Don was on his way out to Queens with Stella when his cell phone rang.
"Flack ...who? Are you kiddin' me? Uh, well, I'm on my way out to Queens right now. Shit. Is she right there? Ask her if she's got a cell phone ...yeah? Ok, give her my number and have her call me. Thanks." He snapped the phone shut and handed it to Stella.
"What's up?" Stella asked.
"I don't believe it. My mother is at the downtown building."
"Your mother? Wow. I hope everything's ok."
"Yeah, me too." The phone rang again. Stella handed it back to him. "Hello? Ma? What the hell are you doin' in Manhattan? ...You came to visit me? Where's Pop? ...oh. Look, I'm out on the road right now, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. Did you just get into town? ...How'd you get here? ...I wish you'da called me first. Ok, well, I dunno what to tell you except to make yourself comfortable and I'll get back as soon as I can. Were you plannin' on stayin' with me? Ok, we'll figure that out later. Awright, bye."
"Surprise visit, huh?" Stella asked with a small smile.
"Yeah. And she drove here. Alone. Pop's not with her. Somethin's up, and I bet I can guess what."
"Angie?"
"Yep. Damn! Well, there's nothin' I can do at the moment. Is this where we get off the highway?"
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Don and Stella took care of business in Queens and then headed back to Manhattan. Don was about to call Angie to let her know about his mom, but he decided not to. That's all I need; for Angie have another panic attack when she finds out she's about to meet my mother. Better to surprise her. I hope.
Don was told that his mother had been taken up to Mac Taylor's office. He and Stella rode the elevator together. They got off at the crimelab. Stella patted Don's back affectionately.
"Good luck," she said with a smile.
"Thanks," he replied. He took a deep breath and went to greet his mother. She was in Mac's office, looking out the window at the city.
"Hey Ma," he said, and she turned to face him.
Barbara Flack was an attractive woman of 52 years. She was 5'8" and had managed to stay slim and in good shape for her age. Don had gotten his blue eyes from her, but her hair was lighter, a warm brown with a few faint streaks of grey. She had a sprinkling of golden freckles across her nose and cheeks. She had a beautiful smile that lit up her eyes. Don felt something clench in his chest when she smiled at him.
"Donnie, honey, it's so good to see you."
He crossed the office quickly and enfolded his mother in a warm embrace.
"It's good to see you too, Ma." He kissed her cheek.
She smiled up at him. "You're looking good, sweetie. Angie's taking good care of you."
Well, I guess that answers the question of whether they've heard about her... Hearing his mother say his beloved's name, with a smile on her lips and love in her eyes was too much. He struggled with the emotional tide that suddenly hit him, and failed to hold it back. His eyes welled up.
"Jesus... Ma..."
"Oh, honey, no, don't cry. It's ok. I can't wait to meet her."
"You don't disapprove?"
"Of you? No. I disapprove of your father ranting on and on about how you've tarnished your badge by shackin' up with a jailbird..."
"Oh, jesus!" This was what Don had feared; that his Pop was off his track over Angie. In that moment, he felt like he was being stretched on a rack, torn apart by conflicting loyalties. On one side, the feeling of obligation to the parents who raised him, to whom he owed his life, and on the other, his commitment to the woman who'd captured his heart and his unwavering love.
"Is that why you're here? Because you're tired of listenin' to Pop?"
She put her hand on his cheek and wiped the tears away. "I wanted to see you. He didn't want to come with me. So here I am."
"I can't help it, Ma. I love her."
"I know you do, Donnie. And there's nothing more important than that."
"You don't think I'm tarnishin' my badge?"
"Why? Because you're brave enough to stand beside the woman you love, in spite of her past?"
"No, for lettin' myself fall in love with her in the first place."
She shook her head and smiled. "Like you'd have a choice. Let's talk about it later. Can you get out of here now?"
"Yeah. Lemme make a call." He did that, and they left the building together.
In his car on the way home, he asked her again if she was planning to stay with him while she was in town.
"I don't know, honey. Are you sure it wouldn't be awkward for you two?"
"Maybe. I hadn't really thought about it. But I don't want you to stay in a hotel. Unless you really want to, of course. I'd better call Angie and let her know I'm bringin' someone home with me." He punched in the home number and waited.
"Hey handsome."
"Hey baby," he said.
"You gonna be late?"
"No, I'm on my way home."
"Already? Why, what happened?"
"Nothin', everything's fine. But I wanted to let you know I'm bringin' someone with me."
"Who?"
"It's a surprise."
"Don, comeon, who's with you? Danny?"
"No, not Danny. You'll find out when I get there. I'll see you in a bit. Ok?"
"...ok. I love you."
