Meddling in Manhattan (11 page)

Beverly looked at Jennifer with a gleam in her eye.  "Well, look at that.  My little boy's high school crush serving us in a restaurant.  He's a best-selling author who pulls in millions, and you're working for waitress minimum.  Isn't life strange that way?  The way it just turns things around and pokes you right in the eye?"

Addie noticed no one tried to stop Beverly that time, and she was glad.  She wasn't a vengeful person, but the way Jennifer had talked to them when they first came in, made her pleased she was getting some of her own back. 

Jennifer blinked twice, and smiled her fake smile.  "It is strange how life turns things around when you least expect it.  Can I get you something to drink?"  She was obviously in retreat mode now, and just needed to get them their food.

"We'll both have Cokes," Tom said, and Addie silently cheered him.  He didn't apologize for his wife, but neither did he add to what she said. 

Jake acted as if nothing had happened, but Addie could see the humor in his eyes.  "I think Scott would welcome you with open arms.  He loves you both."  He held up his phone.  "Want me to call him?"

Tom nodded.  "Would you?  That would smooth our way in.  Not that we need it with a boy who was like a second son to us, but it would be nice."

"Excuse me.  I'll call from outside."  Jake looked at Addie before standing.  "Would you order for me?  Bison burger medium rare."

Addie wrinkled her nose at the way he wanted it cooked, but she nodded anyway.  Then she realized she was sitting there alone with his parents.  What could she say to them?  "How long will you be in Montana?" she asked.

Tom shrugged.  "We have no definite plans.  Maybe a week, maybe a month.  You just never know." 

Beverly looked at her.  "How long will the two of you be in town?"

"Just through Wednesday.  We want to get everything packed up, and then find an apartment.  I need to be back at work on Monday."  Would they have a problem with her working?  With as much as Jake made, she certainly didn't need to.  Her mother would surely point that out to her again the next time they were alone.

"Where are you living now?" Beverly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're in a really small apartment in Manhattan that I subleased for two months.  Jake wants something bigger, so we're finding something else."  Addie shrugged.  "I'm sure we'll find something that suits him better.  He hates having to work in the living room, and I really don't blame him.  I make noise as I cook, clean, and do my work.  I'm sure it'll be nice for him to be off in his own space."

"What do you do?" Tom asked her, obviously curious and not just making idle conversation. 

"I own a craft store where we teach classes on the different crafts.  We have an in-store child care where children can be dropped off for up to two hours while Mom shops or takes a class.  We also teach mommy and me classes a couple of times a week."  Addie's pride in the store came through in her voice.

Beverly smiled.  "That sounds really nice.  I remember trying to shop when Jake was little and it was a nightmare.  I'd like to see your store someday."

"I'd love to show it to you."  Addie hadn't expected to get along with her mother-in-law, just because she'd heard so many stories about how evil they were.  She was pleasantly surprised that hers wasn't bad at all.  A little more out-spoken than she'd like, but she seemed to be a kind woman.

Jake came back then, sliding back into the booth and putting his arm across the back of it, over Addie's shoulders.  "Scott said you're welcome to stay just as long as you'd like."

"Oh, good!  I can't wait to see Scott.  Did Savannah have the baby?"  Beverly looked at Jake, waiting for the news on her friend's grandchild.

"Yes, she had a boy, and they named him Kaeden.  He looks just like Scott did."  Jake nodded at Addie.  "She found the old photo albums and was looking through them this morning.  We were making fun of Scott's girlish looks."

Beverly smiled.  "He was such a cute baby with those blond curls!"  She turned her gaze to Addie.  "When can we expect grandbabies?"

Addie bit her lip, almost afraid to answer.  "We decided that we'd wait to start trying 'til we've been married a year.  I'm only twenty-five, so we have plenty of time."  She held her breath, waiting for her mother-in-law's reaction.  Would she be angry that they were waiting?  Or would she accept that it was their decision?

"And after you have them?  Will you keep your store?"

"Yes, I will.  I think we'll probably hire a nanny."  She shrugged.  "Hopefully a live-in, because we all know how much help Jake would be with a newborn."

Beverly seemed to think about her new daughter-in-law's answer for a moment, before a slow smile spread across her face.  "I approve.  I don't think a woman should have to give up something she loves to stay home with her children."

Addie was surprised Beverly had such a different view than her own mother. "I agree.  Did you work outside the home when Jake was small?"

