“I
hope my son had you sign a pre-nuptial agreement.”
“Of
course.”
“Then
you know that you’ll not get a penny from him when he divorces you.”
And
that did it. Emma burst out laughing, to the immense surprise of her new
mother-in-law. Looking the dour woman straight in the eyes, Emma simply stated,
“Mrs. Parker, you are a piece of work. Look, your son and I are married. I’m
not planning to divorce him yet. And I don’t think he’s planning to divorce me
yet either, though you can certainly feel free to ask him.”
The
woman sniffed again, clearly not done torturing her, but a bit surprised by her
new daughter-in-law’s responses to her questions. Emma realized that any woman
who had dated Mason before had probably gotten this same third degree. The
question was, how many of them deserved it, and how many had been nice women,
but frightened away by it.
The
woman’s attention focused on her ring.
“Let
me see your ring,” she ordered, taking Emma’s hand in hers and squinting at it
in the dim light. “It’s very plain,” she at last decreed, dropping Emma's hand.
Emma
smiled then, stretching out her fingers to look again at the tasteful band.
“Yes. Simple and elegant. Works beautifully for me.”
“I
assume Mason has ordered you a diamond?”
“Good
Lord, I hope not,” Emma asserted. “He knows that I don’t want one, so I’d hope
that he would abide by my wishes.”
“You
don’t like diamonds?” The scornful tone was clear.
“I
love them. On other women. I’m not much of a diamond person, though.”
Emma
waited for it. Three... two... one... The sniff. It was so predictable. This
was getting fun.
“What
kind of person are you?” the woman asked.
So
Emma shrugged. “That, Mrs. Parker, is exactly why you should get to know me.
Because I could tell you the truth, and you’d still have to judge it if were
true or a lie. Better that you figure out on your own whether I’m the person
you think I am, or someone completely different.”
“Women
are always after Mason’s money.”
“That
may be the case. But why do you immediately assume that any woman who is with
Mason is interested in his wealth? I actually find it rather insulting for
Mason’s sake that you just assume that his financial status is the only
appealing thing about him. I’ve dated rich men before, Mrs. Parker. None of
them hold a candle to your son.” Emma said this mildly, but from the look in
her mother-in-law’s eyes, she knew that she had taken it as a rebuke. Ah well.
In for a penny, in for a pound, she thought. Time to take off the gloves.
“Do
you date wealthy men exclusively?” the woman asked disdainfully.
“My
last serious boyfriend was a high school teacher,” Emma smiled. “What about
you? Did you marry your husband for his money?”
It
may have taken a lot to shock the woman, but Emma figured that she’d done it.
It was a good 25 seconds before the woman managed to close her mouth to the
frown it had been in before, and say, “My dear, you have no idea who you are
dealing with.”
“Oh,
but I do,” Emma said quietly. “You came from humble beginnings, and married a
very wealthy man. And maybe that’s why you assume that everyone who dates your
son is in it for that very thing – money. But here’s the thing, Mrs. Parker –
your opinion of Mason is wrong. He’s far more than a bank account and far more
than a titanium card with American Express. He’s a good man with a good heart.
So despite your own baggage, you’ve raised him well.”
“Do
you love him?” the woman challenged her.
“That,
Mrs. Parker, is between me and your son. He knows exactly how I feel about him,
and I know exactly how he feels about me. And truthfully, it doesn’t really
matter if I love him. I like him. And that’s…..”
“…More
than a lot of people can say,” Mason said, coming up behind them and slipping
his arm around her waist. “I keep waiting for the mushroom cloud over here. How
are you two getting along?”
Emma
looked at the woman across from her, and realized that many of her questions
could be construed as protective of her son. She may be a cold and hard woman,
and she may have transferred those traits to her son, but Emma realized that
the woman loved Mason. In her own way. And that made some of her interrogation
OK. Looking up at Mason, she admitted, “I kind of like your mom. She says what
she thinks. I might not like it, but at least she’s not two-faced.”
Mason’s
eyebrows went up when his mother nodded, her mouth still grim. “I’d say that
I’m inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. So far.”
With
a slight smile at Emma and a nod at her son, the woman spun around and stalked
off, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.
“Did
you just do what I think you did?”
“I
don't know. What do you think I did?”
“Impressed
my mother.”
Emma
looked at the retreating figure dubiously. “Oh, I seriously doubt that I did
that
.
I think she’s either running off to clean her shotgun, or to hire a hit man.
She’s very protective of you. Just in a scary Lady Macbeth kind of a way.”
“Protective?”
“Yeah.
I’m not impressed with her warm motherly tendencies, but she’s like a pit bull
in terms of making sure that no woman is taking advantage of you. Go talk to
her,” Emma encouraged. “That particular encounter made me hungry enough to eat
half the buffet table, so I’m going to go dive into the hors d’oeuvres.”
Mason
just shook his head.
“Hey,
do I need to worry about the same kind of thing from your sister?”
At
that, Mason chuckled. “Not really. She hasn’t liked most of the women I’ve
dated before, but she’s more polite than my mother. If you want to take the
bull by the horns, Amanda is over by the bar, trying to blend into the
woodwork. She hates these things.”
“In
the black dress?” Emma asked.
“Yes.”
“OK.
See you later,” she smiled as she set her empty glass down on a collection tray
and headed in Amanda’s direction. On her way over, she discreetly studied her
new sister-in-law. While she was well-dressed and her make-up and hair were
flawless, there was a discomfort about her that Emma sensed. Mason was right.