"I love you too. Bye."
"You didn't tell her it was me," Barbara said.
"Nah, I don't wanna freak her out. I'm afraid she'll have a panic attack if she has to think about meetin' you until we get there."
"A panic attack?"
"Yeah, she had one when she had to go testify against the guy who shot her, and she didn't even have to go to court."
"Someone shot her? When did this happen?" Oh, so Pop didn't tell her about that... he has to know about it...
A couple a' months ago. A guy came into the market where she works and tried to rob them. He shot her in the chest. But she's fine."
"Good lord, Don!"
"Yeah, it was pretty scary. But her havin'a panic attack and passin' out on me scared the shit outta me too."
"She passed out on you? Yeah, that woulda scared me too!"
"I didn't know what was goin' on."
"And you think that meeting me will freak her out that bad?"
"Angie's a very emotional woman. And she's still workin' through the ex-con thing. The fact that I'm a cop is a very big deal, as you can imagine."
"And your father's a cop. Yeah, I get it."
"She worries about how her past affects me."
"Well, how has it affected you?"
"I've had some challenges with it."
"But not enough to make you change your mind about her."
"Not even close. I can't imagine bein' without her. I've never loved anyone this much. I'm in it for the long haul, for better or worse, as they say." He looked at his mother and she smiled at him.
"Well, I'll try not to scare her too much."
Don flashed a wry smile. "Jesus."
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Don opened the door to the apartment and stepped aside to let his mother in. He followed her in and closed the door.
"Angie? You in the office?"
"Yeah, hang on a sec..." She came out of the bedroom and approached them, just the tiniest hint of a frown on her face. Don could tell she was wondering who this woman was, and why she was with her boyfriend. Boy is she in for a shock... I wish I knew how to soften this, but better to just get it out, I guess...
"Angie, this is Barbara. Barbara, meet Angie."
"Hi Angie."
Barbara smiled at Angie, and Angie smiled back, tentatively. "Hi," she said. Don wondered if Angie could see any family resemblance. Although his hair was darker and his skin unfreckled, there were similarities. He had his mother's eyes and her bone structure. Her smile was similar to his as well.
He put his arm around Angie's shoulders and look down at her. He spoke softly, looking her in the eyes.
"Baby, this is my mom."
Don winced inwardly as he watched the color drain from Angie's face and saw a look of apprehension in her eyes.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you, sweetie." Barbara held her arms out, and Angie looked up at Don. He nodded at her and smiled. Angie stepped into Barbara's embrace.
Don felt a surge of emotion flood through him. He'd been dreading the meeting between Angie and his parents. And although Pop was not here and his disapproval was yet to be faced, this introduction was better than he ever imagined it could be. He'd thought his mother would share his father's disapproval, even if she'd be more tolerant. But this? This was beyond his wildest hope. He felt almost dizzy with relief and gratitude. He wasn't particularly religious, but he found himself silently thanking God that the two women were off to a good start.
Barbara lifted Angie's chin and looked at her. "You're so pretty..."
"Isn't she beautiful, Ma?"
"She's gorgeous." She smiled at Angie, and the younger woman began to cry. Barbara looked at Don.
"What'd I tell ya?" He stepped in and turned the hug into a three-way. "S'ok baby. Relax."
Angie sniffed, swallowed, and then smiled weakly. "Now I know why you didn't wanna tell me who was with you." They all separated, and Angie took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.
"Welcome to our home, Barbara. Would you like some iced tea?"
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Don took his two ladies out to dinner at their favorite italian restaurant. They had a bottle of wine with the meal, which helped everyone relax. Don enjoyed watching Angie and his mom get to know each other. He wanted to talk to his mother about what was going on between her and his father, but that could wait till later. Right now he was thrilled to have his mom with him, and relieved that she apparently had accepted Angie and wasn't disappointed in him. He'd been on such a rollercoaster of emotions and conficting loyalties lately, with his relationship with Angie and the whole mess with Dean Truby, that this bit of a respite was like a huge weight lifted off him.
"So what do you do for a living, Angie?"
"I work at Marilyn's market part time. And I'm also a website designer. I just got my first custom job." They told Barbara how Don had come home and found Angie crying because she'd gotten three orders for websites. They told her about Marilyn, and her work with at-risk young people.
"You'd love Marilyn," Angie said. "She's a wonderful lady."
"I'd love to meet her. And it's funny that you say she works with at-risk young people."
"Why's that, Ma?"
"Well, I know of someone who could have used someone like her, once upon a time."
They both just stared at her.
Barbara laughed. "You two are so funny, staring at me like that."
"I get the feelin' I'm about ta find out some family secret," Don said.