Beverly shook her head.  "I didn't.  I wanted to, but there was so much pressure saying that I needed to stay home with Jake for him to be a well-rounded individual.  So I stayed home.   I wanted to work, and I enjoyed working, but instead I did the stay at home mom thing, and we made financial sacrifices."  She looked at Jake.  "Do you think things would have been different if I'd worked?"

Jake shook his head.  "No, because you would have made it clear you loved me no matter what.  That's all that really mattered."  His mother had loved him more than he'd realized at the time.  They'd made sacrifice after sacrifice for him.  He had nothing but respect for both of his parents.

"I'm glad you can see that!" Beverly said.  "I wish my mother could have."

"Did Grandma try to force you to stay home with me?"  Jake had never imagined she'd been pressured to do something she didn't want to do because of him.  It bothered him to think about it.

"Yes, she used every kind of guilt imaginable.  I don't know why people always think they know better than the child's parents.  Before you were born, we had it worked out that Lisa, Scott's mom, would stay home with both of you, and I would go back to work as a real estate agent.  My mother threw such a fit that I ended up bending to her will though."

"I didn't know that," Jake said. 

Beverly shrugged.  "It was a long time ago, and you were always very close to your grandmother.  I wasn't about to tell you what she said."

"Well, I'm going to do what we think I should do," Addie said.  "We may change our minds when the time comes, but for now, I'm going to keep working."

"I think you should!"

Addie looked at Jake, trying to convey to him how pleased she was that his mother was willing to let her make her own decisions about what they'd do when they had children.

"I'm so glad you happened to be in Montana while we were here," Addie told Beverly.  "So happy that I got to meet you."

"Are we what you expected?" Beverly asked.

"Not at all.  You're so much better."

Chapter Nine

For the next three days, Addie worked alongside Beverly to get the house packed, while Jake and Tom worked on the garage.  Slowly but surely the work was done.  When they'd packed the last box and assigned it to storage or to be shipped to New York, Addie looked around at the barren house.  "Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked Beverly.

"I think so.  We talked about selling when we started on our RVing adventures, but we wanted Jake to have the continuity.  And honestly?  At this point in our travels, we could use the money from the sale."

"Oh, that never occurred to me.  How do you fund your travels?"  Addie forgot that Jake and his family hadn't always had money.  Of course, the house he'd grown up in should have told her that.  It was in good shape, but it was tiny.

Beverly smiled.  "I was very frugal as a housewife.  I clipped every coupon, and I budgeted every dime.  I socked money away in the stock market every month.  We've been living on the dividends from those all these years.  We're about to have to touch the principle, and I'd rather not do that."

"I see.  The sales from the house would go far to keep that from happening."  Addie had no idea what it would cost to live on the road the way her in-laws did, but she knew they did it as frugally as they could.

"Yes, they would.  Eventually we'll have to settle down like normal old people, but I don't think it's going to happen here in Montana.  When we settle it's going to be closer to wherever our grandbabies will be.  Upstate New York is beautiful and only a few hours from you."

Addie smiled, reaching out to hug her mother-in-law.  "I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about you at first.  Now I know that I'm thrilled to have you in my life."  Who would have thought a dreaded mother-in-law could be so sweet and kind?

"Why weren't you sure how you were going to feel about me?"

"Well, within a few minutes of meeting, you were asking me about sex with your son.  That made me a little uncomfortable."  Addie had a hard time even mentioning that sex existed to her mother-in-law, let alone giving details.

Beverly smiled.  "I guess I can see how it would.  You're still not going to tell me how sex with him is, are you?"

"No, I never am.  Thank you ever so much for respecting that."  Addie's eyes twinkled as she shut down the conversation once again.

Beverly sighed.  "Honestly?  If you'd told me, I'd have had a problem with you.  Sometimes being outrageous is just a test to see what people are made of.  Sometimes it's revenge for the way people have treated my family.  But I promise, there's always a reason for it."

Addie laughed.  "Does Jake know that?"  She loved knowing that the older woman wasn't just clueless about social niceties.  She did it all on purpose, and that made it even better in her eyes.

"Of course not.  He thinks I'm eccentric.  That's all right too.  Sometimes it just doesn't matter."  Beverly smiled.  "What time is your flight tomorrow?"

"Nine in the morning.  It'll be early evening before we get home.  We have an appointment with a realtor for Thursday morning.  I think Jake is going to feel a lot more settled once we find our new place."  Addie was looking forward to finding something bigger as well.  It would be nice to have room to invite people over.  It wasn't like Jake would even notice!