The woman didn’t want to be here. The question was whether she was always
uncomfortable at these kinds of events, or whether she was particularly
uncomfortable with the thought of meeting Emma.
Making
her way to the buffet table, Emma loaded up on appetizers, then headed over to
the bar near where Amanda was standing. Plucking a glass of wine from one of
the passing waiters, she walked over to stand next to Amanda, looking out at
the room in the same direction.
“Do
you know everybody here?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine and balancing her
plate in her other hand.
Amanda
turned to see who was standing next to her, and started in surprise. She
recovered well, though. Emma was impressed.
“Not
even half,” Amanda responded. “But that’s still probably a lot more than you
know. Are you recovering from your talk with Mother?”
Emma
laughed. “That’s what the wine is for. She may be moving on to the hard stuff
too - I think I may have annoyed her a little bit.”
“From
the look on her face once or twice during your conversation, I think you may be
right.”
“Has
she ever made anyone cry?” Emma asked lightly.
Amanda
grinned. “Yeah. Her rate is at about 65%.”
“Holy
cow! And what happens to the other 35%? Fleeing the scene? Anger? Laughter?”
“You’re
the first person I’ve seen laugh,” Amanda admitted. “So welcome to the family.
I understand that Mason has kept you hidden for a while.”
“A
bit too long, probably,” Emma replied. “So it’s nice to finally meet you.”
“How
long have you known my brother?”
“Not
very long, so I understand a lot of the puzzled looks I’m getting.”
Amanda
shook her head. “Don’t take this wrong, but I think the puzzled part is because
you’re not the type of woman Mason normally dates.”
“Oh,
believe me, I know that,” Emma laughed. “For one thing, I have a dog.”
“You
do not.”
“I
do.”
“And
he still married you?”
“I
can't quite believe it myself.”
“Do
they get along?”
“Oh,
Chaos is beside himself with happiness. He’s been following Mason around the
house for the past few weeks. I think Mason secretly likes it, even if he
complains about the furballs around on the hardwood.”
Amanda
laughed. “And Mason tells us that you're a lawyer?”
“I
am. I practice family law now. I did criminal for a while, but it rules your
life. I needed to be able to set my hours a bit more and to have room in my
world for more than work. And you? Mason said that you’re in a medical field,
but didn’t really give me any more than that.”
“He
probably doesn’t know any more than that,” Amanda said wryly. “If you’re not in
business, he’s not that interested in what you do. I’m a genetic counselor.”
“Seriously?
Wow. That's got to be an incredible mixture of rewarding and heart-breaking.
What got you interested in that?”
“Genetics?
Trying to figure out the odds of turning out like my mother and father,
probably,” Amanda chuckled. “But you’re right. It’s turned out to be a good
choice for me.”
Emma
set her plate down on a table nearby and commenced munching after offering to
share with the woman. “I grabbed too much. Feel free. So Mason seems to think
that both you and your mother suspect that everyone he’s with is after his
dollars. I can kind of see that with your mother, but...”
Amanda
nearly choked on the mushroom she’d just placed in her mouth. Emma handed her
her glass and patted her lightly on the back. “You OK?” she asked.
“Fine.
I’m just surprised. And kind of amused, to be honest. Because Mason thinks that
anyone
I
date is after our family’s money.”
“You’re
all a suspicious lot, aren't you?” Emma asked with a grin. “I just ask because
I think I like you, and I’d like to be friends. But I just want to assure you
that while there are many odd reasons for me to be with your brother, his money
isn’t one of them.”
Amanda
started laughing. “Yeah. I think I got that from the start. The man must absolutely
adore you in order to put up with a dog. And you’re too comfortable in your own
skin to be looking for your identity through a rich man. So welcome to the
family. Again. And this time I mean it.”
Emma
clinked her glass to Amanda’s. “Adore may be too strong of a word,” she
confided. “But at least Chaos is growing on him.”
The
ride home that night was quiet. Emma was tired, and her conversations with her
new mother-in-law and sister-in-law had worn her out. When they got back to
Mason’s home, Emma went upstairs to let Chaos out, while Mason locked up
downstairs. Emma was in her bedroom, waiting for Chaos to reappear on her
balcony, when Mason knocked lightly on her door. Emma turned around to see him
leaning in the frame.
“Did
you really ask my mother if she’d married my father for money?” he asked
softly.
Emma
nodded, unable to tell if he was angry or just curious. “I did,” she responded.
“Whatever
possessed you to do that?”
She
shrugged. “She insulted you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.
As you’d warned me, she insinuated that women are only interested in you for
money. I made sure that she understood that you had other charms in addition to
a checkbook. She didn’t necessarily buy that. So I wondered out loud if she had
that kind of thing in her own past. She’s just so sure that it’s always the
case with you, and while that may sometimes be true, she doesn’t seem to judge
people based on their own merits. So I asked her.”
“She
was rather offended, but I think she got over it when she realized that you
were actually defending me.”
“Did
your parents have a good marriage?” Emma asked.
The
walls went up immediately. Emma could see them fall into place. “Why?” he asked
shortly.
“Why
what?”
"Why
do you want to know?"
Emma
rolled her eyes. “I’m making small talk, Mason. I’m not taking notes to write
an unauthorized biography. I’m interested in your mother, and in your
relationship with her. That’s all.”
Mason
looked at her for several beats before responding, “No. They had an awful
marriage. They lived in the same house, but on separate wings, since I was
two.”
“Were
they cordial at least?”
“I
don’t remember them interacting much, apart from an occasional social event
that they hosted. And they played perfect hosts then, but there was no bond
between them.”