A Greater Good (girlxgirl)

Mother-in-Law

Everlyn stared at herself in the mirror as she put lipstick on. Her spirits had been lifted since she'd 'broken up' with Jane, mainly because of all the wedding planning she'd finally thrown herself into and the overtime she was clocking up to make herself so exhausted that she couldn't possibly have the energy to think about her. 

She finished with the lipstick and began the search for her lost heel.

"James!" she called out the door, stupidly forgetting that he was out of town for his own big pre-wedding celebration. 

She dropped to the ground and searched under the bed, pulling out dirty socks and a tie James thought he'd lost. She wasn't the tidiest person, but she didn't understand how he could let things like that build up, Jane never did. Stop! she reminded herself, it didn't matter what Jane did with her life, how spotless under her bed was, it really didn't matter anymore.

Everlyn's phone began to ring on the bed, she gave up the pursuit of her shoes to answer, looking at the glowing time before accepting the call, she still had forty minutes to make the twenty minute trip into the city where Steph had booked a bar to begin the bachelorette party. Knowing Steph, it wouldn't be the cliche party with pink penis' everywhere and a pink sash reading 'Bride to Be', and Everlyn was glad. She thought that whole thing was tacky and cheap, she didn't see why everyone had to know she was about to be married. 

"Hi, Sue," Everlyn answered politely, wondering why Jan- James' mum was calling her.

"Hi, Lyn." Sue was nice, but she wasn't very maternal and it could come across as being cold and rude. But she was funny, mostly with dry humour, and the most attractive trait about her was the fact that she could not care about what her kids did, as long as they were safe and happy. Everlyn's own mother wasn't as accepting as Sue, when she found out that Jane was gay it seemed to affect her for weeks. Whereas when Jane told Sue, Everlyn was sitting lazily on the couch across from her at 17 years of age, and it was a boring affair. Jane had looked up from her book she was reading and across at Sue who was staring out the window drinking tea, Everlyn was not forewarned or prepared for what was about to come out of her mouth. 

"Mum, I'm keen on women," was all Jane said in her firm, non caring way.

Sue looked at her and shrugged. "Lucky you," she'd replied and then smiled. "Women can be damn attractive sometimes."

And Jane laughed, went back to her book and Sue to her window whilst Everlyn stared between them wondering what on earth had just happened and how everything was still so calm. 

"What's up?" Everlyn asked, wandering out of the bedroom and down into the kitchen looking for that stupid heel.

"I've got to ask you something, are you alone?"

The tone in her voice made Everlyn's stomach flip, she practically fainted into a seat.

'Ah... yeah, James' down at a Garry's beach house."

"Ok. Good. It's about Jane."

Everlyn didn't move, she stared out the dirty window that she needed to clean and hoped her hammering heart couldn't be heard by Sue. 

"Look," Sue begun neither rudely nor nicely, "I have a fair idea about my daughter-"

"Sue, nothing-"

"Please, just let me speak, I'm not mad."

Everlyn took a shaky breath in, she felt like she was being told off by a favourite teacher, someone she really admired. 

"I'm not stupid, I could tell what was going on between you when you were younger. And it's fine," Sue kept going loudly, draining out Everlyn's interruption, "it's completely fine, and honestly it was cute. Jane was really happy, so were you. But now, now you've chosen James and again," she said firmly to stop Everlyn interrupting, "I'm not mad at you at all, I love having you in the family, but I need you to tell me it's all over with Jane because I can't let you throw James away for her, it would break this family up."

Everlyn nodded quickly before realising Sue couldn't see her. "Yes," she said rather breathlessly, "yes, of course it's over."

"Great!" Sue said brightly, obviously the relief of knowing her family wasn't in harm's way had lifted her mood. "Well, you'll have no objections to Jane coming to your party, tonight?" she toned it at as question, but it was a statement.

"No," Everlyn said meekly. "I'll see her there."

Sue hung up and Everlyn stared out the dirty window. She had all the objections in the world! She couldn't see Jane, not tonight, not ever. It would be awkward, and frustrating, and her jealousy would boil up underneath the surface until it felt like she was a volcano full of molten rock. And she'd basically been told by her mother-in-law that she'd better be faithful and forget all kinds of feelings for Jane or she'd be culpable for any tension in the family. She put her phone down, it was still resting by her ear, and sighed out all her excitement for the party and breathed in air now thick with anxiety.