"Aren't you gonna kiss your Mama hello, Juan Carlos?" She asked.

His mother's voice pulled him from his shocked state and he hastened to do so. It had only been four years since he last saw her, but Jesus H Christ, did she look rough.

Maria Ortiz had once been a very beautiful woman. Juice knew this from memory and from pictures. She had once had shining dark hair and huge brown eyes. Her hair now, though still dark, was a few shades too dark and obviously dyed; as brittle as jimson weed. Her dark eyes were as flat and hard as a cheap motel bed. And there were lines around her mouth and eyes that hadn't been there before. Twenty years of hard living had finally caught up with her and even though she was just forty, she looked much older. He glanced at her hands and, seeing the extra long pinky nail, knew what her drug of choice was this time.

"What are you doing here, Mama?" He asked. She blinked at him.

"Why, I'm here to see my baby, of course!" She exclaimed.

"I'm not your baby." He said, straining to keep his voice calm, knowing that everyone was watching them. "What do you want?"

He saw anger flash in her eyes, but she doused it quickly. "Juan Carlos, I don't understand why you're acting like this, after all I've done for you! I just came here to see you and to meet your girlfriend-."

"All you've done for me?" He laughed loudly and sarcastically, suddenly angry enough that he didn't care if the whole damn town heard. "What have you ever done for me, Mama? Besides abandon me and steal from me and turn tricks in my bed? What exactly have you done?"

"I know I haven't always been good to you in the past," She said. "But I've changed, I swear it! Just come have lunch with me, and you'll see. Please, baby."

Juice felt movement behind him and turned to see Clarissa making her way over.

"You all right, baby?" She asked. He nodded.

"Yeah."

"Is this her?" Maria looked at the girl. Young and beautiful, she thought. And most likely rolling in dough. "Your special girl?"

"I'm Clarissa." She held out her hand and Juice's mother shook it.

"Maria Ortiz." She said. "Juan Carlos' Mama." She looked at her son again. "Please, give me another chance, baby. Come have lunch with me; bring your girlfriend."

Juice sighed, relenting. He knew that his mother only wanted whatever she thought she could get from him, and he knew it would probably get ugly when he refused her. He didn't want to do that here, in front of everyone.

"All right," He said. "Lunch and that's it." He looked at Clarissa and she at him.

"Do you not want me to come?" She asked. "I can stay here and-."

"No." He interrupted. "I want you with me."

She nodded. "All right. We'll take my car."

She ran up to get her keys. "What's going on?" Gemma asked immediately. "Is that his mother? What the fuck does she want?"

"She hasn't said yet." Clarissa told her. "But Juice thinks she wants money."

"You need me to get rid of her?" Gemma asked. "Because you know I have no problem-."

"It hasn't come to that yet." Clarissa said. "But we may need you before this shit is all said and done."

Gemma nodded and kissed her daughter. "I'll be here."

Juice drove Clarissa's Mustang and his mother and her boyfriend, who she simply introduced as Mike, followed in their car.

"Let me do the talking." Juice told her. "I know how to handle her. Baby, you gotta know…this could get real ugly before its over."

Clarissa nodded. "I know." She said. "I'm just here for the moral support."

Juice led them to a little diner off the highway.

"Why here?" Clarissa asked in surprise. "There are a lot nicer places in town."

Juice shrugged, but honestly he didn't want any bad memories of his mother tainting him and Clarissa's favorite spots.

They followed him inside and sat down at a booth in the back. After the waitress, a girl named Beth that Clarissa had gone to high school with, took their orders, Juice looked at his mother.

"All right," He said. "What do you want?"

"Juan Carlos, I told you-."

"Cut the shit, Mama." He said harshly and she sucked in her breath. He had never spoken to her like that before. "You don't wanna get to know me anymore than I wanna get to know you. What'd you want?"

Her eyes narrowed and her true intentions rose to the surface. "Fine, you wanna play it that way? Ten-thousand dollars oughta do it."

Juice laughed out loud, but without a trace of humor. It scared Clarissa a little bit. This was not the sunny, happy-go-lucky boy she loved. This man was hard. "Even if I had that kind of cash just laying around, I sure as shit wouldn't give it to you."

"You don't even know why I need it." She began, but he cut her off.

"I know why you need it," He said. "So you can shovel it right up your goddamned nose. Your coke nail gave it away." He shook his head. "I don't know where you got your information, Mama, but it was wrong. I don't have any money."

"I know you're running with this motorcycle club now." She said. "I'm not stupid, Juan Carlos. They're rolling in it."

Juice rolled his eyes and fingered his cut. "You see this? I'm a Prospect, a fuckin' grunt. I'm not seeing any kind of payout from anything."

"Maybe not," His mother said. "But I asked around, and this here girl you're snuggled up to, she's the little biker princess, ain't she? Look at that brand new car she's drivin'. Mommy and Daddy probably give her whatever the fuck she wants, and the boyfriend too. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" She reached across the table and ran her finger down Clarissa's face. She jerked away.

Juice felt his blood pounding in his ears. He'd never been this angry, not that he could remember. "We're leaving." He stood and pulled Clarissa up with him. "I'm not giving you a goddamned cent and you need to get out of Charming today. Right now. Take your fucking lowlife and leave."

"I thought you said he'd give us the money, Maria." Mike said as they watched Juice and Clarissa drive away.

"He will." She told him.

Mike snorted. "Sure as shit didn't sound like it."

"I know my boy." She said. "We'll get it…we just need the right leverage. And," She said, thinking of Clarissa. "I think I know exactly how to push his buttons."

"You get shit taken care of?" Clay asked him when they got back. Juice nodded.

"Yeah," He said. "She won't be back around here."

"What was that?" Clay asked Clarissa when Juice had walked off.

"His mother, the fucking deadbeat, has it in her head that he's got money." Clarissa explained. "She thought he'd give her some. He told her to fuck off."

"Is she gonna stir up problems for us?" Clay asked and Clarissa shook her head.

"I don't see how she can."

"She drove clear across the USA to get money from him. You think she's gonna give up that easy?"

Clarissa shrugged. "What do I know? I just met the woman. But what can she do? She ain't got any clout in this town. I wouldn't worry about it."

"All right." Clay said.

"You okay, baby?" Gemma asked Juice. He nodded.

"Yeah. I got used to the fact a long time ago; she never wanted me or my brother."

Gemma touched his cheek. "That's her loss then, isn't it?" She said. "And our gain."

He finally cracked a smile. "Thanks, Gemma."

"Anytime, baby."