Reflections

by evitascarlett

A companion piece to 'Apologize'. Chronicling the lives and love story of Jim and Johanna Beckett through the years. See Authors Note at the beginning of Chapter One for more details! Cover art by LordofKavaka

59. Chapter 59- The Mother Load-Part 2

Authors Note: Thanks for your reviews! I'm going to work on getting The Visitors updated next!

Chapter 59- The Mother Load-Part 2

Jim returned to the table in under two minutes as promised, giving Johanna a small smile as he retook his seat; noting that silence was reigning for the moment.

"Have I missed anything?" he asked.

"No; my list of sins has been put on hold for the moment," Johanna answered. "We'll get back to it shortly."

"How wonderful," he replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"My thoughts exactly," she said as their mothers remained quiet; the frost so thick between them that Johanna was surprised that penguins hadn't started flocking into the restaurant to be near the chill. "What did you find out about the food?"

"It should be here in a few minutes," he answered. "Hopefully it'll help our little party here."

"The only thing that could help this party is booze," Johanna muttered.

"Believe me, sweetheart; I wish we had it."

"Drinking this early in the day isn't acceptable," Elizabeth remarked.

"Really?" Jim asked. "Then how come I've seen you sipping wine in the afternoon before…and what's that other drink you like to have when the garden club gathers at one of the fancier places? A mimosa…is that the one with the champagne and orange juice?"

"That's the one," Johanna replied. "I could go for one of those myself."

"A mimosa is a suitable afternoon beverage," Elizabeth declared.

"It's still booze, Mom."

"You're trying to make me into a hypocrite!" she declared.

"He doesn't have to try hard," Naomi replied. "Sounds like you've forgotten that old adage; people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Elizabeth's brow arched as she looked to Naomi. "Speaking of houses; maybe we should get back to the topic of your daughter and how I discovered that she's practically moved in to my son's home."

"Can't I just go buy you a mimosa?" Johanna asked. "I'll buy you two; I'll walk three blocks if I have to to get them for you."

"What's the matter, Princess? Are you afraid of what your mother might think when I tell her how I walked into Jimmy's apartment early one morning and found you in nothing but a towel, taking your lingerie out of a dresser drawer?"

Johanna's cheeks burned with shame, her eyes squeezing shut at the dreaded memory. "Why don't you just let it go?" she asked through clenched teeth. "It was embarrassing enough when you walked in on me; do you really have to keep the memory alive?"

Elizabeth smirked. "I think you're mother should know about your slutty behavior."

"My daughter isn't a slut," Naomi said angrily.

"Oh no?" Elizabeth retorted. "When I walked into that bedroom, it looked like a couple of wild animals had torn through it during mating season…"

"That's enough, Mother!" Jim said sharply. "You had no business letting yourself into my apartment. If you had knocked instead of barging in, you might not have seen things you didn't like."

"I had a key!"

"That doesn't give you the right to walk into his home unannounced," Naomi declared.

"He's my son"

"I don't give a damn if he's the Pope and you're the head nun reporting for duty; you don't walk into anyone's home unannounced unless you've been asked to do so, and I highly doubt that he asked you to go barging into his home that day," Naomi retorted.

"I can go anywhere I please," his mother stated. "You just want to draw the attention away from your little angel…whose clothes were still all over the floor, including her black lace underwear…and we all know only sluts wear black lace."

"Do you know that from personal experience?" Naomi asked.

"I asked her the same thing," Johanna commented as her face continued to burn.

"It's a commonly known fact," Elizabeth said sharply.

"Is that what you learn at the Bridge club?" Jim asked.

"Never mind where I heard it!" she replied shrilly. "The fact remains that it was clear that she had spent the night there; clothes on the floor, the sheets tangled and half on the floor; shoes thrown in every corner. It was a disgrace! And then she's there taking clothes out of the drawer like she's the lady of the house."

"She is the lady of my house," Jim retorted. "She can have as much of her stuff at my place as she wants, and here's a real big shocker for you, Mother; I have clothes and stuff at her apartment. What do you think of that?"

Rage colored Elizabeth's features. "It's just as wrong as her stuff being at yours! You're living in sin!"

"Oh for God's sake," Johanna muttered. "I didn't realize that weekend arrangements mattered so much. While you're busy flapping your gums to my mother about that morning, why don't you tell her how Jim wasn't even there and how you stood there screaming at me, refusing to leave the room so I could get dressed. Tell her about how I had to push my way around you so I could go lock myself in the bathroom so I could get my clothes on."

"How dare you infringe on her privacy like that!" Naomi said in outrage. "What gives you the right to stand there and keep her from getting dressed? It wasn't your home; you had no right to do anything like that!"

"I figured if she was forced to stand there and face her shame with only that towel on that she'd think twice before stripping off her clothes again."

"You've got a serious problem with minding your own business, lady," Naomi said angrily.

"You've got a serious problem with that spoiled brat you raised. You want to talk about minding one's own business, you're little darling there got me banned from my own son's home!"

"I did not get you banned from his home!" Johanna nearly yelled.

"You did too! He took back my key!"

"You don't need a key to my apartment," Jim said sternly. "I took it because you don't use it for what it's intended for. You had a key for emergencies, not so you could barge in at your leisure to be nosy, because that's exactly what you did, Mother; and it isn't the first time you've done it; this time was the last straw however because you outdid yourself with this one. I didn't ban you from coming into my apartment; you can come over; but you'll knock on the door and wait to be let in; you won't let yourself in ever again."

"If I was you," Naomi said as she looked to Jim. "I'd see about having the locks changed, because someone like her, she's probably got a copy somewhere."

"I have thought about it," he replied. "But my landlord isn't too keen on things like that."

"Understandable," she stated.

"I love how I'm made out to be the bad person in this," Elizabeth commented.

"That's because you are the bad person in this," Naomi remarked. "If you had knocked on the door and waited to be invited inside, you might not be privy to those personal details of their relationship."

"Well you're just holier than thou, aren't you? It's no wonder she's the way she is."

"She has a name," Naomi retorted. "It's Johanna; memorize it and use it."

"I know what her name is," Elizabeth shot back.

"The way you avoid using it, you could've fooled me."

"The food is coming," Jim remarked; catching sight of the waitress carrying a tray in their direction. "Everyone settle down and keep your mouth full, chew slowly and we'll get through this."

"You're not funny, James," his mother replied as she unfolded her napkin. "You're not one bit funny."

"I hope I can live through the devastation of that knowledge," he quipped sarcastically.

"See what a bad influence on you she is; you're being a smart ass just like her."

"I was a smart ass long before I met Johanna," Jim remarked. "Don't blame her because I was born with some of your genes."

"How dare you!"

"Mother, stop," he said with the air of disgust.

Johanna gave him a soft, sympathetic smile. "I think you're funny, honey."

Jim smiled. "I'm glad someone appreciates my sense of humor."

"I appreciate everything about you," she said warmly, her tone soft as she held his gaze.

"Lay it on nice and thick," Elizabeth scoffed. "Make sure he stays wrapped around your little finger."

Naomi glanced at Jim. "Your father must have the patience and heart of a saint," she remarked.

"Yeah; pretty much," he replied as he quickly wrapped his fingers around Johanna's and gave them a soft squeeze as a silent show of moral support as the waitress reached the table.

Tension settled over the table as the food was delivered and Jim found himself wishing that he hadn't thought up this so called brilliant idea of his. Why did his mother have to show up there? Was he cursed? Sometimes it felt like he might be and he really wished he could find a cure for it. He suppressed a sigh and tried to focus on the music coming from the restaurant's speakers. The song that was playing was familiar; one from his youth that he'd heard a million times before.

"…My mama told me, you better shop around…"

"That's advice I've tried to get you to heed," Elizabeth remarked as she glanced at her son.

"What?" he asked.

"You need to shop around," she said tartly. "Like the song says, pretty girls are a dime a dozen."

"Well at least she doesn't think I'm ugly," Johanna stated as Jim's apologetic gaze met hers.

"Don't let it go to your head," Elizabeth told her. "You might have a pretty enough face but it's got trouble written all over it like I said before. Everyone knows that green eyed women are no good."

"I'm sorry; what did you just say?" Naomi said sharply.

"You heard me," Elizabeth retorted.

Naomi's blue eyes shot daggers as she glared at the woman across the table, her blood boiling. "Don't you ever say that my daughter is no good, especially when you stupidly base that assumption on her eye color!"

"Did you just call me stupid?" Elizabeth asked haughtily.

Naomi smiled. "Yes, I believe I did."

"As for shopping around," Johanna interceded; "It's a shame no one gave Robert that advice."

"How dare you!" Elizabeth thundered. "Jimmy; are you going to let them speak to me that way?"

Jim met his mother's eye. "You started it, Mother; you asked for it."

"I see how it is," she replied snidely. "When you're with your little girlfriend, you have to fall in line and have your head up her ass because she's easy enough to put out for you later on."

"That's enough, Mother," Jim said sharply. "When you act this way, you get what you deserve. I've told you a million times to quit making untrue, derogatory remarks about Johanna; and we didn't ask you to join us just so you could insult her in front of her mother."

"I'm not insulting her in front of her mother; I'm letting her mother know what type of girl she raised."

"I know what kind of girl I raised," Naomi retorted; "And it isn't anything like you imply…and I suggest you stop doing it."

"It's no different than you calling me stupid; and I'm not stupid. I'll have you know that I was educated at the most prestigious all girls boarding school there is in Connecticut and that I also spent a year at the same finishing school my mother attended here in New York. I doubt your education can live up to those standards."

Johanna met Jim's gaze, a silent 'this isn't going to be pretty' message passing between them.

