His Dark Obsession

Chapter 15: Ensuing Trouble

Tara loaded the last of her belongings in the trunk of a rental SUV and turned back to look at her friend Rachel. Her friend stood on the road side with eyes brimmed with tears.
"I am going to miss you like crazy!" Rachel confessed sobbing.
Tara reached out to give her friend a warm hug. "I am going to miss you too! But I will be in the neighborhood everyday, at Blossoms. I know you'll come by when you want my company...and I'll drop by whenever I am free."
"I know you will, darling! As sad as I am to see you go, I am so happy for you too! Jake is awesome, Tars!"
Tara blushed listening to her boyfriend's praise, "I think so too. Rach, I am so nervous. I have never lived with a guy before...."
Rachel rubbed her arm encouragingly, "You'll love it! You'll be with the man you love. You are both moving forward in your relationship...you guys are so good together, I am sure living together will be great because of that."
Tara tried to control her nerves, "I sure do hope so." And then she glanced at the SUV's trunk, "I think I am all moved out!"
Both girls hugged each other one last time and then Tara settled herself in the driving seat and drove to Jake's residence in Lenox Hill, Upper East Side.
Tara felt jittery and anxious taking this new step in her life. There were logistics to be taken into consideration here; the commute to work was going to be long now. Her own apartment had been so close to her shop that she could go back and forth at any time of the day. But that was the least of her concerns - this new step in their relationship was a step that she had never taken with any of her previous boyfriends. Her boyfriend in college had asked her to move in with him but she had realized that she didn't see a future with him and had let him know that instead of dragging things along. Now, when Jake had asked her, she had been pragmatic about the whole thing, evaluating all the pros and cons but she had known that she was in love; and being in love meant that her emotions were going to play a major role in her decision.
When Tara reached outside Jake's apartment building, she gave him a call. Jake appeared at the main entrance minutes later and excitedly rushed to her car.
Tara took down her car window.
"Hey gorgeous, you took so long to get here! I have been waiting for you since the afternoon." He gave her a deep kiss on the lips. Tara felt elated at the thought of Jake waiting for her, it made her put her fears at the bay.
"I have a surprise for you upstairs." Jake told her excitedly.
"Really? What kinda suprise?"
"You'll find out soon enough, don't be hasty!"
"Umm...alright." Tara reluctantly agreed.
Tara was dragging her luggage through the main door at Jake's penthouse, when a not-so-friendly face greeted her,
"Hello."
Tara looked up to find a middle-aged woman with a stern brow standing in the middle of Jake's living room. Tara managed a smile and replied politely, "Hello, I am sorry, I didn't recognize you." Tara extended her hand to the lady as she loosened her grip on two of her suitcases. The lady took it, albeit with reluctance.
"I am Jake's mother, Estelle." She replied straight-faced.
Tara was taken aback by the introduction and for a second she did absolutely nothing, and then, she collected her thoughts and replied, "Oh my! I am feeling so embarrassed. I am not looking my best right now...and Jake failed to mention that his mother might be coming by for a visit!"
Jake joined Tara, as he carried another one of Tara's boxes to his apartment.
"Tara, my mother, being here, is the surprise! What do you think?"
Tara looked at Jake and broke into a nervous smile as she looked at his mother and then at him, "It is lovely! Estelle...so nice to meet you." Tara gave Jake's mother an unsure hug and Estelle held her for bare seconds before letting go.
"Nice to meet you too, dear. When Jake told me that he'd asked you to move in, I told him that I must meet you. He has told me so much about you!"
"I am glad you decided to pay us a visit!"
Estelle smiled, "I think my son is totally smitten with you."
Tara lips curved in a smile, "I admire your son a lot as well. He is an amazing person."
Estelle saw genuine admiration on Tara's face as she looked into Jake's eyes, "I hope you two can make each other very happy."
"Tara's already made me really happy by agreeing to move in with me, mom. Tara, why don't I help you in getting these bags to the bedroom, you can freshen up and we can sit down for dinner. I ordered Chinese."
Tara was relieved that Jake wanted her to go freshen up. She planned on grabbing something from one of her bags and putting on some makeup before coming back in front of his mother. She excused herself and went into the bedroom.
Tara found a knee-length black dress in one of her bags and quickly grabbed it - thankfully it wasn't creased and could be worn without ironing. She quickly slipped into it in the bathroom, she then took a pouch out from her bag, which held all her makeup. She powdered her face and put on some blush and lipstick and checked her appearance in the mirror. She looked significantly better than before. She quickly opened the bathroom door to head to the living room through the hallway. She didn't want to be missing from the gathering for an impolitely long amount of time. She was about to enter the lounge when she overheard Jake's mother say, "Jake, you cannot be serious about her. The kind of family we come from...there are certain expectations of you. I would have expected something like this from Ian, he might be more affluent than us now but he comes from a humble background. You, you have your name to carry forward. Everyone expects you to be with someone from a prominent family."
"Mother, I love Tara. I don't care about her family background. Her lack of prominence is of no concern to me. I can't believe you are saying all this to me instead of being happy for me..."
"Jake, I thought you and Deidra had become pretty close..."
"The daughter of Senator Perry? You thought wrong, mom. I can't believe I am having this conversation with you the day my girlfriend's moving in with me. I knew you would be difficult...that is why I hadn't introduced her to you earlier."
"Don't be like this, Jake. She seems like more of a phase to me. I think it'll be over before you know it."
"You couldn't be more wrong...I think she is the one."
"Honey, don't be so hasty. You have done this before...with so many girls, getting all serious and then later, you realize it's all been a big mistake!"
"Mom, she is different. This isn't like before, and I would like it if you don't interfere in my personal life!"
Tara felty incredibly upset as she heard the acrimonious debate between the mother and the son. She hadn't expected Jake's mom to be so opposed to their being together. She was stunned that the woman she had just met held so little an opinion of her. She, however, felt blessed to have Jake's support.
She waited for their discussion to diverge to another less hostile topic before she went out. When Jake saw her coming he immediatly went to her side and let her know that she was a vision in black. His mother carefully refrained from commenting. They then sat down and had an impersonal, strained meal.