I get up to check my makeup and there’s a knock at the door. I freeze.
I’m not ready. I’m not ready.
For goodness’ sake, pull yourself together, girl. She’s just another human being. Act normal and go open the damn door!
Internal pep talk over, I rush to the door where I’ve now kept her waiting. I take a deep breath. Anybody would think there’s a fire-breathing dragon on the other side and I’m going into battle, but when I open the door wide, that really isn’t the case.
Standing at my height, wearing a tailored coral-coloured trouser suit, is Dana King. She is a very beautiful lady, and immediately I can see where Denham gets his sharp cheekbones, and Mediterranean skin coloring. The only indication that she’s in her sixties are the fine lines around her eyes where she’s clearly spent many years laughing. She smiles a genuine, warm smile, and I find myself relaxing and smiling back.
“Hello, Arianna,” she says softly. “May I come in?”
“Oh, god. Sorry, I mean, of course,” I say, flustered, realizing I kept her standing on the doorstep while I analyzed Denham’s genetics. I step back from the door and close it behind her.
She places her very expensive looking bag down on the floor and steps toward me. My hands fidget in front of me, picking at the skin around my nails. She gently takes my hands in hers, her skin is soft and her nails short but perfectly manicured, and she stands in front of me to look directly into my eyes.
“Now, Arianna,” she says in a firm but gentle voice. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine, thank you Mrs—”
“Oh please, no formalities. Call me Dana. I think we need to get a few things out in the open and then we can get to know each other. What do you say?” There’s no edge to her voice, she’s perfectly lovely so far, but I know what women can be like. All pretty and cupcake sweet on the outside and then when you’re not looking, BAM! They strike. Viper status.
This is what I was worrying about. A mother’s protectiveness over her firstborn son, she’s going to ball me out for being a troublemaker, and for turning his life upside down for the last week. A lump forms in my throat, but I nod and reply in a shaky voice, “Okay.”
“Let’s go sit,” she says, dropping one hand but leading me to the couch with the other. She sits elegantly and pulls her length of long, straight hair over one shoulder before resting her clasped hands in her lap.
“I don’t know how much you know about me, and I don’t know you very well at all, yet. But my boy…well, it’s safe to say he’s smitten with you. You’re the only name that comes out of his mouth lately, and seeing how worried about you he was yesterday made me realize the he really does like you, very much.”
My hands take up their usual position, only now I’m fighting with myself not to pick up my childhood habit and start to chew on my nails. If I was a smoker, I would be craving nicotine right now, and even though I’ve never been alcohol dependent, I could really do with a very strong shot of something.
“Arianna, one day, I’m sure you will know what it feels like to be so protective of someone, you would give your life for them. My children are my life. They may be grown adults but they will always be my children, and when I brought them into this world, I made a vow to keep them from pain and heartache. So, this is just my way of settling my own curiosities and making sure my boy is doing the right thing, okay?” she asks. She’s still speaking softly and there’s no condescending tone to her voice, just honesty and protectiveness. I nod, and she continues.
“Are you messing around with my son?” she asks, straight out.
“NO!” I answer immediately, a little louder than intended. “I…”
“I know you’ve had a tough time of things, but my son, well, he seems to have taken it as his responsibility to make sure you’re okay, and it’s all happened so fast that I wanted to make sure he’s not been blindsided and taken for a fool.”
I sigh. “Mrs. King,” I say, thinking the respectful title is appropriate for the moment. “I never came here looking for a man, or money. I came to back to Las Vegas to find myself and to be with my family. It just so happened that I found Denham and I don’t know where it’s going or if it’s going anywhere at all, but I would really like to find out.”
“You know I’ll find out if there’s an ulterior motive,” she warns quietly.
“There isn’t one,” I assure.
“Good, I don’t ever want you to feel afraid of me, Arianna. Ask me anything you’d like at any time. All I ask in return is that you do the right thing by my son, always be honest, and we will getalong just fine.” She finishes her sentence with a genuine smile and I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been accustomed to living a pretend life, putting on a front and bowing to the illusion that everything is fine, but it makes me laugh. Denham is so much like his mother. She has clearly instilled her ways and upfront honesty in him.
“I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or not that you’re laughing,” she says with a curious smile.
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just Denham is so like you. He’s straight up and says what he’s thinking, and it makes life so much easier to know that you don’t have to spend time guessing how you’re thinking or how you’re going to react.”
“Well, I think it’s best we know how each other feels, don’t you?”
“Yes, it’s refreshing, but I’m just not used to it. I’ve not been lucky enough to experience such honesty.”
Dana covers one of my hands with hers. “I’m sorry you’ve had things so hard, Arianna. It makes me sad to think that. We were very lucky that up until three years ago, we had a wonderful life. My husband…” Her voice wavers a little, “He was a wonderful man. In many ways I was like you. Young, naive, unlucky in love. Until I met him. He turned my world upside down and back again. So, I know how you feel, I see it in your eyes, just remember that everything happens for a reason, and as long as you can sleep at night with a clear conscience then you’ve done all you can.” She dips her head to look into my downcast eyes. “Now, what do you say we get some coffee and talk about something else?”
“I think that’s a great idea.” I smile warmly back at her, relieved that this conversation is out of the way but also pleased that we’ve had it and that I now know that she doesn’t hate me. Lottie was right; she is very sweet, and it’s clear that her children are her world. Yes, she’s well dressed, and clearly likes the finerthings in life, but it strikes me that she would give it all up in a heartbeat for her family. I follow her to the kitchen where we make coffee and small talk. I do my best to convince her that I’m not sick. I have no idea why I fainted yesterday, or how I did so much damage to myself when I did. I didn’t feel sick prior to it happening and now that I don’t feel so sleepy, I feel as normal as I ever have. I put it down to the last week being emotional overload. I hadn’t eaten properly, I was probably dehydrated, and the stress caught up with me when I least expected it to.
Dana hands me a mug of coffee and carries hers along with a mysterious little box out onto the balcony. We sit at the bistro table enjoying the warmth along with the cool breeze that’s blowing through today.
