Chapter Fourteen

Four days passed and Mitch still hadn’t explained what he meant about showing her off. They made love on the beach that night after her shift, and then went back to his place and made love in his bed. Karla tried to get him to explain his vague statement, but all he said was that he would show her in a few days. It drove her nuts, but she was sure it was his way of proving she didn’t need to be in control. She hated not being in control.

Aimee had already left for work, and Karla took her cup of coffee and retired to the balcony on the back of their condo to enjoy the quietness of this Tuesday morning. Birds chirped, squirrels bounced back and forth in the trees, and the sun peeked through the branches announcing the coming of the day. She sipped her coffee and took a deep breath, inhaling the calmness of the morning, the peace and quiet. She needed this, this solitude, the quietness. She needed it to help calm her nerves, her mind.

She wasn’t going to get it, however.

Her mistake was leaving the sliding glass door open. It was the only reason she heard the knocking on the door. The persistent, constant pounding on her door. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the noise, but it didn’t stop. If Bonnie is at my door, I swear…

“Karla? Are you in there? It’s your mother. Open the door.”

Karla sighed. She avoided her mother—and Paul—for four days. She wasn’t ready to deal with their relationship yet. She doubted she would ever be ready.

“Karla. Open up.”

She tightened her grip on her coffee mug, as she lunged from the chair, leaving her quiet morning behind her. Her mom kept knocking on her door. Karla was sure Miss Fowler peeked out a crack of her own door, the busybody taking notes on what everyone else did. Karla slid her coffee cup onto the dining room table as she passed it, thinking she did not consume enough caffeine to deal with her mother’s drama this morning.

As soon as she opened her door, her mother pushed her way past Karla and into her daughter’s home. “We need to talk,” she said.

Karla sighed as she rolled her eyes. “It’s too early to talk, and to be honest, I don’t want to know the details.”

“Oh please, I have no intention of telling you the details of my relationship with Paul. It’s none of your business.” Karla watched as her mother went to the kitchen cabinets and pulled out a coffee mug, then filled it from the fresh pot. “However, I will not tolerate you being rude to Paul.” She took a sip of her coffee, wiping her lips with her tongue once she finished. “I won’t have it.” She leaned back on the kitchen counter and stared at her daughter; the coffee cup held in front of her like a shield.

Karla pressed her lips together, forcing herself not to spout off with the first retort that erupted in her mind. Instead, she closed the front door and made her way over to the small dining table, taking a seat so she could see her mother as well as out the sliding back doors leading to the porch. The open sky soothed her nerves. “Normally, I wouldn’t say anything about who you played stuff the sausage with between the sheets, but it’s Paul. He’s my boss. He’s also someone I already screwed. Don’t you find that a little…gross?”

She watched her mother take a deep breath, her shoulders squaring off as if ready to get defensive. “I know all about the two of you…”

“All about us? He told you things?”

“What? No! No, he just told me the two of you were together…in that way…at times.” She stood, straightening her posture, a more determined stance in her body. “But I don’t care. That was then. This is now. He says it’s over for the two of you and I believe him.”

“Over? Mom, it was only a couple of weeks ago. It’s not like it’s been years. Hell, he played grab ass with me last week!” She couldn’t believe this was happening, that her mother was screwing the man who was her own last call surety just a few days ago. It was wrong in so many ways.

Her mother stared at her mug as she walked over to the table and took a seat across from Karla, in front of her daughter’s view of the sky outside, her sanity. “Ever since you were in high school, you did what you wanted. Snuck out of the house. Skipped school. Drugs. Sex. We knew what you were doing. Your father wanted to do something drastic, but I kept him from doing it. I always hoped you’d grow out of it.” She shrugged; her thin shoulders slouched with years of regret. “You never did. You’re still the wild one, sleeping around, doing what you want, living life on your terms.” Karla started to say something, but her mother held up her hand, stopping her. “And for the most part, I think you’ve turned out to be a fantastic young woman. I even admire the way you take life on, having your adventures and not answering to other people’s terms.” She straightened in her chair as she took a deep breath. “Well, this is my adventure. I know he’s younger. I even know he’s slept with you and the type of man he is. You’d call him a player.”

“I’d call him a dog,” Karla said with a sigh.

“But he’s my adventure, and I’m doing it on my terms. Not yours. Not even his. You don’t care about my approval on your shenanigans, and frankly, I don’t need yours. This is my life. Butt out.”

Karla just stared at her, mouth slightly ajar. It was the first time her mother ever told her how she felt about anything, especially the way Karla lived her life. She didn’t know what to say to any of it, so she just sat there.

Betty Harper lifted her coffee to her lips and took a small sip, nodding afterward. “Now that’s over with. How are you doing?”

Karla shook her head, not believing how this conversation was playing out. “Mom, I… I never knew…”

“Yes, you did.” Her mother’s smile was gentle, almost sad. “And furthermore, I knew what you were doing, and I allowed it. But that is neither here nor there. What’s done is done, and who knows how things would have turned out if I allowed your father to be more forceful than I did. Those are my regrets that you’ll probably have to pay for until you decide you don’t want to live that way anymore. However, my complacency ends now. I have allowed you to live your life and you will now afford me the same courtesy.”

Karla nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She took a deep breath. Lifting her coffee mug, she changed her mind and set it back down on the table. Her stomach was in knots, and she wasn’t sure putting anything in it right then was a good idea. “And things are going good.”

