" Mom, I don't know what came over him. He's so confident and I wonder why." Lacey confided in her mother the moment she got home.
Mrs. Richard scoffed in disbelief at her daughter's claims, " That's impossible. He is Mark, what does he have that makes him think that he's supposed to be confident." She asked Lacey.
Lacey spread her hands in confusion, she knew what she was saying, " Mom, you have to believe me. Mark is no longer... Mark." She mimicked her mother's accent.
" Has he become rich?" Mrs. Richard replied. That was the only change she would accept as one.
" Mom, this is not about money or anything. It's about his personality. It's as though his alter ego came out to play. I don't know how to explain it." Lacey held her mother's hand to explain the depth of what she was saying.
" Which I believe can be true but I don't care because the switch didn't happen with his finances. When that happens then we can have a conversation but for now,I'll pass." Mrs. Richard said and Lacey shook her head, her mother was so money oriented that she didn't bother to take notes about what was important as long as it didn't involve money.
" I'll be in my room, mom."
"Have a goodnight darling. Wait! That reminds me, aren't you going to have dinner? Your ' Mark''' she made the quote sign in the air, " made the food. I don't see anything special about him." She said.
Lacey shrugged, she had better keep her observation to herself then, "I'd better go eat the food from my Mark then. I guess I was the one seeing things."
" Are your glasses still in good shape?" Her mom asked and she nodded.
" Okay, dear. Have a swell night."
Lacey chuckled, that was actually a comic relief, " We don't have swell times at night unless I'm swimming across the Atlantic in my dream." She joked, playing along with her mother.
" That's the spirit. Have a goodnight, I won't be returning down till tomorrow. Tell your father to hurry upstairs. I don't want him talking about your Mark."
Lacey rolled her eyes, so this was going to become a thing, an inside joke between them. "Mom, I'm going to divorce this man. Let's not give him memories that will linger thereafter." She said.
" Okay." Her mom nodded without even hesitating, this wasn't what she wanted,she would do everything to wipe off Mark's memories from her family.
" When is Skip coming back?" Lacey inquired. Skip was her younger sister who was in college. " Isn't their school on break?"
" She wanted to stay with her friends and, you know, do what other kids do."
" Such as..."
" Be a college student, have fun." Mrs. Richard said and Lacey's eyes widened. She would never have believed these words if she weren't present.
" Mom, you and I know what goes on in those parties." She said, how could her mother allow Skip to participate in those things.
" She's an adult, let her make mistakes. I can't keep her sheltered forever. I met your dad in college and here we are today."
Lacey's eyes almost fell out of the sockets, " This is rich coming from you mom, you never allowed me to have a life." She said with hurt coating the voice.
" I regret that till today, that was why you went with the first man who looked serious enough to look your way. Lacey you wouldn't have married Mark if you were exposed and I regret my actions."
Lacey opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, she would not accept that apology because she saw it as a copout. Her mother was only apologizing because she married Mark, also a mistake that she regretted till today. " Mom, you made my life miserable, I almost became depressed," her lips quivered, " I only channeled it into being smart and climbing up the career ladder." She said.
Mrs. Richard stared at her daughter wondering why she was here and almost crying, " A lot of people will be happy to have a mother like me who pushes you to be better."
Lacey sucked in a harsh breath, there was no winning with her mom. So she smiled and exited the room quietly.
Mark jumped away from the door when he heard Lacey's footsteps. " Hey," he said when she came out of her mother's room.
Lacey stopped in her tracks, " What are you doing here, Mark?" She asked him.
" I was on my way downstairs."
" Where's my dad?"
" In the garden?" Mark replied her with a questioning look. He didn't miss the flash of heat in her eyes at his open chest. All of this was Mr. Richard's advice but if a man had managed to live with someone like his mother in-law, he surely had something other men didn't have.
" Oh."
" Are you crying?" He moved closer to her and she shook her head stubbornly as the tears clouded her vision. It was as if his voice broke the dam and tears began to gush out of her eyes, staining her face.
Mark didn't hesitate to rush to her side at once, he had overheard at least eighty percent of their conversation so he understood her reason, " You need to have some rest." He suggested and she didn't refuse or shrug his hands away which he was extremely grateful for.
" Don't touch me." Lacey spoke lowly and Mark removed his hands slowly from her shoulder.
'I spoke too soon.' Mark thought. It was probably his thought that caused her to reply to him that way.
" Thank you for bringing me to my room." She said when they arrived at her room.
" Thank... you're welcome." Mark corrected himself and smiled at her as she slipped into her room.
She stared at him blankly as she held the door, " Have a good night."
" You too... If you need anything, I am just a room..."
The door shut with a loud bang and Mark rolled his eyes.