Naomi smiled at her new adversary. "I attended St. Mary's Catholic school for grade school and then moved on to St Francis high school. After graduating, I then attended St Joseph's College for Women where I learned secretarial and office management skills while also studying music with a concentration on piano. I also earned an accreditation to teach piano, which I do two evenings a week in the winter months and three days a week in the summer. Speaking of music, I won many awards as a school girl for playing piano and I placed second in a national competition when I was seventeen. My schools weren't boarding schools, my parents enjoyed my company, but they educated me very well. Now would you like to try again at pretending like you're better than everyone?"

Elizabeth pursed her lips; her nose wrinkling in disdain. "Catholic school education," she sniffed.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yes I do," Elizabeth remarked. "I don't like Catholics."

"Here we go," Jim muttered around a bite of his steak.

Naomi's brow rose as she kept her gaze trained on Elizabeth. "Oh, you're one of those, are you? Do tell, what religion are you?"

"Protestant," the other woman snapped. "My family has never been anything else."

"I should've known," Naomi retorted. "But it's alright, dear; I'll pray for you on Sunday."

"Don't do me any favors. Why don't you drag your daughter to church, she could use it."

"My daughter attended church all throughout her childhood and she still goes with me on holidays and whenever else she likes. She was baptized Catholic, she went through her instruction, she had a first communion, she's been to confession, she knows her rosary and she prays. I have no concerns about her faith."

Elizabeth sniffed. "I doubt the church would be happy to welcome her through its doors if it knew the loose lifestyle she leads."

Johanna glanced at her. "I wasn't aware that I was a street walker," she remarked.

"You're still not a good Catholic."

"That's alright," Jim quipped. "My mother isn't always a good Protestant."

"Only God can make those judgments," Naomi said sharply, her gaze still pinned upon Elizabeth. "Just as one day he'll judge you."

"How about we find a new topic," Jim suggested. "Warring religions always make me lose my appetite."

"You might want to slow down on that steak if you want to prove that," Johanna told him.

He grinned at her. "If my mouth is full, I don't have to join in the conversation."

"Good point."

"I believe the schools you mentioned you attended, Mrs. McKenzie, are located in Brooklyn," Elizabeth stated.

"That's right…I was born in Brooklyn…so was my daughter."

"That figures," Elizabeth said snidely as she looked Johanna up and down.

"Do you have a problem with people from Brooklyn as well, Mrs. Beckett?"

A prissy look overtook her features. "I've never known anything good to come from Brooklyn…it's a bit trashy, don't you think?"

Naomi's eyes narrowed. "Did you just call my family trash?"

"Those are your words, not mine. I said nothing good comes from there."

"My mother still lives in Brooklyn," Naomi said tartly; "And you better not be insinuating that my mother is no good…I don't care what you say about me, but you don't talk about my mother and you don't talk about my kids; because when you do, I will take you apart and don't think for a moment that I'd hesitate to come across this table after you, because I won't."

Elizabeth laughed. "I see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Meaning what?" she asked. "And may I suggest that you mind your manners while doing so…I think you could've benefited from an extra year at that finishing school."

"Meaning that her attitude obviously comes from her mother," Elizabeth replied.

"Actually she gets it from her father."

"I do not," Johanna argued out of reflex.

"You do," Naomi said firmly. "I think I'd know."

"What do you think, Jimmy?" Elizabeth asked sweetly. "Who does your girlfriend get her disposition from?"

He shrugged. "Well she's very sweet and kind, so I'd say she gets that from her mother. I don't know her father so I can't make a judgment about that."

"You haven't met her father?" his mother asked, a tinge of outrage in her voice.

"Not yet," he replied; trying to think of a quick excuse to save Johanna from whatever his mother was conjuring up. "Her father is a busy man who owns his own business and Jo and I are busy too at times; I'm sure I'll meet him sooner or later."

A smile that reminded Johanna of the wicked step-mother in Cinderella, spread across Elizabeth's lips. "She hasn't introduced you to her father…and yet despite your father also being a busy man, she's met both of your parents and all of your siblings."

"I've met Johanna's siblings and her nephew," Jim remarked. "This isn't even the first time I've met her mother. I've also met her aunt and grandmother."

"But not her father," Elizabeth said once more. "Why is that, Johanna? Do you have something to hide from your father?"

"Of course not," she retorted. "My father knows I'm in a relationship."

"And he hasn't demanded to meet the man you're spending so much time with? What kind of father doesn't keep an eye on who his daughter is associating with?"

"My husband is always interested in Johanna's life," Naomi remarked. "As she said, he knows that she's seeing someone and he trusts her judgment that he's a good man and worthy of her attention. Frank allows our children to choose their own time to introduce him to the people who are special to them."

"How quaint," Elizabeth said flippantly. "But it does smack of something I can't put my finger on…there must be some other reason why my son has met the rest of the family but not Johanna's father…how has he met you and not your husband, Mrs. McKenzie?"

"Because the first time I met your son was at Johanna's apartment. I was staying with her while my husband was out of town and Jim was picking her up because he was escorting her to some party the law firm was having. I believe the next time I met him was a brief moment when he drove Johanna to my father-in-law's home; my husband was occupied in the house at that time. The third time, if I remember correctly, Johanna came home to have lunch with me and I told her she was free to invite Jim to come with her, which he did. My husband was at work during that occasion."

"How convenient," Elizabeth replied. "The girl is keeping him from her father…and the reason for that better not be that she thinks her father will find him lacking in some way or that he'd have the audacity to think that my son isn't good enough for his flashy little piece of baggage."

Naomi pointed a finger at her. "If you call my daughter one more name, I'm going to slap you for it. Frank has never said anything that would imply that he has any thoughts that Jim isn't good enough for her. As long as he makes her happy, that's all that matters to us and I'm sure that Johanna has no worry about her father finding Jim lacking; do you, Johanna?"

"No, of course not," she answered; and it was the truth. Her reasons were more about her than any thought that her father would find something wrong with Jim…she just didn't want him using Jim as a pawn against her, a new soft spot he could kick whenever the mood struck.

"I didn't think so," Naomi remarked.

"You'd think that since you seem to have such a close knit relationship with your daughter," Elizabeth said; "That you'd invite them to your home for dinner so that my son could be made to feel welcome in your family. It seems to me that he doesn't get invited to any of Johanna's family functions and yet she always seems to be popping up at ours lately."

"Oh my God," Johanna said in exasperation. "I went to three kids birthday parties; take me out and have me beaten."

"It's not just the birthday parties of my grandchildren," Elizabeth said sharply. "You went to a family picnic that I mentioned earlier…"

"Which you weren't at," Johanna reminded her.

"You went to our family home in the mountains," the older woman went on.

"Jim had permission from his father for us to spend some of our vacation there…which you sabotaged by sending Michael and his family to crash…along with the added bonus of Madelyn showing up at the last minute; but we've already discussed that."

Elizabeth waved away the detail. "And let's not forget that you sat with my husband for several hours when he was in the hospital."

"As a favor to Jim," Johanna replied. "We weren't even dating then and I had already met Robert at Jim's apartment when he came by one day while we were working on a case."

"The fact remains that you've been trying to engrain yourself in my family and I haven't seen any evidence of that courtesy being extended to my son," Jim's mother remarked.

"Johanna knows that she's more than welcome to invite Jim to dinner anytime she wishes," Naomi remarked. "As for family functions, he's welcome to those as well whenever we have any. We haven't had any lately; the only family function we've had in the last few months was my grandson's birthday party."

"Did you go to that, Jimmy?" Elizabeth asked.

"No."

"See," his mother stated.

"Jim was having a business meeting that night," Johanna said in her own defense.

"Sure he was," Elizabeth said with a short laugh.

"I was," Jim stated. "Johanna did ask me to go with her to the party, her sister-in-law told her she could bring me and I had every intention of going but then a problem came up with a case and I had to have that meeting with my client."

"Uh huh," his mother scoffed as she picked up a bite of her salad.

"I'm not hiding Jim from my family," Johanna said firmly.

"I'm not so sure about that but I suppose Jimmy will have to learn the hard way…perhaps then he'll shop around."

"You know," Naomi said; "You seem to keep implying that my daughter isn't good enough for your son."

Elizabeth met her gaze. "She isn't."

"And why is that?"

"For reasons I've already mentioned," Elizabeth stated. "He deserves better; he's only letting himself in for heartache with that one."

Johanna sighed. "It's too bad they aren't playing 'It's the Same Old Song' in here," she remarked as she glanced at Jim.

He smiled. "I'm sorry, sweetheart; this isn't the way I planned this day."

"I know," she assured. "These things happen…why they always happen to us, I don't know, but they do."

"Maybe we were bad in a previous life," he suggested; "And now we're being punished for it."

"That could be it," Johanna agreed. "But I feel like if it is, I've been punished enough…whatever it was couldn't have been worth it."

"Yeah; I feel the same way," he remarked as he picked up another bite of his lunch. "Why aren't you eating your food?"

"I kind of lost my appetite…but I'm glad to see that you haven't lost yours."

"I told you, eating prevents me from being included in the conversation…it's a trick I learned from my father."

"He's a wise man," Johanna stated.

"Don't speak as if you know my husband," Elizabeth said tersely.

"She does know him," Jim replied. "She's met Dad several times."

"I'm not through with this topic about being good enough," Naomi declared. "How do I know that your son is good enough for me daughter?" she asked, her gaze drifting to Jim. "No offense, dear; you're a very nice young man."

"No offense taken," he managed to answer around a bite of potatoes.

"My son is too good for her!" Elizabeth exclaimed in outrage.

"I don't know about that," Naomi replied. "What qualities does he have that makes him so much better…or do you just think that your entire family is better than everyone and that everyone else in the world is beneath you?"