"Oh he will.  My boy is very picky about where he writes."  Beverly shook her head.  "I'm surprised he was able to finish a book in the living room.  When we lived here, he wrote in his bedroom with the door locked, and I had to sneak into his room the next day while he was at school to read what he'd written.  He should have just let me read it!"

"Yeah, he hates for anyone to read it until the editor has gone through it.  Was he always that way?"  Addie had never known a professional writer before, so she had no idea if how he acted was normal or just a little bit on the crazy side.

"Yes, he was.  It made me crazy."

Addie realized she needed to tell Jake how she'd discovered he was really Roger Holiday.  She'd blamed him so much for betraying her trust, but hadn't she done the same thing by reading his book without his permission?  She needed to talk to him about it.  "I'm a big fan of his books, so it makes me crazy as well," she said absently.  "I'd love to get to read every chapter as soon as he finished writing it, but he's made it very clear that's never going to happen."

"Well, now that we're finally finished here, we should go spend the day with Savannah.  Maybe we could watch Kaeden while Scott and Savannah have a date night tonight.  How would you feel about that?"

Addie nodded.  "I think that's a great idea if they want to do it.  Let's stop at the grocery store so we can feed ourselves without raiding their kitchen.  It'll be fun to cook together."  Much to her surprise, she genuinely enjoyed spending time with her mother-in-law.  Most people she knew would have said it just wasn't possible.

"In Savannah's big kitchen it will be.  It wouldn't in the small one here.  This one is a one butt kitchen.  Two people would never fit!" 

Addie grinned.  She loved the quirky little things her mother-in-law said.  "Let me call Savannah and see if she wants company.  If she does, then we'll head over."

Five minutes later, they had their plan.  They would go to the grocery store, and then they would cook dinner for themselves at Savannah's.  Savannah would feed the baby, and then she and Scott would go out to dinner.  They would do their best to make it back before Kaeden's next feeding.

The men were sitting on the front steps when they walked outside.  "All done?" Addie asked, nudging Jake with her foot. 

"Yup.  We finished about fifteen minutes ago.  Taking a break, and then we're going to come in and help with the rest of the packing."

"We're finished too," Addie said.  "I just talked to Savannah, and we want to go out there and spend the day with them.  Your mom and I are going to watch the baby tonight while Savannah and Scott have some time alone together."  She knew it would be fun to share the baby with the older woman.  Hopefully someday they'd be sharing her and Jake's baby.

Jake groaned good-naturedly.  "Do you have to?"

"Yep.  We're cooking dinner too, so we have to stop for groceries on the way."  She nudged him with her foot again, trying to get him to move faster.  Men said women were slow to do things, but he was the one sitting on the steps like a lump.

"Fine.  We'll go grocery shopping and then head out to the ranch."  Jake looked at his father.  "Do we always have to just do what they want us to do?"

"If we want to have peaceful marriages we do.  I love you, dear.  Yes, dear."  Tom winked at Beverly over his shoulder.

*****

An hour later they converged on the ranch in two vehicles.  Jake and Tom carried in the groceries while the women went in to talk to Savannah.  "Thank you so much for watching the baby," Savannah said with a smile.  "We haven't had a night out alone since we were in Manhattan for your wedding."

"Who watched him them?  Dr. Lachele?" Addie asked.  She couldn't imagine how hard it would be to be with a baby twenty-four hours a day like Savannah was.  She just didn't think she was cut out for it.

"No, my mom and her new husband watched him."  Savannah smiled.  "I think if I hadn't married Scott, my mom would still be spending all her time trying to meddle in my life.  I'm glad I took the leap."

"I'm glad I did too," Addie told her.  "Even though I ended up with a crazy writer like Jake."  Not that she would change a single thing about her new husband.

Beverly smiled.  "You and Jake are good for each other."

"We are."  Addie thought about what she needed to talk to him about and wondered how angry he would be.  She realized she'd betrayed his trust as much as he'd betrayed hers.  They needed to talk once they were home.  She didn't want to leave a bad feeling in anyone's mind about the Montana trip.  "Where's Scott?"

Savannah shrugged.  "I think he's showering.  He came in early today so he could be ready when you got here.  He wants to make the most of our night out." 

"Good!  He was all for it then?"

Savannah laughed.  "He asked if we could take a week."

