara off was on a whole new lever. Nobody made a sound, not even the newborn who slept in the back seat. To be honest, I couldn't complain. This would probably be the quietest that my mom would be the entire time she was in town. As we pulled to a stop at a light, I let my hands drop to my jeans, feeling the tickets that were still hidden away in my pocket, that I all but forgotten about.

"So Mom," I could see her jump out of the corner of my eye, which brought a smile to my face almost instantly, "I thought I might take you to meet my fia..." In the rear view mirror, I could see Sara slowly shaking her head at me, "...the guy that I've been seeing tonight."

"You're seeing someone?" Part of me wanted to punch her for the surprise that rang out in her words. Of course she didn't believe I had a love life. In her mind, I was nothing a guy would want. "Oh, Bee-Bee! I would love to meet him! Are we going to dinner, or a show? Do I need to dress up?"

I could see Sara holding in a laugh in the back seat, and I couldn't blame her. Part of me wanted to burst out laughing in that moment as well. My mom had no idea what she was in for. "Just wear whatever, Mom. It's more of a relaxed atmosphere anyways. Oh, and remember that you already agreed to this."
Turning my head, I caught a hint of worry on her Botoxed face. At least she wouldn't have a way out of this now.

-x-

Killing the afternoon with my mother made me want to kill myself. Nothing about my life seemed good enough, and she made it a point to let me know that. My favorite restaurant was entire too fattening, my favorite little boutique was out dated and shabby, even the coffee shop served coffee too strong that I didn't need, according to her. It seemed like my mother was the same women I had left in Minnesota all those years ago. I somehow thought that all the time she spent alone would straighten her out. Then again, I was more than slightly aware that she probably had a boyfriend or two that she just didn't want to tell me about.

And she wondered why I preferred my father to her.

We had been wandering around downtown when my phone went off in my pocket. As I saw Jonny's name, a smiled came to my face. "Go on inside, Mom. I'll be there in a minute."

I pressed the phone to my ear the moment my mom was done and let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"How's it going?" Jonny asked, happiness in his voice.

"I'm about two seconds from leaving my mom downtown with no money and no means to get back to my apartment... if she can even find it." I knew I sounded angry and defeated, but I couldn't find a way to hide it.

"That well huh?" I could hear him laugh on the other end of the line, which brought a smile to my face. There was something about him being happy that just spread to me. "Oh, Sara said that she gave you the tickets for tonight's game. Are you still planning on coming?"

"As long as my mother doesn't make a scene when we get to the rink, of course."
"Do you want to do dinner afterwards? I can take you guys somewhere nice and fancy if to show your mom that I'm not total scum."
"Trust me, the moment she finds out that you're a hockey player, she won't care. That sounds good though. Thanks for being so understanding about this."
"Oh, it's no problem, Bailey. I have to go through, practice is about to start. I love you."
"I love you, too."

Click.

The moment the phone left my ear, my mother was right in my face, asking me an onslaught of questions. Who was he? Where did I meet him? When did we start saying "I love you?" Was she still going to meet him tonight. All of these questions were answered with a simple eye roll, which was deemed unladylike and rude.

-x-

"Bailey Catherine Monroe!! You better be playing a trick on your mother! You never mentioned we were going to a hockey game!"

I looked over my shoulder to see her several steps behind me, walking down to our seats with careful feet. She had this strange fear that she would trip and fall and go face first through the glass and onto the ice. Frankly, I would have given her a push if I could.

"Not kidding, Mom." I sighed. I knew she wasn't going to be thrilled about this, but she was acting as though I was trying to throw her into the bear exhibit at the zoo, not taking her to a hockey game.

Finding out row, I began to move towards our seats. There was one row between us and the glass, and that brought a large smile to my face. I should be able to see Jonny play perfectly from here, and my mom might be able to find something to distract herself so I could enjoy the game. Turning my head, she had taken a seat to my left.

"This is just cruel, Bee-Bee. You know I hate professional sports." She huffed out the words, but I chose not to pay much attention to her. My eyes were fixed on the ice as the players begun to skate out. A smile came across my face as I saw him. "Is your 'friend' meeting us here or..?"

As if on cue, Jonny skated right up to the glass, giving me and my mom a wave. I returned it with a smile and blowing a kiss his direction. It was a cheesy move, but I wanted my mom to get the right idea. Shaking his head a bit, Jonny flicked a puck over the glass and pointed to my mom. I nodded his direction before he skated off for drills.

The moment I turned my head to the left, I could see the fury in my mom's eyes. Not only did she now know I was dating a hockey player, she knew I was engaged to him. Her hands held my left ring finger tightly, examining the rock on my finger. When she lifted her head to look at me, I knew I was fucked.

"Puck?"