Before Jena could even process those words, her mother pushed past Pete and into the kitchen. She cocked her head towards Abby.
“So this is another one of your friends you won’t introduce me to.”
Jena took a deep breath and reminded herself she was brave and didn’t care about consequences. She faced her mother. “Mom, you can’t just barge in here. This isn’t my house.”
“It’s fine.” Abby ruined the reprimand with her ingrained polite behaviour. “Nice to meet you, Mrs Morgan. Please have a seat and I’ll get you a cup of tea.”
“It’s Ms Mona Sage, and I’d rather have some of that wine.” Jena’s mother hooked her black suede bag on the back of a kitchen chair. “I never married Jena’s father. It was a one-night stand.” She sat down and crossed her leather-covered legs. This time her trousers were white, and she’d matched them with an off-the-shoulder black and white striped sweater. The kind of sweater Jena could only dream of being able to afford. “Actually,” her mother said, “it was a one-afternoon stand. I gave it up on his office couch for the promise of a recording career. Instead of fame and fortune, I got Jena.”
“Mom!” Jena felt humiliation burn her cheeks.
“What?” her mother said. “It’s no secret.”
“It’s the way you tell the story, as though you regret having me.”
Her mother’s silence spoke volumes. Jena fought not to let it sting. She was over letting her mother get to her. She’d made a dramatic bonfire to prove it.
“What are you wearing, Jena? Children wear Snoopy sweaters. That shape adds at least ten pounds to your frame. Pounds you can’t afford to add.”
“If you’re here to be rude, Mom, you can turn around and go back to town. I like this sweater. It’s cute. I may not look like an emaciated waif, but I’m nowhere near fat.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Abby placed a glass in front of Mona and topped it up with wine.
Jena’s mother scowled. “What’s gotten into you? You’re never usually this confrontational.”
“I’m not trying to be confrontational,” Jena said. “I’m trying to be honest.”
Her mother laughed coldly. “Good luck with that.”
“Why are you here, Mom? Is there a reason you tracked me down to Abby’s home
?”
“Yeah, there’s a reason. I flew across an ocean to see my daughter, and she’s never around. I’m beginning to think you’re avoiding me.”
Jena shook her head as she smiled. “You didn’t fly across the ocean to see me. You came to see Josh.”
Her mother spread her arms wide. “Am I wrong to want to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way?”
Jena massaged her temples. The tension of dealing with her mother was morphing into a full-blown headache. Without a word, Abby got up, fetched a bottle of aspirin from the cupboard and placed it on the table in front of Jena. With a smile of thanks, she swallowed two. Jena leaned forward, placing her hands on the table.
“We’ve been over this. I’m not introducing you to Josh and Mitch, Mom. This is their home. They don’t like strangers accosting them. They want to live here like normal people. Anyway, I thought Frank was helping you. Isn’t that what last night’s chat was all about?”
“Listen to yourself. So selfish.” Her mother sneered. “What kind of daughter did I raise?”
Jena took a deep breath. “You didn’t raise me at all, Mom. I did it myself while you were touring, or playing gigs, or hanging out with your latest boyfriend.”
Mona narrowed her eyes as Jena’s heart raced. She couldn’t ever remember a time when she’d talked to her mom like this. Usually at the first sign of confrontation she agreed or ran, desperate not to jeopardise what little love she was given. Standing her ground was hard. Hard and painful.
“You’re right. I don’t need you to introduce me to Josh. Frank will do it. Dougal has been helping as well. He texts me when there’s been a Josh sighting so I can get there in time. See, this is what we’ve come to. My own flesh and blood won’t help me, so I have to rely on strangers.”
Jena glanced at Abby and saw she was fighting a grin. It took all of Jena’s self-control not to laugh. Dougal was brilliant. She bet he was having a blast sending her mother on a wild goose chase throughout Invertary.
“I’m glad you’ve got it sorted without me,” she said.
“I didn’t come here to talk about Josh anyway,” her mom said. “I know you don’t care enough to help me with him. You’ve made it perfectly clear. I came to tell you to get your ass in gear and patch things up with Frank. That man has the patience of a saint, but he isn’t going to wait forever for you to make up your mind whether you want him or not.”
“He doesn’t have to wait one more minute. I don’t want him. I want Matt.”