Chapter
Chapter Six
"Is it urgent dear?" Martha asked.
I shook my head, "Oh no. Its just my mom. I completely forgot to--Oh crap!"
Henry laughed and I shot him a dirty look. I got up and walked away from the table and answered. "Hey mom!"
"Honey, are you busy?" Mom asked and I caught the urgency in her voice. Mom was usually calm and composed. She never really got worked up for anything.
"Um...no," I answered. "What happened?"
"Sheila is here and she's demanding to see you, to speak with you."
Fuck. "Mom? Give me a minute and I'll video call you alright?" I asked, taking deep breaths to calm myself.
"Sure sweetheart," Mom said. "Just don't take too long. I want my house to be in a livable condition."
"Yeah Mom. Two minutes."
I rushed back to the table. "I'm so sorry, but I can't join you for tea. Something really important has come up."
"Is it work darling?" Martha asked.
"Uh...no." I said and then looked at Henry, "Sheila is at home."
"Shit!" Henry cursed and before I knew it, he was dragging me up the stairs. Once we got into my room I plugged in my laptop and just as I logged in Mom's worried face met mine. I frowned, what did Sheila want now?
"Mom, when did she come?" I asked.
"About an hour ago. I wanted to stall her. She went to your apartment, but you weren't there and she even went to the café. After that, she came demanding to see you," Mom,was worried. It was obvious on her face. She didn't know what to do or say. Sheila could be quite a handful. I had only met her twice and I already knew that she was a conniving lady. She had to get what she wanted.
"Mom, just get her here," I sighed.
Mom frowned, "Where are you Jess?"
I gave her a small uncomfortable smile, "Uh... You know... Its Henry's fault!"
"Hey!" Henry protested, "I didn't do anything! She agreed to,come with me Mrs. I!"
"Where are you two?" Mom asked, frowning now.
"Italy?" I bit my lip, hoping for the best. I didn't know what her reaction was going to be, but I really hoped that she didn't go all mother on me.
"What?!" Mom exclaimed, "We will talk about this later, now you are going to get that boisterous woman out of my house!"
"Yes Mom," I agreed. I heard some shuffling and then Sheila's face came into view. "What do you want?" I snapped at her.
"I wanted to see you," Sheila replied, not at all bothered by my snapping. "But your playing hide and seek."
"I'm not playing hide and seek," I gritted out, "I don't want to meet you. And I'm not even in the country."
"Where are you?" she prodded.
"France," Henry answered for me and if possible Sheila's frown became more pronounced.
"I--" I Sheila started to say but I cut her off. "Look, I'm not there and I really cannot talk to you right now. I'll be there in three weeks, can I please talk to you then?"
She paused, considering what I just told her. Then she gave Henry a sharp look. She turned her face to me. "Well then, alright." Then she added with a sickly sweet smile, "You are aware of what will happen if you don't keep your promise."
"Very much," I snapped, logging out before she could say anything. I slumped back and Henry sat down beside me.
"Well, damn," Henry cursed and I my thoughts mirrored his. Henry was like the brother I never had. He knew everything about me and how all of this got me to the edge. He wasn't like all those flamboyant gay people you saw on TV. He was a normal guy who liked to do some guy things, and preferred his own sex.
"Do you want to go out and take your mind off all this?" Henry asked kindly.
"No, its okay. We'll go down, I feel bad for leaving the tea like that."
"Mom won't mind Jess. I'll just tell her you had a stressful phone call and had to chill."
I gave him a smile, "Its okay. Let's go down."
We walked down in utter silence. Martha was still in the dining room, talking to Michael. They looked up as we entered. Martha grinned and the look on Michael's face told me that I wouldn't like tea.