Sound Effects and Overdramatics

I flicked my ashes and turned the pages of my book simultaneously. The sky was gray, promising rain later, but for now, a steady breeze kept everything cool.

I'd spent all morning, and the last three mornings, job scouting in LA. Being a makeup artist wasn't exactly glamorous, but the pay was decent. I didn't particularly care if it was movie stars or models, as long as it was work. I needed to start doing something besides having overglorified babysitter on my resumé. Living off of Brian wasn't really an option.

It may have been fine for my brother, but not me, not for long-term purposes.

I was hoping I'd hear something soon.

As I flipped another page, a coffee cup appeared in front of my face, being held by a soft hand with well-manicured fingers, one of which was adorned with an oval diamond.

Annoyed, I sighed and took it, barely glancing up as I shut my book and set it on the table.

“To what do I owe this lovely interruption?” I asked, sipping from the cup. Annoyingly, it was made to my specifications. I watched my mother sit down across from me, gracefully crossing one leg over the other, hands on top of her lap.

I hadn’t heard from her since brunch. Or rather, I refused to hear from her. I’d ignored all her calls. I knew from talking to Brian and Jason that she’d called both of them but they assured me it was handled. Jason was in constant contact with her even though he knew I didn’t like it.

My approval wasn’t really something he sought out anymore, unfortunately. He hadn’t needed my protection since I left. It was a pill I hadn’t wanted to swallow.

“I wanted to check on my daughter, see how she was doing.”

“Doesn’t your son tell you?”

“Your brother, unfortunately, isn’t very forthcoming when it comes to my wanting to know about you. He said he doesn’t want to get into the middle of it and we have to work it out for ourselves. I have to agree with him. So, I’m here to talk to you.”

“That’s great and all, but I’m not interested." I put out my cigarette and looked around. Brian was supposed to be meeting me for lunch. We talked on the phone almost constantly but I hadn't seen him since I left Sunday. We had both agreed the space was necessary.

The fact that the only difference between putting distance between us now and a month ago was that there were only a few miles between us instead of an ocean didn't seem to occur to him.

"You're just like your father." She grumbled. "Too stubborn for your own good."

"You don't know shit about me, or Dad."

"Honey, I know you better than you do. The only thing you got from your dad is your stubbornness. The rest you got from me."

"Oh, like what?"

"You married young because you got pregnant and you have fierce family loyalty. You refuse to back down from a fight, especially when you know you'll win."

I snorted and drank more of the coffee she brought. I may have hated the woman, but I wasn't going to pass on caffeine.

"What are you, my shrink?"

"I'm your mother."

"You didn't even want me, and you did a damn good job of proving that, so what the hell do you know about being a mom?"

"Not a damn thing." She admitted. She drank from her own cup and sighed.

"I told your brother, and now I'm telling you. I know I messed up. I want to get to know my kids."

"And I told you, I'm not interested. Get to know your son. You owe him that. I'm good. I've made peace with the fact that you didn't want me a long time ago. I've got my own scars, and none of them bear the name Mommy Dearest."

She opened her mouth to retaliate. Brian walked up and put his arms around me before she could. I tilted my head back so he could kiss me before he pulled up a chair.

"I didn't know I was going to be dining with two gorgeous women today." He tried with a smile, keeping his arm around my shoulders. Monica flicked her eyes over him with disdain.

"Don't you mean three, Mr. Haner?"

"Uh, no. You and Beth. Just two."

"Were you not in the company of Miss Dibenedetto this morning?"

Brian shuffled in his seat, giving me a glance before answering her. "Michelle? Yeah, I saw her for a little bit. How did you know?"

She smirked. "It's my job to keep an eye on things. You're dating my daughter. I have a right to know what she's getting into."

"Monica," I growled. "My personal life is not your business. You wanna hire someone to follow me, fine, but Brian has enough problems without having to worry about you, too. Leave him alone."

She stood and readjusted her Gucci purse. "I have to go. I'll see you later."

We watched her walk away in silence, completely mystified. I shook my head and lit a cigarette.

"She doesn't quit." Brian commented.

"No, she does not." I huffed.

He leaned in to kiss me and asked, "are you still hungry?"

I kissed him back, letting my lips linger over his. "Not really. You?"

"Nah. Let's go for a walk." I took his hand and leaned into him. The sidewalks were starting to clear because of the coming storm. I didn't care about getting wet.

Being apart from Brian hadn't been easy for either of us. I missed him and wanted to spend time with him.

"You're not doing anything this weekend are you?" He asked.

"I was gonna get with you and see what you were doing. Why?"

"What do you think," he started with a sigh. We stopped so he could light a cigarette and then threw his arm around my shoulders. "About taking a trip? We can leave Friday afternoon. Be back Sunday night."

"Where?" My stomach fluttered. I'd been thinking the same thing, thanks to Kai, but I wasn't sure where Brian's head was. He'd been upfront about talking to Michelle, and told me he was gonna see her this morning. It didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but he still had his own strong opinions about Kai.

"Where do you wanna go? We can get a cabin in the mountains, or just go up the coast."

We sidestepped together to avoid colliding with a woman struggling with her two kids. Before we could move out from under the awning, the sky opened up and it started to downpour. I lifted my jacket up to cover my head and we raced out, Brian raising his arm to get a cab.

We were laughing as he shoved me through the door and collided into me as he shut it.

"How about," I said with a deep breath after he gave the driver Ali's address. "Vegas?"

"Vegas?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah."

He grinned. "Vegas it is." We sealed the agreement with a kiss.