Jane had wasted no time in getting Angela ready to meet Maura again, though this time in a completely different capacity. She'd invited the Rizzoli matriarch over for Chinese the night following her and Maura's conversation, something which Angela had readily agreed to.
"Jane, baby! I'm so happy you called. It feels like it's been forever since I last saw you!" Angela cried as she entered Jane's apartment and went to hug and kiss her daughter hello.
"I saw you two days ago ma," Jane replied. "Still, it's good to see you too. Are you hungry? The delivery guy just came."
"I'm quite hungry, yes. Mr. Stanley had a rather bad case of OCD today and so he had me work overtime scrubbing the table surfaces, as if I didn't clean them properly already. He also mentioned something about people messing with the salt and sugar packet display, so I had to separate the two and put them on different containers, at least one foot away from each other. Seriously, if that man worked as much as he complained…"
"Forget about Stanley ma, he's a pain. Come on, let's have some dinner."
Angela's eyes watered and nearly betrayed her as she saw Jane set the food containers on the table and begin to empty them out on plates with little hesitation. She didn't know if the day would come when her daughter would actually return to 'normal', and definitely saw this as a good sign in the right direction.
Jane had spent half of their dinner time together to determine the best way of telling her mother about Maura without Angela making a huge deal. Finishing up with a sip of her beer, she placed the bottle back down on the table and decided to get it over with.
"I'm really glad you came over tonight ma. I was looking forward to having dinner with you."
Angela's smile shone bright on her face at her daughter's admission. "Me too baby, I'd been looking forward to it all day."
"Aside from dinner, there's something I needed, no, wanted to talk to you about."
"Is everything alright Jane? You got so serious just now…" Angela began to voice her concern.
"Yes ma, everything is perfect, really. Well," she looked at her hands "everything is as great as it can be. Remember I told you a while back that I was dating someone?"
"How could I possibly forget?! You say you're dating someone and then I don't get any other details about this person."
"I told you what I could at the time, because I wasn't even sure myself of what I wanted. I didn't think it necessary to put either myself or this person through any formalities if we weren't going to mean something."
"You mean… Janie…" Angela looked at her daughter with high hopes flooding her eyes and mind.
"I mean that it's time ma. I want you and the guys to meet the person I'm dating. It's been a while now, and things are only getting better between us. I don't want to keep my family and my dating life separate… I mean, I want to be able to share family functions and the like with them."
The word 'them' didn't escape Angela at all, yet she didn't say anything. She had an inkling that her daughter would be dating a woman and decided that it wasn't the time to bring that up. In truth, all she wanted of her daughter was for her to be happy, nothing else mattered. "I think that's wonderful sweetheart. I can't wait to meet the person who has your heart."
"Ma," Jane began to protest.
"No Jane, you listen to me now. Don't try to deny it, you're in love. A blind person could see that. I'm so very happy for you; I don't think I can express it in words. Yours and your brothers' happiness is all I've ever wanted for you three. I don't care how you get there; I just want you to get there. I'm sure that whomever you've kept secret all these months is definitely a good person, and worthy of your love."
"Thank you ma, that truly means a lot to me," Jane replied, misty-eyed.
"You're welcome baby. Now, when do we get to meet this mystery person?"
"I was thinking we could make dinner for you on Saturday night. You can come over here and have dinner and the three of us can talk and you can get to know each other."
"That sounds perfect Jane. Just tell me the time and I'll be here."
Saturday night came quickly. Maura had the night off and had left very specific instructions that she was not to be bothered, and that a different ortho surgeon was to be paged in the event of an emergency.
"Ok, so here's the thing about my ma…" Jane began as she and Maura made their way to pick up some fresh bread for dinner. "I can only describe her as what is called a 'helicopter mom'."
Maura gave her this odd look, like she didn't understand what she meant.
"She hovers Maur… the woman HOVERS. She's always in my business, wanting to know what I'm doing, who I'm seeing, if I'm eating or sleeping, trying to hook me up with someone so I can get married and have children and a loving husband and the whole nine yards."
"A loving husband? She doesn't know?" Maura dreaded Jane's answer.
"I've never officially come out to my family Maur. She just says a loving husband because that's the way her brain is wired. She assumes that I'm going to meet and fall in love with a man. The way she expressed herself the other night though, it didn't seem like my being with a woman would be a big deal, even if she is as religious as she is."
"I have no point of comparison there. Mother has never really shown much interest in my life, much less now that I'm an adult. I wonder what it would have been like to have my parents more involved in my life."
"Be careful what you wish for Maura, that's all I'm saying. You'll see what I'm talking about soon enough. Ma doesn't censor herself, she has no filter. She speaks her mind and that's that. Actually, I should begin apologizing for whatever interrogation is sure to come tonight."
"She can't be that bad Jane."
"Remember, you can't lie."
"I can't, but I can be very good at bending the truth just enough," Maura said with a wink. "I'll handle it."
An hour later both women were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner when a knock sounded at the door. Jane had warned Angela about not just storming into her apartment; she was glad the older woman had remembered to knock. She stopped what she was doing and took Maura's hands in hers.
"Don't stress so much Maur, you're going to be great. Ma is gonna love you. She has always said she wanted a doctor in the family," Jane said with a smirk.
Maura was visibly nervous, all signs of the confident woman Jane knew were nowhere to be seen. She supposed there was a time when Maura just had to show some vulnerability.
"I wish I could say something to make you more at ease," Jane said softly. She reached down and kissed Maura softly, trying to transfer a sense of calm and peace through the kiss. Maura visibly relaxed. "Did I mention just how beautiful you look tonight?" Jane asked as she took Maura's hand and led her to the sofa where she had Maura wait while she opened the door. "You ready?" she asked as she turned to Maura one last time. Another knock was heard at the door. Maura looked at her and nodded, trying to calm her heart. I love you Jane mouthed before turning her attention to the door.
Jane opened the door, her body blocking Maura from sight. "Hey ma, sorry, I was tending to the stove."
"It's ok Janie. I made some cannoli to go with dinner, I hope it's alright."
"Sounds perfect ma," Jane stepped aside after giving her mother a kiss and let the older woman in.
Angela took two steps into the apartment and froze.
"Ma, you remember Dr. Isles?" Jane began.
Maura instantly rose to her feet and straightened her skirt. "Mrs. Rizzoli," Maura said with her best smile. She took the two steps separating her and Angela and extended her hand. "It's so nice to see you again."
Seconds passed, with Angela still completely frozen to her spot. Jane and Maura were visibly getting uncomfortable. Finally, after about 30 seconds of silence, Angela spoke.
"Dr. Isles?" She stated, looking between Maura and then back at Jane with a questioning look.
Sorry for the short update everyone, I didn't have much time today, but wanted to post something nonetheless. Dinner is coming up next chapter. What'd you think of this one?