"I can't help it if my family is of a higher social scale than yours," Elizabeth retorted.

"We have a social scale?" Jim asked. "I never knew that. I wonder what happened to those invitations to Governor's Balls and all that stuff that we probably should've gotten."

Johanna giggled softly as his mother's sharp gaze cut toward him. "You know what I mean, Jimmy."

"I don't think I do, Mother."

Elizabeth huffed in annoyance. "My father is a well known, wealthy man in Pennsylvania; he's a pharmacist who owns a chain of pharmacies up and down the east coast. My mother was the center of society in our town. My husband is vice president of a major bank plus sits on the board of two smaller banks; not to mention that he also comes from a wealthy family. I belong to a garden club, a bridge club, the ladies auxiliary of the church, and a handful of charity committees. My oldest son is in banking, my second oldest has made the military his career, Jimmy is a lawyer, my fourth son is in real estate development and my youngest works in an exclusive upscale boutique."

"Well," Naomi replied, her expression betraying how truly unimpressed she was. "Do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on?"

Johanna nearly choked on her drink and Jim's fingers fumbled his fork as he tried to smother a laugh.

"I beg your pardon," Elizabeth said in outrage.

"No begging necessary," Naomi said; her expression serious. "The things you list that you think make you better than us or anyone else for that matter are really quite unimpressive. We have our own money; have you heard of Calabrese Manufacturing?"

"Yes, I've heard of it."

"That's the business my grandfather and father started when they came to this country in the late 1880s and it's still going strong and turning a tidy profit. It's now in my brother's hands as my father passed some years ago, but in his will he had it arranged for my sister and I to receive a stipend from the business every quarter and my brother always makes sure we get our share. My husband is the owner of McKenzie-Thornton Industries, dealing in construction and real estate and he's very successful at what he does. My son is the vice president of the company and a graduate of NYU. Johanna, as you know, is a lawyer, she graduated with honors from Columbia University and my youngest is an interior decorator for the exclusive Expressions Design firm and she just recently finished the job of decorating the country home of the mayor and his wife. My daughter-in-law is a trained nurse but since having my grandson, she stays home with him as my son can adequately support them. My son-in-law works on Wall Street. I don't belong to any garden clubs and I don't like to play bridge," Naomi remarked. "But I teach piano and I'm a member of my church, I help run and organize, bake sales, rummage sales, clothing drives, food drives, plays, and play the piano for the choir among other things that I may be called upon to do for the church. During the war, I volunteered at the Red Cross and the USO. I do belong to a book club that was started by a group of women I went to college with. I don't care much about delusions of high society; I'd rather take care of my family."

"You always have, Mama," Johanna murmured. "We always came first…even if it meant missing something you wanted to do."

"That's what being a mother is all about," Nomi told her as she took her hand. "You'll know that for a fact one day when you skip a planned outing with your best friend because your little girl isn't feeling all that good and just needs her mama to cuddle her for awhile."

Johanna smiled and leaned into her mother for a hug; she remembered that occasion; she must've been about seven and she had been in the beginning stages of a cold…and she had begged her mother to stay home with her instead of going out with Sandy. It hadn't taken much persuading; the girls day out turned into a girls day in…with her on her mother's lap and Colleen at her feet…her father and brother fleeing for somewhere where they wouldn't be subjected to a so called 'hen party'.

Elizabeth's nose wrinkled at the show of love and affection between mother and daughter. "What do you two think you are, a Norman Rockwell painting?"

"No," Naomi stated; "What we are is a family; I love my daughter and she loves me and we're not afraid to let it be known. She's good enough for your son, Mrs. Beckett; more than good enough. Johanna is a beautiful, intelligent, kind hearted, loving, warm, compassionate woman. She has a career and an apartment, she can take care of herself financially and she knows how to budget and save her money. She's an excellent cook, she can play piano, speak Italian and has a way with children. She has a temper, there's no denying that; but some men find that attractive…"

"I do," Jim spoke up. "I love when she's sassy."

Elizabeth silenced him with a glare and he turned his gaze back to his nearly empty plate.

"But at the end of the day," Naomi went on; "Your son couldn't find a better woman to spend his time with. She doesn't use people, she's not after his money, he doesn't have any material thing that she can't acquire for herself. She loves him…and I think it's clear to see that she makes him happy, so I'd say that your son has found a woman worthy of him, just as I feel my daughter has found a man worthy of her. They love each other, they're adults; let them enjoy their relationship, they're going to do what they want regardless of what you or I or anyone else thinks, feels or believes. All you're doing with all of your protesting is making a fool out of yourself. You don't look like a woman looking out for her son's best interests; you look like a woman who wants to do the choosing herself so that she can find cookie cutter brides to match the ideal she has set in her head about who her children should be with…but that decision isn't yours and like every other mother in the world, including myself, the moment has come to accept that you aren't the only woman in your son's life anymore. His love for you won't change…but his heart has grown to include another. I know it isn't easy; I have a son, and although I adore my daughter-in-law, it wasn't easy at first to let go of the fact that I was no longer the number one woman in his life…but once you do that, you'll find it all goes a lot smoother."

"Don't you lecture me," Elizabeth stated. "I already have one son married to a woman that I don't care for, I don't aim to have two."

"What exactly has Johanna done to you that makes you feel this way?" Naomi asked; "And don't give me that business about walking in on her. Do you know anything about her? Have you ever tried to get to know her? You talk about her not including Jim in our family; well have you invited her to sit down at your table? Jim has been to my table; granted it was for lunch and not dinner; but have you ever allowed him to bring her to a meal so that you could know her better? She's knowledgeable about a broad range of subjects; I'm sure you could find something to talk about."

"I don't believe that Elizabeth wants me in her house," Johanna quipped.

"It's Mrs. Beckett," the other woman snapped.

Johanna sighed and decided to play nice. "I apologize, Mrs. Beckett."

"Is it true?" Naomi asked. "Do you not want my daughter in your home?"

"She's been in my home," she spat.

"But was she welcomed? Has she been invited? Has there been any effort in that area?"

Elizabeth squirmed slightly. "Jimmy may bring her over to dinner anytime he wishes."

Johanna's brow rose as she looked at Jim who shrugged and looked as if he'd like to bust out the window they were sitting in front of so that he could escape.

"Really?" Naomi asked; a look of disbelief on her face.

"Of course… I suppose you've trained her in proper table manners."

"She's well versed in etiquette," Naomi said tartly. "She knows how to be a proper guest and a proper hostess."

"I guess you're just a regular little Suzy Homemaker, Mrs. McKenzie," Elizabeth said snidely. "Right down to the training of your heir."

"She was an excellent student," her mother responded.

"Is there any way we can make this end?" Johanna whispered to Jim. "I feel like we're on the auction block."

"Sweetheart; if I knew a way out, we wouldn't still be sitting here," he replied.

"You should be looking for an exit," Elizabeth stated. "They both want to hear wedding bells; you can see it in their faces."

"It's news to me," Johanna remarked as she continued to hold Jim's gaze.

"It's news to me as well," Naomi replied. "I didn't come here with the intent to hash out a deal with Jim for her hand in marriage."

His mother scoffed. "I just bet you aren't in a hurry to unload her on the first sucker that's taken in by a pretty face and an easy nature."

"Is your daughter married?" Naomi asked.

"No, she isn't."

"Then perhaps you should worry about unloading your own baggage…but from what Jim's told us of his sister, I'd say it's going to be a time consuming task for you."

Elizabeth cut a sharp look at Jim. "What did you say about your sister?"

He smiled. "The truth; she has multiple personalities."

"She does not! Don't go around telling people that or she'll never find a husband!"

"Hey; she might not find one as it is," he replied. "There might be a shortage of suckers."

Johanna gave him an amused, appreciative smile and he bumped her foot under the table in acknowledgement.

"Don't talk about your sister like that!"

"Fine; how about we do a little less talking and a little more eating?" Jim stated, nodding at the plates that were still half full.

Elizabeth frowned at him as she picked up her fork. "What if I'm not through yet?"

"Then take a break," he said tartly.

She huffed but turned her attention to her chicken salad and sandwich. Johanna blew out a soft breath and hoped that would be the end of it, but she saw Elizabeth eyeing her and she knew it wasn't over yet.

---

"Are you out of complaints yet?" Naomi asked a little while later as she scooped up a bite of her salad.

A wry smirk slid across Elizabeth's lips. "Did your Princess tell you that several weeks ago she thought she was pregnant?"

Naomi's grip on her fork tightened as she schooled herself not to react too much. Her gaze flicked to Johanna, taking note of how her face had paled and that her eyes were squeezed shut, her hand curled into a fist as it rested beside her plate. "No; she didn't tell me," she replied; doing her best to keep her tone even and neutral.

A gleam of victory shone in Elizabeth's steely grey gaze. "Imagine that."

The silence that fell over the table was deafening as Johanna internally preached to herself to breathe…and to resist the urge to drag Elizabeth across the table and slap the smirk off her face. She pushed aside the rage that filled her and focused her attention on Jim as her eyes finally opened. "You told her?" she asked softly; hurt and embarrassment in her eyes. "How could you?"

Jim shook his head; his hand reaching for hers. "Johanna, I swear; I didn't tell her anything about that. I didn't even tell my father."

"Then how does she know? Who did you tell?"

Jim squeezed the back of his neck. "I told Natalie."

She bit into her lip for a moment as she nodded. "You got mad at me for telling Maggie and Valerie but you're out telling your sister-in-law?"

"I told Natalie because I wanted the perspective of another woman," he explained. "I was mad at you for telling Maggie because you told her before you told me…Maggie knew as soon as you suspected it but I had to drag it out of you after you had the results."

