The Good Mother. Shelley Galloway

doing his best to try and forget about his own lack of love life and focus on his mother’s. “I just think this is coming from out of the blue.”

      “For you, maybe. For me, I’ve been thinking about joining for a while. I’ve been surfing the Web site.”

      “Surfing?” When had she gotten so computer-savvy?

      She continued as though he’d never spoken. “I even called the number and asked some questions. HH is a member of the Better Business Bureau.”

      Now that he thought about it, his mother looked…fresh. Like she’d gone somewhere besides Suzy’s Salon to get her hair done. Like she’d gone to one of those fancy counters at the mall and gotten her makeup refreshed. Like she got one of those BOTOX injections and was looking better for it.

      It all made him a little squeamish. “You’ve got a heart condition.”

      “But it’s still beating, August.”

      “But—”

      “I’m better, August,” she said more gently. “The doctors say I’m better. I feel better. I’m ready to do things again. That’s why I need to join now.”

      Somewhere in the back of his mind, August realized just how hard it must have been for his mom to have to come to him for money. And to tell him the truth. After all, she certainly didn’t owe him any explanations.

      Picking up the pen again, he said, “Is three thousand enough?”

      “It’s enough.”

      August pretended he didn’t notice that her eyes were shining. That she looked…happy. Signing the check, he handed it to her. “Will you be mad if I asked you to be careful?”

      Her eyes softened and she stood, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’d be sad if you didn’t care. Thank you, dear.”

      When he was alone again, August picked up the phone and started dialing Evie’s phone number. Obviously it was time to take some risks.

      Chapter Seven

      Jenna looked her mother up and down, paused to consider the invitation, then very carefully shook her head. “I don’t wanna go.”

      It was a losing battle, but Evie braced herself to try again. She wanted to go on the cruise with August, but she could admit that she was chicken enough to need reinforcements. “Jenna, if you don’t go, you’ll wish you did.”

      Jenna gave her a look that suggested she seriously doubted that. “What about Missy?”

      “Missy’s too little to go on a boat, you know that.”

      Hugging Neena tightly, Jenna scooted closer to the television remote. “I don’t wanna go, Momma. Me and Neena like staying here.”

      “All right.” In spite of herself, Evie couldn’t help but admire her eldest daughter’s steadfastness. Actually, Evie wished she could borrow a little of that quality for herself. Ever since her phone conversation that morning with August, she’d gone through the gamut of emotions. Surprise that August asked her out, happiness that she could still get a date. Then, of course, pure fright set in.

      Evie didn’t know how to date anymore. In her mind, dating was what she’d done in college. Those dates had involved bars and clubs, fraternity parties and walks on campus. It was fast-food restaurants and cheap movies.

      She was pretty sure August knew how to date. She was fairly sure there was some dating ritual all current singles employed. They knew whether to open their car door or not. Whether to buy drinks or wait to be served. Knew the classy, happening clubs, listened to bands that didn’t cater to toddlers and wore the right shoes.

      All Evie had been into lately was strawberry Quik, Kids Bop and a sturdy pair of Clarks.

      Even though the battle was over and Jenna had come out victorious, Evie tried one last time. “I bet we’ll see lots of pretty fish.”

      “Grandma’s taking me to the aquarium tomorrow,” her daughter volleyed right back. “Remember?” There was that tone again, the one her daughter had mastered mere months after learning to talk. Authoritative. Sure. Borderline bossy.

      Desperation set in. If she didn’t have Jenna as a buffer, Evie was going to have to deal with this cruise as an actual date. Even though she knew it was a lost cause, she started thinking bribery might be in order. “What if—”

      “Evie, honey, stop.”

      In unison, Evie and her daughter turned to Jan in surprise.

      “I didn’t see you there,” Evie mumbled.

      “Obviously not.” Pointing to the kitchen table, her mother said, “Come sit down for a second, dear.”

      As obediently as when she was ten, Evie crossed the living room and sat down at the kitchen table next to her mom. Jenna watched her with a glint of satisfaction, then clicked on the remote, smiled when she saw Dora the Explorer was on and went back to playing with Neena.

      After opening the Tupperware cabinet for Missy, Jan pressed her hands on her thighs. “Here’s the deal, Ev. Jenna and Missy don’t want to go sit on a boat. I can’t say I blame them, either. Boats and children really don’t mix. They’re going to want to get off after twenty minutes and that won’t be an option.”

      “Jenna might really enjoy it.”

      Her mother laughed. “Jenna might really enjoy having pizza for dinner. She might really enjoy making a new dress for her doll. She will not enjoy a cruise.” Leveling a look at Evie, Jan said softly, “You know I’m right.”

      She knew. Her mother was absolutely right. But that didn’t mean she had to give in gracefully. “Maybe.”

      “You’re a good mother, and therefore you know what I mean when I tell you that all good mothers need to pick their battles. You could force your eldest to go, but I think you’d regret it. Jenna in a power play isn’t pretty.”

      No. No, she wasn’t. Jenna in full battle mode was pretty much a remake of The War of the Worlds, complete with chaos, destruction and unceasing screeching at high decibels. It wasn’t for the faint of heart. “I guess you may have a point.”

      Jan didn’t even try to not look smug. “I know I do.”

      All this maternal advice was wearing Evie out. It had been a long time since she’d had a heart-to-heart with her mother about anything, never mind raising her girls.

      And all this advice made Evie uneasy—didn’t her mother realize she made decisions regarding her daughters all the time?

      Unable to sit still for a moment longer, Evie hopped up from her chair. “I’ll go ahead and call August to tell him no, then.”