Somebody else would have balked at that question. She’d been asking it of me ever since I was fourteen and I’d told her I had something I wanted to say to her. At first I’d thought she was being dramatic. Now I recognized that she used it as a deflection.
“You’re not to go on my computer,” I started, opting not to even answer her ridiculous question.
“What?” Her face contorted. “What do you mean?”
“You emailed Paisley, my assistant, to give her a shopping list.”
“So?” Mom cocked her head. “You didn’t have anything here to eat. I was starving.”
“Paisley is my work assistant. She doesn’t shop for me. That is not part of her work duties.”
“Why not?”
Another tangent. She wanted to distract me. “Because it’s not.” I was firm. “You do not get to email Paisley and tell her what to do, especially when it’s my work credit card being used. Your groceries are not part of my work account.”
Mom made a scoffing noise. “Geez. There’s no reason to get so dramatic. It was like twenty bucks. I’ll pay you back.”
It was way more than that, but I ignored her. That wasn’t the point. “Secondly, the stuff on that computer is important to me. I don’t need you messing around on there.”Where all my banking-app passwords are conveniently kept, I silently added.
“Sorry,” Mom drawled in exaggerated fashion. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”
“If you need access to your email, use your phone,” I continued.
“Yes, ma’am.” She offered up a sarcastic salute.
“Finally…” I continued, not missing a beat. She never changed how she operated, so I was used to this. “I don’t think dating Rufus is a good idea.”
That was enough to get her to drop the act. “Excuse me?” Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “Who are you to tell me who I can and can’t date?”
“I’m not telling you who you can and can’t date,” I replied evenly. “I am saying I think it’s a bad idea.”
“And why is that?” Her hands landed on her hips, her stance going defensive. On this point, she would fight to the death.
I didn’t back down. “Because you and he don’t run in the same social circles.”
“Big whoop. Love doesn’t know one social circle from the next.”
“He’s not going to fall in love with you.” It was better to be brutally honest with her when she was going down the wrong path. It wouldn’t change her thinking. She wouldn’t be able to use any of this against me when the relationship inevitably fell apart, however.
“That shows what you know. He’s already half in love with me.”
I knew through conversations with Brody during our walk that his father had been through multiple wives, and they kept getting younger with each ceremony. “He’s only with you right now because he finds you interesting.”
“And what’s wrong with that? I am interesting.”
“He’s not going to stick around,” I insisted.
“You don’t get to say who I can and can’t date.” Her lower lip trembled, signifying she was going to start crying. It was another form of manipulation.
I held up my hands in surrender. “I’m just telling you the truth. You’re going to do what you’re going to do. Don’t come crying to me when he dumps you.”
“He’s not going to dump me.” Mom was firm. “We’re falling in love.”
She clearly wasn’t trying to convince me of this lie. She was trying to convince herself.
“Do what you’re going to do,” I said. “Just remember, I don’t want to hear about it when things don’t go your way. Also, don’t get on my computer again or email my assistant.”
“What is it with you and the rules?” Mom said. “You never used to be this way.”
