Sunday Snippet: A Very Awkward Evening

Had a less than productive week after having two teeth extracted. It's strange because they really weren't difficult to remove—well, one of them ended up being a little harder than the other—but it still threw me off. I think because they were on opposite sides with one on top and the other on the bottom, which made eating a tad challenging.

I also took time away on Friday to meet my daughter so we could do early voting. Very happy to have that done! I voted to raise my taxes for the school and emergency services levies.

Work stayed busy with some cleanup on two drafts and two copy edits. I also checked changes on two proofreads. Those were kind of dropped in on the fly.

Didn't quite make a full round of my usual shows this week, but I did get through about half.

Watched another episode of Mr. and Mrs. Murder and it was one I'd seen at least part of. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Caught another London Kills and I'm liking this show. The overarching mystery of what happened to the DCI's wife folded into the two cases is interesting to me. I'm a little worried about the trainee DC. Things could go really sideways for her if she's not careful.

Enjoyed another Death in Paradise episode. I kind of feel like this is the season where Commissioner Patterson gets a lot more screen time. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I enjoy him.

Finished the second half of Silent Witness and, whoo boy, what a ride this two-parter was. I'm going to be very interested in seeing if there's any fallout from everything that went down.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from A Very Awkward Evening, a sexy short about a birthday dinner interrupted by a rock-star mom.

Here's the miniblurb:

Vi Palona's rock star mom wants a sit-down meeting with Garwin Noth's academic parents, which Vi keeps putting off because her mother, Mina, has no edit button. When Mina crashes a birthday dinner, Vi figures her mom can't do much damage … but five minutes into the evening she learns how wrong she is.

And a snippety peek…

Vi took a deep breath and apologized. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have trashed you like that."

Mina shrugged. "You've never been shy about stating an opinion."

Vi shook her head. "That's not the point, Mom." Why could Mina never see sincerity when it more or less bit her on the ass?

Mina snorted. "You're right. The point is you don't need me and never have." She ran a finger along the spotless countertop. "You go to a lot of trouble to keep me from being part of your life." She stopped and faced Vi. "I've only now realized it's because you really don't like me." She turned and leaned against the cabinet.

Vi's eyes went wide. "That's not true. I love you, Mom. But sometimes…" How could she say Mina could be a bit much?

Mina picked up her train of thought. "You wish I wasn't quite so me?" Her lips curved in a sad smile.

Vi rolled a shoulder. "I've never asked you to be anything other than what you are." A rock star of high caliber.

Vi couldn't and wouldn't take anything away from what her mom had accomplished. But Vi also craved stability and touring the world didn't offer her a way to put down roots and create a home she'd always wanted.

Mina rolled her eyes. "No, you wouldn't dream of asking me to change. Instead, you cut me out of your life, never giving me a chance to be your mom."

Surprised by the accusation, Vi blinked. "What are you talking about?" Of course, Vi did want to avoid having Mina over for Gar's birthday, but she met her mom whenever she came to the city and often traveled to see her shows in neighboring states.

Except … not recently.

Mina flung her arm out, her silver bangles clinking together. "I'm talking about why I act the way I do with you sometimes. Loud, proud, and fully wowed." She pushed away from the cupboard and paced toward the sink. "You know, it hurts when your daughter is ashamed of you, especially when I finally figured it out." She paused and faced Vi.

Vi shook her head. "I'm not ashamed of you, Mom." Embarrassed by her, sure, but what kid isn't weirded out by their parents sometimes?

Mina arched her brows. "No? Really? Because you obviously lied about Garwin's folks. Which means you didn't want me to meet them." She looked away. "You didn't even give me a chance. You never do. Not since you were twelve." Her gaze met Vi's again. "You've pretty much been your own woman since then."

Is she right? Do I really not give her a chance? Maybe. The observation certainly gave Vi something to think about.

Mina took Vi's hands. "Vi, my girl, you have the right to ask me to tone down the banshee in me. And I would do that for you." She squeezed Vi's fingers.

Her mom acting normal? Vi seriously couldn't picture it. But she loved that Mina would try.

Vi smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I appreciate the offer."

Mina hugged Vi. "Forgiven?" She leaned back, keeping her arms around her daughter.

Vi nodded. "Of course." She eased away, liking the newfound thread of understanding. "Why did you really come tonight, Mom?" There had to be more than crashing Gar's party.

Mina stepped back and took a deep breath. "I have news and didn't want to wait to share it." She schooled her features.

Vi's heart dropped. Is something wrong with Mom? The thought kicked her heart rate up a notch.

A huge grin spread across Mina's face. "Tomorrow is last call for the Damn Banshees. We're done. Hanging up our axes. Retiring. Whatever you want to call it." She bounced on her toes.

Vi's mouth gaped open. "I'm sorry, what?" Mina leaving the spotlight behind didn't compute.

Mina nodded. "Yeah, and we're not fighting or pulling bitch cards or anything like that. I mean, we're all at good places—for the most part—and we've already talked about doing a reunion tour at some point if there's interest." Her face softened. "The girls and I all want to spend time with our families. I mean, hell, Gwen's got two grandos she never sees."

Vi shook her head. "I'm stunned. And I don't know what to say." She'd never known Mina as anything else but a rock star.

Mina sobered. "Say you'll have me in your life. I really want to spend time with you—as your mom—and try fun stuff like shopping and spa days and, I don't know … brunch. Things like that."

Vi huffed out a breath. "Mina Vesper going normie? I'm not sure that's possible." She laughed, trying to picture her mom doing brunch in a quiet restaurant.

Mina leaned in for another hug. "I promise I'll behave."

Vi choked on more laughter. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Mom." She pulled away with a grin on her face. "I'm going to love spending more time with you no matter what."

I'm in love with this mom and daughter relationship and writing the ins and outs of out that affects Vi's life is a lot of fun.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin