Madison leaned forward from the wall, looking down the line of her friends to where Toonie and Crystal sat together.
“Toonie?” said Madison. “I’m sorry the day turned into this. I didn’t realize—”
“Don’t apologize,” said Toonie. “I had a wonderful time. I haven’t had this kind of fun since Vegas when four showgirls all realized they were dating the same man.”
They all turned their heads in Toonie’s direction.
“I really enjoyed that fight. I watched them beat the crap out of each other till the fighting got so bad, they had ripped up their costumes and torn out hair before I tried to stop it.”
“Why’d you do that?” asked Madison.
“Because I was dating him, too,” she smiled.
At about that moment, the faux hawk guy came up to them carrying Target. Her arms were around his neck where a tattoo peeked out from under his collar. Madison stood up, her legs weak, and steadied herself by the wall, before walking over to them. She gave Target an appreciative hug as Target sat in the arms of the new guy, saying, “Thank you, Target. If you hadn’t sounded the alarm, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“If we hadn’t come up here to the wedding reception, I may not have seen Wyatt again. Everybody?” Target gestured to the man holding her. “This is Wyatt. Wyatt? This is everybody.” A chorus of “Hi, Wyatt” followed. Wyatt nodded, seeming a little shy, and only had eyes for Target.
“Let me know what the doctor says about your foot,” said Madison. “I can come help out at Robot Moon till you’re able to move around again.”
“Thanks,” said Target. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Well,” said ExBoy, “if you all can make it up to my room, I’ll feed you and we can clean up our cuts. Room service on me.” Several voices insisted on pitching in on that effort. They all slowly and with great pain, tried to move, find their feet, and help each other get up.
“If you guys don’t mind,” said Madison, “I want to spend some time with my family.”
“I think we all understand that,” said Spenser, coming over for a goodbye hug. “Call me. I want all the details.” She smiled at Madison before going over to put her arm around Daniel, helping him limp away.
Jason, with chin abrasions on his right side that seemed to match the scratches next to his right eye, also had a big bump on his forehead near the hairline. His knuckles were pretty cut up and swollen but his hands seemed to work well enough.
He and ExBoy stood up at about the same moment, looking at each other, poker-faced, each giving a small nod to the other. Madison figured that was probably as close as they would get to being okay with each other.
Jason turned to Madison and Vincent. “Well, I’m going to get going. My grandfather will want the blow by blow, if you know what I mean.”
“You tell Mitch he can be proud of his grandkid,” said Grandpa. “I’ll tell him myself tomorrow.” He shook Jason’s hand, and Jason winced but smiled.
Madison put her hand on top of Jason’s in a protective gesture. “Careful,” she said.
He touched her hair with his other hand and said “It’s okay. I’m all right. Everything’s going to be all right.” She blinked, trying to let his words sink in.
Grandpa said, “I should go see both Mitch and Ray tomorrow. They’ll be glad to hear the news.”
While they were talking, Madison went up to ExBoy, taking his hands. She said, “I’m sorry you got hurt.”
“Hey, you said I was too pretty. Doesn’t this make me look all rugged and shit?”
She laughed, “It does.” Then sighing, she said, “Leave it to you to look even sexier when you’re beat up.”
He was watching her. She knew he was waiting for more.
She said, “I want to get to know him.”
He nodded. “I figured.” He held her chin in his hand, lightly brushing her lower lip with his thumb. “But he has
no clue
what he’s in for with you. He’ll make you feel tied down inside of two months.”
She started to protest but he pressed that thumb on her lips as he said, “Just remember, it’s not about proving me wrong. It’s about you finding your happiness. So take some time. Find yourself and all that.” He tilted her chin up to make her look him in the eyes. “I’ll be around.” He looked up, and Madison saw him see her mother walking back from an impromptu meeting with the special agents from headquarters. ExBoy said, “Gotta go.” He held her gaze a moment longer, kissed her cheek, and walked away, joining the limping brigade as they all headed for the stairs.
Turning her head back toward Ann and seeing that her mother was not in conversation with anyone, Madison took advantage of the moment, coming forward without saying a word and putting her arms around her mother. She didn’t let go. And somewhere in the next minute, the polite hug turned to holding, though it was unclear who was holding whom. They each had silent tears going down their cheeks and seemed content to stay that way for a while. Finally, with so much sniffing going on, they backed away, and Ann reached into her pocket, bringing out tissues for them both.
Madison said “All this time, you knew Jerry was being investigated.”
“Yes, for selling secrets, but… I never suspected his involvement with Dad all these years. It explains a lot. Wish I could knock out the rest of his teeth.”
Madison asked, “Did you see the things on the floor where I dumped out my tote bag?”
Her mother nodded, her dark eyes tearing up afresh. “I found that metal box when I was thirteen. It explained why I never looked like anyone else in the family.” She pulled out another tissue, dabbing her eyes. “That’s why I went out and got pregnant, so I could keep the baby and prove a point.” She sniffed, wiping her nose. “Then I wound up abandoning you anyway.”
Madison used to wish that her mother would admit it. Now that she had, it hurt too much to hear, and to see her mother’s pain. She said, “Mom, it’s okay. We’re going to move on now. Right?”
“Right.”
“We’ll do fun things together.”
“Right.”
“We’ll go out drinking.”
“Uh… right.”
“We’ll go dancing and we’ll get you hooked up with a guy.”
“Now wait…”
“I’ll show you how to get free drinks by dancing sexy on the bar.”
“Now wait just a minute young lady!”