"Yep. Are you ready for this? When I was sixteen, I was arrested twice for shoplifting."
Don couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Did my mother just say she'd been arrested? TWICE? Oh fuck...
"Ma, are you serious? You got arrested?"
"Yes, I did. I was only sixteen. I got in with a bad crowd for awhile. Lots of young people do. Don't they, Angie?"
"Uh-huh..." Angie looked at Don, then looked at Barbara. "You never told your kids?"
"I never even told their father."
Don was in shock. "Pop doesn't know? You gotta be kiddin' me!"
"Angie, If you'd met Don under different circumstances, would you have told him about your past?"
"I probably wouldn't have. I'd have been afraid he'd dump me if he found out I was an ex-con."
Barbara nodded. "That's exactly how I felt. I was madly in love with your father, Donnie. I couldn't risk him breaking up with me if he found out I had a criminal record. So I didn't tell him."
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Angie looked at Don. She was trying to figure out what he was thinking, feeling. He was just sort of staring at nothing, and he'd gone a bit pale. She could tell this was a shock to him. Oh, please, Don, don't take this badly, comeon, she's still your mom, and it turns out she has something in common with me, and you love me... she looked at Barbara. Don's mother was looking at her son, studying him, with a soft smile on her lips that was so much like Don's smile that it was almost weird.
"Donnie?" she said softly, "You ok?"
Don picked up his half-full glass of wine and drained it. Then he got up from the table and walked away.
"Oh shit..." Angie said, and started to get up to follow him. Barbara put a hand on her arm.
"He'll be ok. Let's give him some space." Barbara took a deep breath and looked at Angie.
Angie shook her head. "So you've been carrying this secret around all these years..."
"Uh-huh. And when Donald started ranting about you, it was all I could do not to blurt it out to him. But I didn't. Sometimes I wish I'd just told him the truth. Maybe even from the beginning. But then my life might have turned out very differently." Barbara stared at the door that Don had just gone out, but it seemed to Angie as if she was looking back down the road of her past and remembering the twists and turns that had brought her to this point in her life. "If I hadn't married Donald, then I wouldn't have had Don or Kayla, and I can't imagine my life without them."
Angie knew that Kayla was Don's younger sister, who was currently living in Ireland with her husband and 2 children of her own.
"I'd better go talk to him," she said. "I just gave him quite a shock, poor boy."
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Don stood outside in the cool spring breeze and tried to calm down. He felt light-headed and his legs felt funny, like they couldn't quite hold him up.
Jesus Christ. Talk about havin' your fuckin' foundation knocked out from under ya...
He struggled to assimilate what his mother had just told him. At first it had felt like she'd been speaking in a foreign language. Like he had to wait for the Universal Translator to kick in. Then her words penetrated his haze of shock and the first thing he felt after that was denial. No, no way, my mom's not an ex-con. No. That can't be right... but that's what she just said... oh shit...
He rubbed his temples. It felt like there was a band around his head, and he figured it was adrenaline or something. He was thinking he really should go back to the table when he saw his mother approaching him.
She stood beside him on the patio, looking out at the city, the people walking along, traffic going by on the street, the noises of New York at night.
"Are you alright honey?" She didn't touch him; she just stood beside him. He took a deep breath and turned to face her.
"I know I dropped a bomb on you... oh shit, bad choice of words..." she grimaced and looked away from him.
"It's ok Ma. Yeah, it was a shock, but I'm glad you told me."
"You are? I was afraid you'd hate me, at least temporarily."
"Ma, I could never hate you!" He suddenly wanted very badly to hug her. And have her hug him. He reached out, and she stepped into his embrace.
"I'm so sorry," she said, and it sounded to him like she was about to cry.
"For what?"
"For you havin' to find out that I'm not who you thought I was."
"You're my mother. What you told me doesn't change that. It doesn't change who you are. And it doesn't make me love you any less."
"Oh, Donnie..." she is crying...
"Ma, don't cry. It's ok." He kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like strawberries. "Where's Angie?"
"I guess she's still inside. You know, they say that men marry their mothers... that didn't come out right..."
"I know what you mean. But that doesn't apply here, because I didn't know about your gettin' arrested till now. Let's go back inside. We can talk more later. We need to bring Angie into the loop, you know?"
"Oh, she's in the loop. You can be sure of that. Gettin' your father into the loop. That's gonna be the challenge."
"Huh. Yeah."
They went back inside and found Angie still at the table, waiting for them.
"I was about to come out after you two," she said.
Don bent and kissed her. "Let's go home. You ready ta get outta here Ma?"
"Yeah. I think we should pick up another bottle of wine on the way home."
"We've got one there already," Angie said.
"Good. Let's go open it," Barbara said.