Addie grinned.  "Did you tell him the baby would starve?  And that I need to go back to work on Monday?"

"I did.  He said that was sad, because we really need a baby-free week.  Not just a couple of hours."  Savannah grinned.  "He'd do better if we could just find a good sitter around here."

"Do you expect to find one?" Addie asked.  She didn't know much about the area.

"Not really.  I don't really want a high school girl watching him, and everyone else is too busy.  It's fine, though.  We get occasional help, and that's good enough.  Now if we had more children?  We might just need to get a nanny."

Scott walked into the room just then.  "Why would we get a nanny?  You're a great mom.  Besides, why have kids if you're just going to have someone else raise them?"

Addie felt like she was listening to her mother all over again, but this time she had the right to stand up to him. She couldn't disrespect her mother by arguing. "Because it's all right to have a career and children as well.  Because it doesn't make you any less of a parent if you don't spend twenty-four hours a day with your child.  Are you less of a father because you aren't with Kaeden all day?"  She knew her voice was sharper than it needed to be, but Scott was one of those people who pushed her buttons.

"Well, no, but I'm the man.  It's my job to support my family.  It's Savannah's job to stay home with Kaeden and make sure we're fed and the house is always clean."  Scott spoke slowly as if he were trying to explain the universe to a small child.

Addie closed her eyes and counted to ten before she walked over to Scott and stood toe to toe with the big man.  "I'm so sorry you're still living in the early twentieth century, Scott.  I don't know how women's liberation and the entrance of women into the workplace has escaped you, but it obviously has.  You are without a doubt, the most Neanderthal-like man I've ever encountered.  If I didn't like your wife so much, I'd...I'd...Well, I'd do something!"  She walked over to Jake.  "You need to control your friend.  He's ridiculous."

Jake nodded.  "He is sometimes.  Aren't you glad I don't think like him?"  As much as he loved his wife, he couldn't imagine being with her twenty-four hours per day every day.  Wait...love?  Where had that thought come from?  He paled.  He couldn't love her.  They'd only known one another a month!

"Very glad.  I'd have killed you by now if I had to live with that attitude.  I'm every bit as capable as any man, penis or no penis!"

Jake folded her into his arms, hugging her close and kissing her forehead.  "Yes, you are."  He leaned forward and put his lips against her ear, whispering, "Don't say penis in front of my mom.  You'll get her started all over again!"

Beverly looked back and forth between her new daughter-in-law and Scott.  "Speaking of penises, I forgot to show you the album I have of naked pictures of Jake.  He was still running around naked all the time at eleven.  We could
not
get him to leave his clothes on around the house or in the backyard, so I have some good ones!"

Addie started to laugh, still in Jake's arms, loving the blush on his face.  "You know what, Beverly?"

"No..."

"If I had six mother-in-laws, you'd still be my favorite!"  Addie couldn't believe how easily she'd gotten over her anger by laughing.  Her mother in law definitely knew how to handle her after only a few days.

Beverly grinned.  "Well, of course, I would.  Who could compare with all this?"  She swept her hands down over her plump form. 

Addie leaned forward and whispered, "I love your mother!"

Jake laughed.  "I get that a lot."

*****

Addie waited until they got home before confessing what she'd done to Jake.  Her hands were shaking, and she could barely get the words out, but he needed to know.

They sat together on the couch, and she turned to him.  "I need to tell you something.  I should have told you long ago, but I didn't think about how important it was until I was talking to your mother yesterday."

Jake's heart started to beat faster. He needed to tell her something too.  She needed to know he loved her.  "I need to say something to you too.  I'll let you go first, though."  He took both her hands in his, giving her his full attention. 
Please God, let her say she loves me first.  I'm not sure I can put myself out there unless I know the feelings are returned.

Addie took a deep breath.  "Our first Friday back in Manhattan? When I was finding a restaurant for us to eat at?  I thought I'd use your computer rather than trying to see what I needed to see on my tiny phone screen or pulling out my laptop.  When I sat down, your document was up from where you'd been writing, and I read through over a page before I stopped myself.  That's how I knew you were Roger Holiday.  I'm so sorry!"

Jake shook his head for a moment as if to clear his mind.  "You mean, you did something I'd asked you not to do, and then you got mad at me and said you couldn't trust me?  So you not only betrayed
my
trust, you made a big deal at the same time about me betraying yours?"  He wasn't angry, but he was hurt.  How could she accuse him when she'd done something wrong as well?