Elizabeth scoffed. "See why you can't trust her, Jimmy. She didn't even bother to tell you…who knows if she had been pregnant, maybe it wouldn't have been yours."

"That's a lie!" Johanna nearly yelled, causing heads to turn in their direction.

"Lower your voice, Johanna," her mother said tersely. "There are enough people who know your personal business as it is."

Johanna felt tears sting her eyes and she quickly turned her head toward the window. This was a nightmare…all of her so called secrets on display for her mother. Worse than that; Elizabeth had been holding on to the knowledge of her pregnancy scare, just waiting for the right moment to bring it up…a way of turning the knife, so to speak.

Jim squeezed her hand. "I would've never talked to Natalie about it if I had known she was going to tell my mother…in fact I find it hard to believe that she told her."

Johanna returned the pressure of her hand but she said nothing, her cheeks burning and her eyes still stinging as she kept her gaze focused on the window.

"Why would Natalie tell you about this?" Jim asked as he pinned his mother with a sharp look. "She knows how you are."

"Do you remember the expression, little pitchers have big ears?" his mother replied.

"The kids weren't in the room when I was talking to Natalie," he retorted. "I would've never discussed it in front of the kids."

"Just because they weren't in your eyesight doesn't mean they weren't there," Elizabeth crowed. "Angela overheard some of the conversation and when they came over the next day, she told me that Uncle Jim and Miss Jo were having a baby…I was ready to hunt both of you down and skin you alive but Natalie had to hurry up and flap her gums and tell me that it was a false alarm."

"She could've told me that she had to tell you."

"She was probably hoping I'd keep my mouth shut."

Jim scoffed. "She should've known better; everyone knows you can't keep your mouth shut…today should be proof enough of that."

"Don't you speak to me that way!"

"I don't think you deserve much courtesy at the moment, Mother," he retorted.

"This isn't my fault," she exclaimed. "It's the two of you playing with fire. I just figured her mother had a right to know what kind of loose girl she had raised…you're just lucky that she wasn't pregnant…at least this time…she was probably trying to trap you into marriage, and who knows if would've been yours?"

"I'm not whore," Johanna hissed. "I don't sleep with every man that walks past me on the street."

"How do I know that?" Elizabeth asked with a shrug.

"If Johanna had been pregnant, the baby would've been mine," Jim said firmly. "Johanna isn't unfaithful to me; she doesn't have the stomach for that business."

"I wasn't trying to trap him into marriage either. I even told him that if I had been pregnant that I wouldn't have married him."

"Why the hell not?" his mother snapped. "It's clear that's what you want."

"I wouldn't have married him because it wouldn't have been for the right reasons," she retorted; her voice trembling as she tried to keep hold of her emotions.

"Why didn't you tell him about your issue?" Elizabeth asked. "Don't you think you should have? Better yet, don't you think you should've done something to keep that situation from happening?"

"You know what," Jim said sharply. "It's none of your goddamn business."

"James Robert!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Quit talking to me in such a manner!"

"No, I won't," he replied. "You deserve it."

Elizabeth turned her attention back to Naomi. "Well, what do you think of your innocent little lamb now?"

Naomi glanced at the couple sharing the table with them; noting the anger in Jim's features; the tense set of his jaw that told of how he was holding back and the fact that Johanna was keeping her head turned so that she couldn't see her face. "I think that you had no right to disclose that information," she stated. "It's very clear that Johanna and Jim wanted that very private situation to remain between them and the few people they chose to confide in at the time. There was no pregnancy; therefore there was no problem to be dealt with. You need to stay out of their business."

"My son is my business," Elizabeth snapped. "Especially when some little floozy is trying to trap him into marrying her…because if there's one false pregnancy alarm, there's bound to be another one, only that one will be real."

"Then they, as two capable, able bodied adults, will take care of their business," Naomi said tartly.

"Apparently they can't take care of business or they wouldn't have been in that situation."

"Enough," Jim snapped as he caught a glimpse of a tear rolling down Johanna's cheek. His heart squeezed at the sight, knowing how emotional the situation had been for her. "It's not your business, Mother; and no offense to Naomi, but it's none of her business either. Drop the subject and eat your lunch…over there, with your pack of garden club biddies."

"Don't you talk about my friends like that!"

"Then quit talking about my girlfriend the way you do. She's never done a damn thing to you and I'm sick of this attitude from you. She's tried to be nice to you, she's tried fighting back against you, she's even tried ignoring your snide little remarks but nothing gets through that thick skull of yours. You need to accept the fact that Johanna is the woman I love and she's a part of my life and it's going to stay that way; so accept it and get over it."

"I'm allowed to voice my opinions."

"They're not opinions," Johanna snapped as she finally turned her gaze back to the woman sitting next to Jim. "They're character assassinations. You just think you're all that, that you're so much better than everyone, that you sit on some high horse with your nose up in the air; well let me tell you something, lady; you're not better than anyone. You think everything is such a sin, so scandalous, that everybody is some kind of schemer with a nefarious plot to move in on your family and your precious bank accounts; well you couldn't be more wrong. I don't know who it was that hurt you at some point in your life that makes you suspicious of everything a person does; I don't know who trained you to think you're a queen on a throne but they were sadly mistaken and I wish you could unlearn both of those habits because then you might be a pleasant person to be around. You yell that your kids don't tell you anything, that they don't come around as often as you like, well maybe you should ask yourself why; because if my mother behaved like you do towards me and the people I care about, I wouldn't be showing up on her doorstep too often either. I don't know who you think you are, but you're not better than me; you don't get to tell me how to live my life, you don't get to stick your nose in my private business and tell the world. You sit there and do the things you do under the guise of love for your family, but it isn't about love at all; it's about your selfish need for control over everything in the universe. You want to tell people how to live their lives, who they can love, date and marry; you want to raise their children to your standards; you want to pick what circles everyone moves in and if anyone doesn't fit the perfect make believe image of your level of snobbery, then that person is the enemy and you're going after them with any little thing you can find. Well you picked the wrong person to sharpen your claws on, Mrs. Beckett. I play these kind of wars in court everyday, I can do it in my sleep. You won't find a doormat here; from now on, you'll get as good as you give."

Johanna's speech seemed to leave Elizabeth at a loss for words as she eyed the young woman who refused to blink or lower her gaze. She fussed with her napkin and subtly turned her focus to Naomi, feeling Johanna's gaze still upon her.

"Before you ask," Naomi said; "I don't have anything to add to that…I couldn't have said it better myself."

"I see rudeness must be a family trait," Elizabeth said with a clipped tone. "If my son spoke to you that way; I would be admonishing him right now."

"If I treated your son the way you treat my daughter; I'd expect her to be taking me to task for it," Naomi retorted.

"Believe me, Naomi," Jim replied; "I'm nowhere finished with my mother; I just want to spare you two the episode; you've been through enough and I sincerely apologize; this was not the lunch I intended for us to have. I wanted the three of us to have a nice time; I'm sorry that didn't happen."

Naomi gave him a smile and reached across the table to pat his hand. "It's alright, dear; I know that you had good intentions and that your heart was in the right place. No one can blame you for the way things went; it was just as much a surprise to you as it was us."

He gave a nod; not feeling any better although he was sure Naomi was sincere. "I wish all people could be as understanding as you are, Naomi."

She smiled. "I wish that was the case for your sake too."

"Oh you all act like someone has been assaulted," Elizabeth said tartly.

"There's been no assaults," Jim stated; "But I wouldn't have blamed them if they had reached across the table."

"I'm not amused by that attitude, Jimmy."

"Good; because I'm far from amused with you."

"I think it's time for us to go, Johanna; if you're finished your lunch," Naomi remarked.

"Yeah; I'm finished," she said as she glanced at her plate which was still half full.

Jim felt a lead weight in his stomach as Johanna and Naomi folded their napkins. "Do you have to go?" he asked.

Johanna gave him a soft smile. "I think it would probably be best for all of us…we have a few errands to run before we pick up my father anyway."

He nodded; he couldn't blame them for wanting to leave…he wanted to leave as soon as his mother sat down. "I'll walk you out," he said as he rose from his chair.

Elizabeth looked at the two women expectantly, waiting for parting remarks but all she got from Naomi was a nod and the frosty words, "Mrs. Beckett."

"Mrs. McKenzie," Elizabeth replied with the same cool tone; her brow arched in clear disapproval of being snubbed as she glanced at Johanna. Johanna said nothing, not bothering to acknowledge the woman in any way which she knew would irritate Elizabeth more than saying goodbye would.

"Mother, don't go running off to the table the garden club has," Jim said tartly as he stood by the table. "We're not finished…and I don't think you want me going over there to say it in front of your friends."

She pursed her lips in displeasure. "I'll be here, James."

"Make sure you are," he replied, anger flashing in his eyes as the ladies finished buttoning up their coats.

They were silent as they exited the restaurant and made the trek to Naomi's car. "I'm so sorry," Jim said once they paused on the sidewalk. "This wasn't how I had planned this."

"We know that," Johanna assured.

Naomi gave him a comforting smile. "Don't worry, dear; we don't blame you for any of it."

"You're very understanding and forgiving, Naomi," he remarked; although her kindness didn't make him feel any better about the debacle.

Naomi reached out and patted his cheek. "Don't worry, dear; I'm sure the next time we see each other will be more pleasant."

"God I hope so," he muttered. "But I really am sorry and my mother's opinions are not the opinions of the rest of my family."

"I would never judge by the things your mother says and does," she assured.

He conjured up the best smile for her that he could but he knew that she probably saw through it and knew that he was still upset about the way things had gone.

"Unlock the door for me, Johanna," Naomi said as she turned to her daughter. "I'll go ahead and get in so that you and Jim can have a moment."