Madison winked at her, saying, “See? I still need a mom.”
Ruffled but smiling, Ann exhaled, saying, “You certainly do.”
Epilogue
Madison checked her makeup in Toonie’s bathroom mirror one more time. She wanted to look extra pretty today. Everything needed to be perfect. She heard the tinkling of fine china coming from Toonies’s kitchen and wandered back into the living room with its tiny excuse for a dining room off to the side.
“Did I hear china dishes?” asked Madison.
“That you did,” said Toonie. “I don’t get enough opportunities to use them. It’s a shame, too, because I own a nice set.” Madison walked over to the sink where Toonie had set down a few stacks of small dessert plates from a high shelf with matching teacups and saucers.
“Ooh,” said Madison. “Butterflies. And blossoms.” She loved the delicate colors of the butterfly wingspans on the flowers, with the occasional pop of color. “These are pretty!”
“Thanks. It seems like a good chance to use them,” said Toonie.
Madison couldn’t help herself. She put her arms around Toonie in a spontaneous hug. “Thank you for doing this. I’m so nervous. I want this to work so bad.”
Toonie hugged back, patting her on the back. “Everything will be all right. You just need to give them time. It’s not going to come overnight, but I think you’re giving them a good start. I’m just flattered that I get to be involved.”
“Are you kidding? It’s your recipe. Those cookies could go a long way toward making everyone comfortable. And frankly, having you around makes
me
more comfortable. I feel like I’m barely getting to know my mom, and now there’s a new grandmother in the mix.” She walked over to the table to check the flowers one more time. “It kind of rattles me, you know?”
“She doesn’t look old enough to be a grandmother, your Nika. At least not enough to have a granddaughter your age.”
“She said she was fourteen when she had Mom. And I think Mom was about fifteen when she had me, so our ages are a little too close for normal.”
“Well, no getting around it kid, your family dynamic is unusual. But that doesn’t mean it can’t work.”
Madison was quiet for a moment, then said, “It just seems like they need each other. Mom is fighting it the most, but she needs it the most. She probably wouldn’t come if she knew Nika was going to be here.”
“Give her time,” said Toonie.
The heavenly aroma of Toonie’s fresh baked secret recipe cookies filled the air. They would be coming out of the oven soon.
Madison went to check her laptop, making sure it was powered up. The montage, starring Anna Lisa Cruz, was going to be fun, whether her mother liked it or not. She smiled to herself.
So this is what it feels like to force some goodwill on someone.
“Thank goodness the weather has lightened up a little,” said Toonie. “Makes it easier to do a little baking.”
“I love it. Waking up to the rain this morning was such a relief. It made the air feel clean and fresh again.”
She set the laptop on top of a short bookcase near the small dining table. She played with the angle of the screen, making sure it could be seen by all four chairs at the table. She checked the volume, leaving it set at the right amount. Lastly, she queued up the montage she’d been working on all week. She’d used the old photos from the family album of Ann’s baby pictures. Her first steps, her first solid food. Her first little Mary Jane black patent leather shoes. All recorded by her parents. All saved and in the montage for Nika to see and experience.
Her mother needed to forgive Nika for not being there, the way Madison had to forgive Ann.
We both have a second chance to get to know our mothers.
There was nothing left to do but wait… and hope.
Toonie brought the china dishes over to the table, setting them out at each place setting when there was a knock. Madison felt that rare flutter of stage fright, checking her clothes to make sure everything looked right before going to the door and letting Veronica Fedora into Toonie’s home. Nika brought a bouquet of multi-colored roses that Madison put in water right away, adding them to the table.
She and Nika looked at each other, their nerves on high level alert, and the irony did not escape Madison that here they were, an international spy and a singing telegram, both professions that required staying cool under pressure. Both were accustomed to thinking fast on their feet, improvising, and moving with confidence. Yet Ann had this effect on them. She and her grandmother Nika wanted this so much. They had talked, plotted, and schemed. Now they were nervous to see if it would work.
There was a knock at the door. Madison and Nika flew into a tight hug, and Madison whispered, “Curtain.”
The End
Copyright
Hot Scheming Mess
Copyright © 2013 by Lucy Carol
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means now known or hereafter invented, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Fevered Publishing LLC
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is coincidental.
Cover Design by TheCoverCounts.com
Editing by Mimi the “Grammar Chick” (www.grammarchick.com)
Formatting by BiddlesEbooks.com
ISBN: 978-0-9896735-0-1
Fevered Publishing LLC
19410 Highway 99, Suite A-234
Lynnwood WA 98036
Acknowledgments
A big thank you to Mimi Dempsey, “The Grammar Chick,” who probably still dreams she is drowning in my commas.
A warm thanks goes to Biddles Ebooks for squeezing time from their travels to help this crazed author make her deadline.
Deep appreciation goes to Renee Barratt of The Cover Counts for delivering exactly what she promised.
To my favorite superhero Irrational Man for your lavish and irrational love. You can leave the cape on.
Dear Reader,
This is not your mother's madcap mystery. It's mine. I wrote it. She didn't. Don't believe her if she says she did. You might have a problem on your hands and may need to call someone.
My editor tells me that it's not very professional for me to say things like that. But hey, she's not the one about to have a throw-down with your crazy mother.
Oh great, now my editor is leaving. I have to go stop her. I really, really need her. She knows how to make a good martini.
Stay classy,
Lucy Carol
Connect with Lucy online
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Table of Contents
Chapters:
1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
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25
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26
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27
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28
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29
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30
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31
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32
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Epilogue