Taken (Dark Desires 1)

I’m not going to be so dramatic as to say I felt violated but I will say I felt like I had a film of some unnamable filth all over me.

“If I were you I wouldn’t say anything right now. You’d be surprised how some of these kinds of sticky situations resolve themselves without your doing anything. Do you have any idea how many times your father suggested we go to his mother’s house when I didn’t want to. Instead of throwing a fit or trying to talk him out of it I would just not say anything. Then he’s start to talk about the long drive, the weather might be bad, he was tired after working all week. The next thing I’d know we were sipping coffee at the kitchen table while he talked to his mother on the phone. Everything worked out just fine because I didn’t make an issue of it.”

“But that didn’t happen every time.” I said, letting my pessimism show.

“No, Di, not every time. But when in doubt, keep your mouth shut.”

“Okay.” I said. I still felt funny. I couldn’t help but wonder if Joshua wanted me to tell Natasha what he said or if he wanted to see if I’d keep a secret. Either way I got the impression I was doing exactly what he expected. That made me angry.

“How did she meet this guy, anyway?” my mom asked.

“They met in a bar and…”

“Oh, well, there’s your problem right there. You know, my good friend Lerlean, she dead now, she married a man she met in a bar. And let me tell you that there was nothing good that came from that marriage. Doctor Keeley used to tell us girls when we were in nurses training that if you wanted to earn your place in heaven then by all means marry an alcoholic. That is exactly what Lerlean did.”

“I don’t know if he’s a boozer, mom. I mean, he ordered two bottles of champagne between three people that only came to a little over two three glasses each.”

“But do you know how much he had before he got there?”

I could tell by the way my mom was talking that she had made up her mind that Joshua Hewitt was a bonafide alcoholic. It was like wrestling a bone from a bulldog, now.

“No.” I answered her.

“No, you don’t.” she snapped.

“But he didn’t smell like booze.”

“Do you know how much vodka I used to drink in nurses training? Kay and I, you know my good friend Kay, well we used to go out all night on Friday, get back to the dorm Saturday morning and report for rounds at 6:30 a.m.”

“Mom, are you sure you should be telling me all this? I’m starting to get the willies from you now too.”

She laughed out loud on the other end of the phone and that made me laugh, too.

“I’m sorry. You kids forget that your mother had a life before I met your father.”

I sat quietly on the end of the phone.

“Are you alright?” she asked me in that mom tone that almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Yeah. I’ll be okay.” I said. “It just sucks is all. Here we are grown women and this guy is playing this game that throws us back into high school he said she said mode. How dare he!”

“Well, I’m afraid it’s going to be a hard lesson for Natasha to learn. Be thankful he showed his true colors to you right off the bat. Now you know and you won’t be fooled. He can’t hurt you at all.”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s right. Thanks for listening, mom. I better get going.”

“Sure, honey. And just remember, you’ve got your daddy’s money and your mama’s good looks. It may not be as much as Mr. Whats-his-name but it is something and people will always be a little jealous of it.”

“Natasha never was.”

“Well, if she knows you and feels about you the way you feel about her, this guy doesn’t stand a chance. He won’t win.”

“I hope you’re right, mom. I really do.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“I need to take a shower. I feel the grossness of being around that guy all over me.”

“Do that. Take a nice hot shower and…what? I’m talking to Diamond. What? Oh, please will you…”