Johanna dug through her purse and found the keys but Jim took them from her hand and unlocked the door, opening it for Naomi. "Thank you," she told him. "You must take after your father."

"I do and I thank God for it every day," he answered as she slid into her seat.

Johanna's mother laughed softly. "Thank you for lunch, Jim. I had a lovely time."

"Up until a point?" he supplied for her.

"It wasn't anything I couldn't handle," she told him. "Now have your moment with Johanna."

"Have a nice day, Naomi."

"You too, dear."

Jim shut the car door and then he and Johanna moved to the back of the car to have a moment of privacy. "It's okay," she said softly; seeing the look on his face.

"It's not," he said with a shake of his head. "It got ruined…just like our vacation got ruined."

"Not all of our vacation got ruined," she reminded him. "There was that night we snuck away and went to that secret spot of yours."

Jim smiled. "Yeah; that was great."

"It was," she agreed as she slipped her arms around him to embrace him; "And not all of our lunch was bad either."

He breathed deeply and exhaled a heavy breath as he nuzzled her hair. "I'm still sorry though…so very sorry for the things she said…especially about the pregnancy scare. I know that hurt you…I know you never wanted your mother to know and I sure as hell didn't want my mother to know. You can rest assured that Natalie will be getting a piece of my mind the next time I see her and I'll never talk to her about anything personal again…especially when there are kids within a five mile radius."

Johanna hugged him tighter. "Its okay; I'm sure she never meant to betray your trust; she was probably hoping that since there wasn't a pregnancy that Elizabeth would just keep her mouth shut and move on…now we know not to hope for anything where your mother is concerned."

"That's the truth," he replied. "But I still feel terrible."

She pulled back enough to look at him. "Don't; it's not your fault."

"I should've dragged her back across the restaurant to her friends."

Johanna shook her head. "She would've caused a scene. I'm not happy about her telling our personal business or the way she looked down her nose at my mother…but as you saw, my mother can take care of herself…although I would've happily decked your mother to defend my mother's honor."

Jim laughed quietly. "I don't doubt that at all…but you're right; your mom can take care of herself…and if there's one takeaway from the whole fiasco, I can see that you take after her."

"See; we got the best of our good parents, and not so much of the less than desirable ones," she teased.

He leaned his forehead against hers, amusement on his face. "I do love you, you know?"

"I know; I love you too."

"Despite my mother?"

"Yes," she said with a soft laugh before catching his lips in a sweet kiss. "I'll see you tonight at your place."

"You're still going to come over?" he asked.

"Of course; I told you, I'm not mad at you, I don't hold anything against you. I promise you that you'll see me tonight."

Jim kissed her once more. "If you're not there by 10, I'm coming after you."

Johanna smiled. "I'll be there by 8 at the latest, but I'm thinking it'll be more like 7:30."

"Good; I'll be waiting."

"I'm looking forward to it too," she answered before stealing another quick kiss. "The best way to get past today is by spending some time alone together tonight."

"You're right," he said as he gave her a squeeze.

"I always am," she quipped.

Jim smiled; capturing her chin with his finger tips and drawing her into a long slow kiss. "I'll see you tonight, sweetheart; be careful."

"I will be," Johanna promised as her hand slipped into his and they moved away from the back of the car.

---

Johanna could feel the dread building in the pit of her stomach as she settled into the driver's seat of her mother's car. She forced herself to take a breath and she conjured up a small smile for Jim as she murmured goodbye while he shut her door for her. She knew that her mother was going to have something to say about the things she had heard, after all, she wouldn't be a mother if she didn't have something to say. The tightness of her mother's jaw line and the tense smile and wiggle of her fingers in a wave to Jim as they pulled into traffic told her that there would be plenty to be said on their drive. She wished she had walked.

Silence reigned as the restaurant faded into the background as Johanna concentrated on the traffic. She wasn't sure where they were going; they hadn't made a specific plan for after lunch…and she was somewhat afraid to ask. She breathed deeply and decided to bite the bullet. "Where are we headed?" she asked softly.

"The church," Naomi replied, a tart note in her tone.

The knot in her stomach tightened. "Why?"

"I feel the need to pray," her mother answered as she glanced at her. "I may also need to go to confession for the murderous thoughts I'm harboring about that woman…and maybe you should go too."

"I'd rather not…I think there's been enough said about me today," Johanna remarked.

"You can say that again," Naomi stated; her tone sharper, bringing Johanna back to memories of her teenage years when she had crossed her mother.

"We didn't intend for Elizabeth to join us," she replied. "In fact, you're the one who invited her to sit down."

"Because she seemed like the type of person who would invite herself anyway," her mother answered. "I don't know what the hell you and Jim have been up to in your spare time but I suggest the two of you tone it down!"

Johanna gripped the steering wheel and forced herself to count to ten. "We're not doing anything that any other couple isn't doing. Elizabeth is the one who walked in unannounced during the wrong moment, which she had no right to do."

"You're correct, she had no right to barge in…but have you forgotten how to lock a door!?"

"She had a key!"

"I'm talking about the bedroom door!" Naomi retorted. "You used to have more modesty than that because I raised you to have it. You always lock the door of whatever room you're getting dressed in; I suggest you remember that lesson and start using it."

"Believe me; I do lock the door now…even in my own apartment, because that nightmare is burned into my brain and nothing can make me forget it."

"Good," her mother said tartly. "You learned your lesson."

"I did…do you really want to go to church?"

Naomi tapped her foot against the floor of the car. "No," she said with a frown; "I'll go tomorrow…just find someplace we can park for the time being."

Johanna didn't like the sound of that so she chose a parking space close to Macy's; feeling like she might need a healthy dose of shopping afterwards to soothe her soul. She pulled the key from the ignition and sat quietly; waiting for her mother to decide how she wanted this lecture to go.

Naomi kept her gaze pinned on the windshield. "I have a feeling that I now know the real reason you're on birth control pills."

Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she gave a nod. "Yeah…I guess you do."

"I know it's none of my business," her mother stated; "But you didn't have to lie this morning and try to pass it off as regulating your periods and the result of a talk with your boyfriend about being more careful…because I have a feeling that after the doctor read the results of your pregnancy test, you asked to be put on the pill…which means you wouldn't have discussed it with Jim before hand. You could've just told me the truth, you had a scare and you went on the pill to prevent another one."

"Or I could've told you it was none of your business," Johanna replied. "Because it's not."

"That would've been better than trying to lie."

"I didn't exactly lie; Jim and I have talked about me taking the pill; yes it was after I had the prescription filled but I hadn't started taking them, so we did discuss it before I started using them. I told you it was partly about my period because I wanted to spare you the details of my sex life, which I'm not overly anxious to share with you."

"Well it's not like I'm overly anxious to hear about it!" her mother exclaimed.

"Then why are we talking about it again?!"

"Because…I guess I just want to understand," Naomi said with an air of exasperation.

"Understand what, Mom?"

"Why you didn't come to me when you thought you might be pregnant," her mother replied; her tone softer.

"Because I didn't want you to know…and I didn't want Dad to know," she said softly.

"Your father didn't have to know…we've had plenty of talks that he doesn't know about."

"I know; but something like that…it just seemed like something that might be hard for you not to tell him."

Naomi shook her head. "I wouldn't have told. You could've come to me…you always come to me, why not this time, I could've been there for you."

Johanna's chin trembled slightly as the turmoil of that week came rushing back. "I didn't want you to be ashamed of me," she whispered.

"Why would I be ashamed of you?"

"For obvious reasons," she replied. "Unmarried and possibly pregnant…you wouldn't have been thrilled to hear the news and I wouldn't blame you. Times might be changing but that doesn't mean that the opinions of some change."

"Johanna," her mother sighed, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment.

"I know; I'm a screw up," she said, a tear breaking free and rolling down her cheek.

"No you're not," her mother retorted; softness taking the sting out of her remark. "You're right, I wouldn't have been overjoyed that you were in that situation but I wouldn't have gone so far as to be ashamed of you…and I certainly wouldn't have turned my back on you if you had been. I would've been there for you…maybe I could've helped you through the wait or something. You're a grown woman; it's not like you're a teenager in high school and that I'd have to raise it for you while you're doing your algebra homework."

"I know…and yet while I was waiting to go to the doctor and then waiting for the results, a part of me felt like some scared teenager, terrified to tell Jim, afraid to tell you and Dad…worrying about everything that I might lose if I was."

"That's why you should've come to me," Naomi replied. "I could've helped calm your fears…you could've even talked to me about it afterwards."

"I couldn't…I just wanted to forget."

"But you told Valerie and Maggie."

"I told Valerie after I got the results and Jim and I got into a huge fight about it. I talked to Maggie about it when I suspected it because I needed to tell someone who wouldn't be affected by it either way."

"I can understand that in some ways," her mother said as she toyed with the strap of her purse. "But you could've come to me when the aftermath resulted in a fight with Jim."

"I know…I just…somehow it turned into this very painful situation."

"How so?"

She shrugged a little. "The whole time I kept telling myself how it wasn't the right time; how I wasn't ready, that everything could go so horribly wrong…and yet there was this little part of me that wanted it…that started to love a baby that wasn't there. That part of me kept sneaking up, making me picture things, making me think about ways I could make it work if I had to do it on my own…and by the time I went to get the results, I guess a part of me was convinced that there was a baby and that things might be hard but we'd be okay. Then the doctor said I wasn't pregnant, and there was relief…but there was also sadness. He suggested the pills with a few snide remarks about young women like me," she said tearfully; "And I figured I better take the prescription because I didn't want to go through that again. I didn't feel the way I thought I would when I heard the results and it was just a difficult time and I didn't want to talk about it more than I had to."

