Carter Brothers: Eli (Rated R novel)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Hey mom,” she greets waltzing into the lounge where her mom is sat watching TV.
“Don’t tell me you wore that on your date, Muffin-top!” gasps her mom, gazing up and down at her daughter’s plain outfit.
“Date? Mom, I told you I was just out with some friends...” shrugs Ivy.
“Don’t you lie to me, young lady. Jo-Ann just rang me with some very juicy gossip about you. So am I going to hear the truth now or more lies?”

Ivy groans at her mom’s words. That pesky waitress! But then, how did Jo-Ann know?

“Wait, how did Jo-Ann know about the date?”
Dawn grins widely at her which just causes a spike of anxiety in Ivy.
“Mom...how did Jo-Ann know?” she repeats slower.
“Apparently you two weren’t exactly discrete about this date ending well,” hints her mother causing Ivy to groan deeper as she flops onto the couch beside her smug mother.
“Mom, he kissed me...And it was an, okay date, I guess,” shrugs Ivy reluctantly. Although she’s close to her mother and tells her practically everything. Somehow with Eli, she doesn’t want to share. Because her mother knows her better than anyone and she’ll tell Ivy what Ivy knows deep down in her. Dawn will extract that buried piece of emotion and admit it out loud to her.

“Details, Muffin-top! I want details. Come on, right from the start. Where did you two go?” excitedly questions Dawn. It’s so nice to hear about her daughter dating again and although there’s a twinge of sadness that Ivy herself didn’t tell Dawn, Dawn can forgive her for that. But besides that, hearing Ivy starting to date, to live her life, makes Dawn feel....happy. Like their mother-daughter relationship isn’t just consumed by the grief and worry of her illness. And that ray of normality in itself makes Dawn feel young, healthier, stronger.

“Mom...” whines Ivy.
“Come on Ivy. We share everything, don’t we? Don’t you want me to know about this boy? You know, I would never tell you not to follow your heart. So can you tell me about him or not?”
That’s the problem, thinks Ivy. Her mother always tells her to follow her heart and right now, the last thing she wants to do is follow that naive little solider. It doesn’t know the things that her brain does.

“Mom, why do you always have to guilt trip me like that?...Fine, I’ll tell you but no squealing or anything. Okay?”
Dawn nods in agreement a broad grin on her lips.
“His name’s Eli. We went out to the amusement park and-Mom!-”
“What? I’m not squealing!” protests Dawn. Ivy gives her mother a small flat look causing the crazy, lunatic smile to cease a little but not completely wipe off.
“Whatever. Anyway, there’s not much else to tell you. We were about to part ways at the diner and he...he stole a kiss from me. I mean, I guess I didn’t mind it. He is a good kisser,” Ivy admits bashfully.

Dawn has to force herself not to squeal in delight. Finally, someone Ivy actually likes!
“Oh? So what does your dashing Prince look like?”
“Mom! He is not ‘my dashing Prince’!” yelps Ivy with her cheeks blushing bright red.
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks!” cries Dawn pointing a teasing finger at her daughter.
“Mom, you know that’s not the actual meaning of that quote right? Anyway, in the way you mean it, I am not protesting. It was just one date and one kiss...”
“Baby...you know you can’t lie to your mother, right? It’s in our genes, we can tell when our daughter’s aren’t being honest-”
“I’m not lying to you-”

“No, you’re lying to yourself. And that is so much worse. Ivy...darling, give it a shot. Don’t keep denying what you’re feeling, what you want. I mean what you really want, not what you force yourself to desire. Don’t live your life not experiencing anything, giving nobody a chance. People can surprise you, you know.”

There’s a moment of silence between them as Ivy digests her mother’s words. Her heart stuttering as she finds herself considering exposing her heart to Eli. But the idea’s so absurd; she has to dismiss it immediately.
“Mom...I would but Eli’s....he’s a bit of a player,” explains Ivy.
“Player? Oh? What does he like to play?”
This has Ivy bursting out into laughter. Perhaps using terms like ‘player’ wasn’t the best idea with her mom.