“Well. Things are going well,” her mother corrected her grammar.

Karla smiled. “Things are going well.”

Her mother nodded. “Good. I’m glad to hear it. Are you working tonight?”

“No. Mitch is supposedly taking me out.”

Her mother smiled, and this time there was a warmth to it. “I like him. So does your sister.”

Karla couldn’t believe the way the conversation just slipped into easy banter, chitchat about each other’s day and the goings-on of their lives. Eventually, Karla’s stomach settled down and she could enjoy her coffee again. Her mom didn’t stay long. She finished that one cup of coffee, and then made her exit. Before she left, however, she stopped in the doorway, her hand on Karla’s cheek, her eyes teary. “I love you, and I’m proud of who you have become. You’re an amazing woman. Strong. I wish I was that strong when I was your age.” She kissed Karla’s cheek, smiled, and then turned and headed for the elevator.

Karla just watched her go, her own eyes pooling with tears she didn’t want to shed. It was the first tender moment she ever really had with her mother. They had a great relationship, no doubt, but it was reduced to one of friendship before now, before right then. Her mother stood up to her and didn’t allow Karla to push her around. She was the mother, and Karla was the daughter. It was something Karla waited for since she was in the eleventh grade.

She eased back into the condo, closing the door behind her. Refilling her coffee cup, she made her way out to the balcony, settling back into her chair, breathing in the ocean air. She couldn’t help but wonder what her life would be like if her mother had put her foot down when she was younger, allowed her father to punish her and hold her accountable for her actions. Would she have rebelled harder? Or would she have changed her behavior?

Sometimes, she wished she knew.

With the back of her hand, she swiped at a tear that escaped. Her father tried to turn his daughter into someone to love, someone who could love, but she fought him every step of the way.

She twisted the doorknob carefully, holding her breath, doing her best to keep the sound from slicing into the silent house and waking her parents. It was two in the morning; they should be sound asleep, believing her to be asleep. She eased inside, tip-toeing her way into the front foyer before closing the door just as quietly behind her. No noise. Great. She blew out the breath she was holding as she turned, thinking herself free from capture.

She froze. She wasn’t free.

Her father stood there, his arms across his chest, his brows turned down in a frown, lips pressed into a thin line, as he stared at her. “And just where the hell have you been?”

“Um…just taking a walk?”

“A walk involves someone dropping you off?”

Shit. “I was with Jimmy,” she said, her temper starting to flare up. “We were just hanging out. That’s all.”

“Kids don’t just ‘hang out’ at two in the morning, Karla. I’m old, but I’m not that old.”

She allowed her temper to rush ahead, as she pushed her way past her father and into the living room. “Fine. We were doing more than just hanging out, okay? Is that what you want to hear?”

“No, what I want to hear is your mother snoring contentedly beside me, but instead, I have to wait up until my daughter sneaks her way back into the house.” He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. She thought he was going to slap her, but she should have known better. Her father never laid a hand on her, not since the fourth grade. She almost wished he would at times, just to know there was a line for her to cross. Yet, she knew her mother would never allow it. He took a deep breath. “Karla, you don’t have to sleep with boys to get them to like you.”

She snorted a burst of laughter. “I don’t care if he likes me. I just need him to do what I want.”

“Baby, that’s not how love works.”

“I don’t deserve love. That’s been made quite apparent to me by the boys at our school.”

He pulled her close, his expression going soft, as if he wanted to cry. “My girl, you deserve love just like everyone else, but first you have to love yourself. You have to care enough about yourself to demand that people love you rather than giving them what they want for the moment.” He caressed her cheek, cupping it with his hand. “You are an amazing girl, Karla, and you’re going to be an amazing woman. But you have to love yourself enough to see that what you’re doing isn’t right; it isn’t what you deserve.”

Karla knew her father was trying to get her to soften up but being soft only got you hurt. She refused to let anyone hurt her. “I deserve whatever I want. They’re not playing me. I’m playing them.”

He shook his head. “That’s no way to live your life, sweetie. That’s not how you get ahead in this world.”

She shrugged. “It’s worked pretty good so far.”

His dropped his hand to his side, his chest rising with his deep breath. She knew she hurt him with her words, but they were the truth. Karla Harper didn’t deal in lies. “May I go to bed now?” she asked.

He nodded. “No more sneaking out.” He said it, but they both knew he wasted his breath. Karla would do whatever she wanted, whatever she needed, to get what she desired out of life.

“Good night, Dad.”

He watched as she went to her bedroom, but she didn’t look back. She waited for him to scold her some more, waited for him to ignore his wife’s wishes, but he wouldn’t. He no longer spanked her. No longer grounded her, even. He remained silent as she walked away.

And the next night, she snuck out again.

A pelican swooped down over the Atlantic, its wings outspread as it glided over the churning waves. Her chest tightened as her heart ached at the memory. He tried to save her, put her on the right path. She was dead set against it. Yet was she on the wrong path now? Really? She enjoyed her life. She was happy. She didn’t need what everyone else thought she needed. She didn’t need the love and relationships others thrived on. She just needed to enjoy her life.

And she did. To the fullest.

Most of the time, that is.

She sipped her coffee and stared out at the morning. No one ever thought she was worth loving when she was younger. Now, it was too late. Now, she didn’t deserve love.

She deserved whatever she got.

Obviously, that included Mitch Greenway.