Naomi peeled her daughter's hand away from the steering wheel and held it. "Because when you found out there wasn't a baby there like you had imagined, it almost felt like you had lost one, right?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "And it sounds crazy that I had an evening of mourning for something that was never there to begin with; something I wasn't prepared for anyway…but I did. I just went home and cried and felt a little empty. It took me all night but I put myself back together the best I could, reminding myself that it wasn't the right time and that I could just let it quietly fade away because no one other than Maggie knew at that point and I knew she'd keep my secret."

"But it didn't turn out that way, did it?"

"No…Jim came over the next day, demanding answers about my recent behavior that he was finding suspicious and I had to tell him…we had a big fight and he left. I told Valerie about it while I was doing laundry at her place; she convinced me to go talk to Jim but he was still angry. Finally he came to see me and we worked it all out."

"Which is a good thing," Naomi said, giving her hand a squeeze.

"It is," she agreed; "And somehow it feels like things are even deeper between us now; like we got even closer in the aftermath. I don't know why, but we did."

"Because it's a serious thing to go through in a relationship," her mother told her. "It's a good sign that the two of you were able to work through it in a way that makes you feel like you've achieved a deeper connection."

She nodded. "It just took a little cooling off period for Jim."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"I know…but I was worried that I had blown things between us because I didn't tell him. I didn't keep it from him to hurt him; I was just scared."

"I'm sure he understands that now."

"He does," she confirmed. "After we got through that, he was very attentive to what I was feeling in the days afterward."

"He's good for you," Naomi murmured.

Her head bobbed in agreement. "I hope I'm good for him."

Her mother smiled and squeezed her hand. "I'm sure you are. I'm also sure that it's been a bit hard for you where his mother is concerned."

Johanna shrugged. "She hated me at first sight…I've tried to be nice, I've tried to avoid her, I've fought back against her but she's one of those people that nothing fazes them."

"I can see that…she's also one of those people who wants to be in control over everything in her universe."

"Yeah; she hasn't gotten the message that it doesn't work that way."

"Try not to let her get to you too much," Naomi stated. "She's a woman who can't be happy unless she's making someone else miserable; don't ever let her see that she can have that power over you. Fight fire with fire."

"It was a little hard not to let her get to me today because she was telling my private business…which she had no business doing…but usually I do fight fire with fire."

"She's jealous of you," Naomi remarked. "She's threatened by you too."

"Why?"

"She's jealous because you're young and beautiful; you have an air of freedom that she's never reached out and grasped for herself. At your age she was probably married and tied down with a few kids…you, you have a career and can come and go as you please…and maybe she resents that. Maybe she wishes she had had those opportunities. I'm not saying that she doesn't love her husband and children; I'm just saying that maybe there's something you have that she wishes she did. She's threatened by you because you've captured her son's heart and attention…she knows she's no longer number one in his life and Elizabeth is clearly a woman who wants to be number one at all times."

"Well she better get used to sharing the spotlight," Johanna remarked; "Because I don't plan on going anywhere as long as Jim wants me around."

"I think that's what makes her so angry; she knows you're not going anywhere, that she can't run you off…she knows that he has no plans to let you go. She's lost whatever control over him that she convinced herself that she had and she blames you for it."

"There isn't much I can do about that," Johanna replied.

"No there isn't…but remember, you're a McKenzie…and a McKenzie can take that woman any day of the week."

"I'm a McKenzie," she smiled. "But I'm also a Calabrese."

Naomi grinned. "That's right, part McKenzie, part Calabrese…she won't know what hit her."

Johanna laughed. "I can handle ole Lizzie for now I guess…you got in a few good shots at her."

"Of course I did, I'm a Calabrese-McKenzie…and your mama. She doesn't even want to try me too much if she knows what's good for her."

"People probably think you're only sweet and docile when they first meet you," Johanna remarked. "They have no idea the temper you're harboring."

"It's a well kept secret; don't tell."

"Never…I'm sorry that you had to hear my secrets today."

"I know, Bambina…believe me, I'm sorry too."

"I guess I should've let you bail on lunch."

Naomi shook her head. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Jim is a nice young man and he loves you. His mother leaves a lot to be desired but maybe it's best that we've met in case I need to step in in the future."

"You've got my back?" her daughter asked.

"Always."

"I love you, Mama."

"I love you too…but I hope you keep in mind my advice about locking doors and that I'm still not thrilled about those pills."

She nodded. "It's all been noted."

"Good…and we won't ever speak of this lunch or that pregnancy scare to your father.

Johanna breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Naomi smiled. "And just so you know, you really can bring Jim over whenever you want."

"I know."

"I promise that I wouldn't let your father cross any lines."

Johanna toyed with the hem of her skirt. "I just don't think I'm ready for that yet…I know Jim can take whatever he dishes out…I'm just not ready to put him in the situation of having to…because I know him, and if Dad made one comment about me that he didn't like, he would be all over it…and I worry about Dad thinking he has a new soft spot to kick."

"I wouldn't allow him to do that," Naomi told her; "But if you're not ready for them to meet; I understand, honestly I do. Things are difficult between you and your father most of the time…but when you are ready, just know that I'll make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled. "I appreciate that."

"Alright then," Naomi said as she patted her daughter's knee. "Let's go in Macy's and unwind from our lunch experience."

"It's just what the doctor ordered," Johanna quipped as she unlocked her door.

---

Jim felt anger boiling in his veins as he walked through the restaurant to rejoin his mother. He couldn't help but shake his head as he observed her at the table, calmly eating the rest of her lunch like she hadn't just insulted Johanna and Naomi…like she hadn't disrupted their meal or made a fool out of herself. He wished he could grab a hold of her and shake her, make her see that the person she kept presenting to the world wasn't the best person she could be. He knew she had better sides to her personality and he couldn't understand why the hell she wouldn't use them.

He slid into the chair Naomi had vacated, putting him across from his mother as her gaze lifted from her plate and met his. "Well," he said tartly. 'What do you have to say for yourself?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "About what?"

Jim scoffed. "Really; Mother? You have the audacity to sit there and ask me about what?"

"I didn't do anything except tell that girl's mother the truth about her," she replied. "I figure she has a right to know that she raised a tramp."

"She isn't a tramp; and you had no right to air our personal business in front of Naomi; nor do you have a right to share it with anyone else."

"This is a free country; I can say whatever the hell I want. I don't like that girl, she's not good enough for you, and I'm not overly impressed with her mother either. It was clear to see where she gets her attitude problem from," Elizabeth stated.

"Naomi had an attitude with you because you were maligning her daughter and taking potshots at her family, her heritage and her religion. You're lucky all you got was attitude."

"If you didn't want me at your little get to know the mother lunch date; you shouldn't have invited me to sit down," his mother declared.

"I didn't invite you," he said sharply. "Naomi did…because that's the kind of woman she is. She has manners…she wasn't sitting here giving me a listing of anything she knows about mine and Johanna's relationship; and I'm sure that Johanna has confided in her mother about some things…"

"Apparently not the big ones like the one that involved a pregnancy test."

Jim's gaze burned with anger. "Mother, when you crossed that line, you came very close to me knocking your chair clear back over there with your snotty, busybody friends."

"How dare you!"

"No, how dare you!" he thundered in a tight quiet tone. "How dare you treat Johanna and Naomi the way you did! How dare you announce our private business that we didn't want shared! How dare you sit there and act like you're better than they are; because let me tell you something, you're not. There's no goddamn crown on your head denoting you as royalty and giving you the right to look down your nose and judge people. What you did was wrong and it disgusts me. I hate when you act the way you did today."

"Don't you speak to me like that," Elizabeth said as she pointed a finger at him; "And I don't like how you act ever since you hooked up with that jezebel."

"Quit calling her names," he seethed. "She's not anything like you paint her to be and I get tired of telling you that. And for the record, I'll speak to you any damn way I please when you purposely set out to embarrass me and hurt the woman I love. I don't care if you like Johanna or not; I don't care if she doesn't meet your high flouting standards that even you yourself couldn't meet if Grandma had held them when you met Dad, I don't care if you don't approve of us; you know why?"

His mother smirked at him. "Please, enlighten me."

"Oh you're going to get enlightened," he told her. "Your opinion about who I spend my life with doesn't matter to me because I'm in love with her. I love her with every inch of my heart and there's nothing you can do or say to stop that. I love Johanna, she's the woman I want to be with, she's the woman I intend to keep in my life. You can't keep us from being together so you may as well climb down off your high horse, accept it and get over it because you can't change us."

"I don't think I like your attitude."

"I don't care," Jim stated. "I don't like yours either. I've never been so embarrassed and ashamed of you in all my life. I don't know who the hell you think you are but I hope someone knocks you back down to size one day because you deserve it. You just wait until I tell Dad what you did here today…and believe me, I will be telling him…as soon as I leave here, he's going to know; and we both know that he'll chew your ass out for it."

Elizabeth shifted in her seat. "I'll tell him myself," she said haughtily.

"No; I'll tell him so he gets the right version," her son retorted. "And since you told Naomi that I'm welcome to bring Johanna to dinner one night, I will be. I'm not going to pick a date for it yet, but we'll be there."

"I wasn't serious!"

"Then you shouldn't say things you don't mean, Mother. You issued the invitation and we accept…because you're going to learn to treat her with respect and maybe the only place that can happen is at your table."

"Fine," she said tartly. "Bring her over one night, I don't give a damn."

"Oh I'm pretty sure you do," Jim replied. "But it's going to be mentioned to Dad to make sure you keep your word."

"Are you through with your lecture?"

"No; I'm not through," he answered. "Do you know that every time you act this way, it makes me want to put as much distance between us as possible?"

"Don't be dramatic," she said as she picked up her cup of tea. "Your girlfriend must be rubbing off on you."

"It's not dramatics, Mother; it's the truth. The more you degrade the person I love, the more you try to push your own agenda for my life, the more I want to stay away from you. I can't help but think that if you can't he happy for me for finding someone to love, a woman who makes me happy and would do anything for me that she could, that it means you don't think as much of me as you claim."

"That's a bunch of malarkey and you know it," she retorted. "I love you, you're my son."

"Then act like it," he said sternly. "Quit acting like a damn snob; quit being so disrespectful to Johanna. Get to know her instead of painting her in bad light which she doesn't deserve. Be nice for a change, it won't kill you."

"I know how to be nice!"

"Yeah; to everyone but who matters, your family and the people they care about."

"If that's what you want to believe."

"I don't have to believe it, I know it," Jim retorted. "And let me tell you something, Mother; if you keep going like this, if you keep making Johanna your enemy; I'm going to walk away and you're not going to hear from me. I will stop coming around, I won't call."

"You'd choose her over me!?"

Jim held her gaze. "Yes, Mother; I would. I love you, I always will…but you better start accepting that this is my life and I'll pick who I love and who I spend it with, and if you can't accept that, then we'll be done. Now I'm going to go pay for my meal and I'm leaving. I won't be over for dinner tomorrow, because I've seen more than enough of you today. I'm not calling and don't call me. I'm going to need a few days to quit being so angry with you…you better think twice before you pull another stunt like this; because I'm serious, you are driving me away."

"If that's what you want to believe, I guess I can't change that," she remarked; but he could tell she was slightly startled by his announcement that he'd be done with her.

"I mean it," he told her. "You better think about what I said."

"I will," she spat.

Jim rounded the table and kissed her cheek although he had thought about abandoning the gesture. "Goodbye, Mother…try not to spread much more sunshine today; I don't think the city can handle it."

"Just go!" she told him. "You're a damn brat like that girl you lay with. I'm glad you're not coming to dinner tomorrow; I get tired of hearing you tell you father how great she is anyway."

"Good; then we'll both be happy tomorrow," he told her. "Do you want me to walk you back over to your friends so you can save face and make it look like we had a happy family meal?"

"No thank you," Elizabeth said tartly. "Just go on your way."

"I don't enjoy saying these things to you, Mom…but you gave me no choice," Jim stated. "I still love you…but sometimes I don't like who you are very much."

"Then we're even," she said in a clipped tone. "Sometimes I feel the same way about my children."

"We know," he assured. "And we don't mind…sometimes we take it as a sign that we're doing something right."

Elizabeth huffed in annoyance. "I don't know what I did to deserve the way my children act."

"Maybe you can think about it tomorrow night at dinner," he told her with a smile.

"Just go," she spat as she got from the table so she could go rejoin her friends. "I'm through with this discussion."

Jim gave a nod and turned on his heel, walking toward the register to pay the bill as Elizabeth watched him before she turned to head in the direction of her club. She hadn't done anything wrong and no one would convince her otherwise, she thought to herself. Her son would get over it.

---

"What's wrong, Naomi?" Frank asked that night as he turned onto his back to better see his wife.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" she asked as she pulled the covers tighter around her.

"Because you keep sighing," he replied; "And no offense, Naomi; but I was looking forward to a good night's sleep in my own bed…that bed in the hotel was terrible…and I don't sleep well without you," he admitted quietly.

Naomi smiled softly, her hand falling against his arm. "I missed you too, Frank."

Her covered his hand with hers and gave it a squeeze. "So what's bothering you?"

She sighed once more. "It's Johanna."

"What's wrong with her?" he asked. "She seemed fine when you picked me up at the airport; did she break up with her boyfriend?"

"No."

"Is she sick?"

"No."

"Did she lose her job?"

"No, nothing like that."

"You two had words and hid it from me?"

"No, not the kind you mean," Naomi answered.

"Then what is it?"

"Johanna's taking birth control pills," she finally confessed; although she was sure she should probably be more distressed by the things that had happened at lunch…but she wasn't.

Frank glanced at her. "And this information is keeping us awake because?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Naomi asked in exasperation.

"Apparently it's not," he replied as he shifted to be more comfortable.

"We're Catholic, Frank."

"I prefer to think of myself as being Catholic in name only," he stated. "I don't warm the pew every Sunday and I don't think God holds it against me. Our children are the same way."

"That's not the point; the point is that the Church doesn't believe in using birth control and Johanna's using it."

"That's Johanna's business, not the Church's…it's not even yours and I don't believe Johanna came right out and told you she's taking birth control so how did you find out?"

Naomi squirmed a bit. "I saw the pack lying on her kitchen counter and I asked her what it was…she tried to brush it off as nothing but I saw the prescription label on it and…"

"And instead of minding your own business, you brow beat her into telling you what it was," Frank finished.

"I suppose you could say that."

"I don't suppose; I know. I've been married to you for 29 years, I know how you operate."

"How I found out doesn't matter," Naomi replied. "What matters is that I know…and why don't you seem surprised…I mean there is an implication with these certain pills."

"What? The implication that she's…well…doing things I don't care to think about with her boyfriend?" he asked.

"Yes!"

Frank cringed. "I don't want to think about that, Naomi; she's my baby girl…I don't want think about either one of my girls doing that and one of them is married."

"Well I'm not exactly thrilled to know either!"

"Well then you should know I'm even less thrilled than you are even if I'm not surprised!"

Naomi propped herself up on her elbow. "Why aren't you surprised?"

Frank sighed in disgust. "Naomi; Johanna is a young woman…a beautiful young woman, with a career and her own home and she's not immune to romantic desires just because she's our daughter. She's in a relationship...it is with the same man, isn't it?"

"Of course."

"Okay then," he said with a nod. "She's with a man who she obviously cares about and things are different now than they were in our day…it's not surprising that they have that type of relationship and that she'd use birth control; a lot of young women probably do."

"But she's going against our religion…those pills, they're like playing God."

"They are not."

"Yes they are; they're controlling a natural function of her body."

Frank sighed once more. "All they're doing is keeping her from getting pregnant before she's ready to have a child…and even without the pill, she might not get pregnant until months or years down the road. All she's doing is making sure it doesn't happen while she's unmarried."

"It's still unnatural; it's against our beliefs…I don't like it," Naomi murmured.

"It's against your beliefs, not mine," Frank stated. "Johanna isn't doing anything wrong and she isn't going to go to hell for using birth control…maybe you should pull back on your church attendance a little. I don't think God would find fault with her for wanting to take precautions until a better time presents itself. My God is understanding of such things and so is yours."

"But the Church…"

"Who cares what they say!" Frank exclaimed. "Let me ask you something, Naomi; if Johanna was to get pregnant before she's married and that man she's with decides he doesn't want to be a father and hits the bricks, is the Church going to support and feed her and that baby?"

"No," she said softly.

"You're damn right they're not," Frank replied. "Do you think if she was pregnant and that man did want to do the right thing and marry her that the Catholic church would open the door and let her have a wedding there?"

"I don't know," she said hesitantly.

"You know," he scoffed. "You know that the majority of them would probably turn her away and tell her to find a justice of the peace or a judge. If she was back in that situation where she was abandoned, the church wouldn't do anything for her but probably look down their noses at her; the people running the church would be the ones judging her, not God; God wouldn't turn his back on her, he'd understand; don't you think so?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts," he said. "If Johanna was to be in that situation, she'd run the risk of losing her career, Naomi. Times might be changing but some people and businesses haven't changed with them yet. All you have to do is turn on the news and see people getting sued for firing pregnant women because they don't think they belong in the work force…and some of those women are married; now imagine how it would be for Johanna being single. She's in a tough business and I can just imagine some jackass somewhere yelling that he didn't want to be represented in court by an unmarried pregnant woman who apparently can't take care of her own business let alone someone else's…and that person could probably get her fired on some type of moral clause. If she lost her job, and that man isn't around to take care of her…who do you think is going to have to support her and that child?"

"The man has a name, you know," Naomi remarked. "It's Jim."

Frank waved the detail aside. "It doesn't matter, I haven't met him…I'll probably only ever meet him if he decides to marry her and knowing Johanna, she'll introduce me to him five minutes before the wedding; but that's beside the point. The point I was making is that if she was abandoned and jobless, she'd have to move home and I'd be supporting her and that child. She's not doing anything wrong…Johanna's being smart; she's taking responsibility for her life. She knows that the type of relationship she's in can have a consequence that she and her boyfriend might not be ready for, so she's taking the necessary precaution to keep it from happening right now. That's nothing to be ashamed of, it's nothing that should be disapproved of, she's doing the right thing."

"But what if that magical right time never comes along and she ends up not having a child?"

"Then that's the way it was supposed to be but I don't think you have to worry; I'm sure that one day Johanna will have a baby for you to spoil. Don't go shaming her into throwing those pills away; she's taking care of herself and you need to let her do it."

Naomi sighed and shifted to lay her head on Frank's chest. "I just worry about her."

Frank raked his fingers through her hair. "You don't need to worry so much; she's smart, she can take care of herself…she's a good girl."

"Maybe you should tell her that sometime," his wife murmured.

"Tell her what?"

"That you think she's a good girl."

"Go to sleep, Naomi," Frank said as he pressed a kiss against her head.

"You could tell her, Frank…you could tell her that you love her."

"She knows."

"Sometimes I don't think she does," his wife admitted.

"That's only when she's being stubborn and bratty…she gets that from her mama," he said somewhat lightly, giving her hip a squeeze.

Naomi scoffed. "You better back up and take a look in the mirror, Frank McKenzie; she's all you when it comes to attitude."

He kissed her hair once more. "Sleep, darling; don't worry about Josie; she's a big girl; she knows what she's doing."

"You're changing the subject."

"That's because I'm going to sleep," Frank remarked. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Naomi whispered as she closed her eyes and willed herself to forget what she had learned about her daughter's private business that day.

---

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Johanna asked Jim as she slipped off her robe and dropped it at the foot of his bed.

"I was thinking that it's not a good idea to invite mothers to lunch," he answered as he watched her settle into the space next to him.

She smirked slightly. "It's too bad you didn't have that epiphany sooner."

"Yeah, I know…believe me, I wish I had. That'll teach me to be nice."

Johanna gave a soft laugh before brushing a kiss against his lips. "I thought it was very sweet of you to invite me and my mother to lunch."

"I wanted it to be good," he remarked. "I wanted her to enjoy it."

"Oh I believe she did; she needed to let off some steam…your mother's arrival was just the thing for that."

"Yeah…but that's not the kind of enjoyment I had in mind."

"What kind did you have in mind?"

He shrugged. "I don't know; the kind normal people have?"

Johanna laughed. "Well, honey; for that to happen, you have to know normal people…and we're running kind of low on that."

Jim chuckled. "Yeah; I guess you're right about that…but your mother probably hates me now because of my mother."

She shook her head. "No; my mom isn't like that; she won't judge you because of your mother. She judges a person on their own merits, not by the merits of the people they're related to."

"But what if she does think a little less of the idea of you being with me now?" he asked.

Johanna met his eye and held it. "Then that's her problem because it isn't going to change anything; I'm still going to be here with you for as long as you'll have me."

His hand founds hers, their fingers entwining. "That's good to know because I don't intend to let you go."

"Then don't worry, what happened at lunch doesn't matter…we're still us and neither one of them can change that; but really, you don't have to worry about my mother; she's fine."

A hint of a smile tipped his lips upward. "Are you sure about all of that?"

"Absolutely," she replied, leaning closer to steal another kiss.

"I wanted her to like me though," Jim remarked.

"She already liked you," Johanna said with a laugh.

"That doesn't mean she couldn't like me more," he replied, amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

"Why does it suddenly matter so much?" she asked; her interest piqued.

"I don't know…you give time and effort to my family, I want to show you that I can do the same, that what's important to you is important to me. I know how much you love your mom and that you're close to her and like to spend time with her…I guess I wanted to show you that I was willing to be a part of that sometimes too…I want to show her that I care enough about you to care about her too…if that makes any sense."

"It makes sense; I get it…and I think she does too. She already liked you; she knows I love you, and as long as I'm happy, you don't have to worry about her having any kind of ill will toward you."

"I just wanted to be nice."

"And you were," she assured. "It was a very sweet gesture and if your mother hadn't shown up, I'm sure it would've gone exactly the way you wanted it to."

"But she did show up," Jim remarked; a touch of darkness in his tone. "I love her but I swear to God sometimes that woman is…"

"Shhh," Johanna said; "With the way our luck runs, making a remark like you're about to, will ensure that she somehow breaks in here tonight to lecture us about our sinful lifestyle."

"You're right," he said with a nod. "We can't take risks like that…just tell me you know what I was thinking."

"I've got a pretty good idea."

"Then that's all that matters…but you know, she's done orchestrated the crashing of our vacation…now she's crashed the nice lunch I wanted to give you and your mother…"

"Don't forget the walking in on my while I was wearing a towel," Johanna interrupted.

"Right; let me start over; she crashed our morning after euphoria..."

Johanna burst into laughter. "Is that what we're calling it?"

"Yes," he grinned. "There was definitely euphoria that morning and she ruined it. She orchestrated the crashing of our vacation, crashed lunch…what's next?"

"Don't even ask," Johanna replied. "Just don't even put that out there in the universe because just the mere suggestion of it will probably drag your mother from her bed to sit in a dark corner and plot her next move for whatever opportunity arises next."

"You're right again."

"I usually am; you should always be this accepting of the fact," she teased.

Jim tweaked her side. "Aren't you the funny one; and here I thought you were still scarred by that discussion of birth control with your mother."

"Oh believe me, I am; that's why were not having sex tonight."

"And the disappointments just keep on coming," he said with a dramatic air. "Although in all fairness; after the way lunch went, the idea of it wasn't even really on my mind."

She couldn't help but giggle. "I love you."

"I love you too," Jim told her as he stole a kiss. "But I'll think twice about inviting your mother to lunch again…it just invited trouble; no offense to her or course."

"I understand completely."

He sighed. "Just one more disaster to check off our list."

"Look at the bright side, the rate we're going, we should be running out of them soon."

"We can only hope," Jim replied. "Does that mean I'm going to meet your father soon?"

"Honey; are you trying to be a glutton for punishment?"

"The life of punishment was not a life I chose," he quipped. "It chose me."

"But still," she remarked lightly. "Why heap on extra helpings?"

"I'm going to have to meet him eventually, aren't I?"

"I don't know, are you?"

Jim met her eye. "I figure since I don't plan on giving you up that the matter is going to come up eventually."

"If my father was worried or interested, he would've issued the demand to meet you."

"So what are you saying, he doesn't think we're going anywhere?"

Johanna gave a short laugh. "Jim; I'd be surprised if he could tell me your name; that's how well he listens when I talk. It's nothing personal against you; he just isn't overly interested in what I do or who I do it with."

"It's still going to come up…it was mentioned today."

"A lot of things were mentioned today; things I'd like to forget so I can sleep easily tonight," Johanna replied as she began to shift about, showing him that she was settling down to sleep now and that she'd like to drop the nightmare idea of introducing him to her father.

"Jo…"

"Jim," she sighed.

"My mother does have a point," he remarked.

"Oh God," she groaned. "If tonight's options are that line of conversation or sex; let's just go for sex, I can pretend the birth control discussion didn't happen…along with the pregnancy scare discussion…which I really wish hadn't happened."

Jim shook his head. "No; I think we should talk about this."

Johanna sighed deeply. "What do you want me to do, Jim? Circle a date on the calendar and say 'here's the day you'll meet my father'?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Fine; March 25th."

He laughed. "Why March 25th?"

"It was the first date that popped into my mind."

"It also buys you several more months, doesn't it?"

"If you don't like that date, I can pick another."

"I don't think picking a date is a good idea," Jim replied. "How about you just tell me if it's going to be before the end of this decade?"

"I'm sure it will be…I don't know why this has to be a big deal."

"Because, it's like my mother said; you do things with my family, you come to events…I haven't been to yours and that's because you're doing everything you can to keep me from meeting your father…is it fair?"

"No, I suppose not."

"So what are we going to do about it?" he asked.

"I guess you'll just have to stop inviting me to birthday parties and picnics until you meet my father."

"I have a feeling that you're willing to sacrifice those outings."

"It's not like we're married, Jim."

"I have a feeling if I had made that comment, I would've gotten kicked out of this bed."

Johanna rolled her eyes. "You would not; it's your bed; we're at your place, not mine."

"It's our bed…no matter where we are."

"How about we try sleeping in it."

"Johanna; you're trying to avoid the subject."

She rolled over and looked at him sternly. "I'm not ready yet, okay?" she said firmly. "Can you just let me be ready first?"

"I wouldn't have a problem with that if I thought there was a chance of you ever really being ready."

"Oh my God!" she yelled as she sat up. "Fine! I'll take you over tomorrow and you can meet him, okay? We'll spend the whole afternoon at my parents house, we can even stay for dinner. Does that work for you?"

"No," Jim replied with a shake of his head.

"I didn't think so; after all, we've had this discussion before and anytime I say I'll take you the next day, you back out, so let's just not play this game anymore tonight."

He blew out a breath. "I don't know why you're so uptight about this. I get that you and your dad don't get along all the time…but it shouldn't be this big of a deal."

She scoffed. "Shall we review the list of things you've made a big deal out of? Like how about that time when you got mad at me because I spent the night with you when you were drunk or how you made a big deal out of making our relationship official or the time we broke up because of a joke that you made a big deal out of…are any of these things ringing a bell, honey?"

Jim held up a hand. "I've never denied that I have jackass moments."

"It's good that you don't deny it."

"And you shouldn't deny you're bull headed."

"I don't know why that's suddenly on the table but I don't recall issuing any denials," Johanna replied as she slid back down in her spot and turned her back to him.

"All I'm trying to say is that you'd feel a lot better if we just got it over with sometime soon…and then if you want me to go somewhere with you, I can…instead of you just going by yourself because you don't want me in the same room with your father for some reason."

"Soon, okay," she replied in exasperation. "The best I can give you right now is soon…if it makes you feel any better, I wish I was at my parents house right now."

"Because we wouldn't be having this conversation?"

"Exactly."

Jim leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll let it go…for now; but not forever, Jo."

"Fair enough," she remarked.

He glanced at her. "Are you alright?"

Puzzlement flicked across her face as she looked at him. "Yeah; why wouldn't I be?"

"Because of what happened today…what got brought up. You were crying when she brought up the false alarm…."

"It was painful in that moment," Johanna answered; "And embarrassing…I never wanted my mother to know about that."

"I'm sorry."

She gave him a soft smile. "It's okay; it's not your fault."

"You're okay?"

"Yeah; I'm fine…if I wasn't; I'd probably be in my own apartment right now."

"That's probably true," he replied with a nod. "Hopefully tomorrow will look better."

"We can hope," she murmured as she snuggled into her pillow. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he replied while thinking that his earlier assessment had been right; anytime mothers got involved, trouble followed. That would teach him.

Author's Note: I believe the mayhem of Thanksgiving will be next