Empty Nest: Chapter 100

“Have you two made peace?” Heather steps out into the sun behind us.

“Do we have a choice?” Lily shoots right back as she and I both rise to turn and face her mother. “You should have talked to me first.”

“I will make my own decisions about my own life, thank you very much.” Heather slides in beside me, her arm slipping around my waist as mine does hers.

Lily’s eye twitches. “Mom. You don’t understand what this is like for…”

“No, you don’t understand.” Heather cuts her off with a stern voice. “I am sorry if this is uncomfortable for you or Liam, but this wasn’t about you. This was about me and Elliot. This goes far deeper than you know. He wasn’t just some honey boy that got out of hand.” She squeezes to my side and rubs a hand across my chest. “Elliot lets me love him the way I want to love a man. Like I need to love a man. He needed me.” She smiles. “Almost as much as I needed him.”

With a sigh Lily raises her hands in surrender. “There’s no point in arguing with you. Especially not out here. I’m just saying, you should have told me first.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything.” Heather kisses my cheek “Elliot is here to stay. The sooner you accept that the sooner we can all be happy.”

“Mom…” Lily pauses, her bellicose energy mellowing. “If Elliot makes you happy…then of course I am happy. It’s gonna make any class reunions reeeeal weird though.”

“Only if you make it weird.” Heather smiles and steps forward to offer her daughter a hug. “Come here, my girl.”

Lily rolls her eyes then glances about to see if anybody was watching. Despite being a bit embarrassed by it she accepts the big motherly hug and smooch to the cheek.

“You still love me?” She pinches her daughter’s cheek, turning the successful doctor into a blushing girl in the blink of an eye.

“Yes, Mom!” Lily groans. “Of course I still love you.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” She smooches her again. “Are you getting enough sleep? You look tired.”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“You’re pale. And what are these dark circles under your eyes? Is that a new wrinkle?”

“Gee, thanks. You look good too, Mom.”

“You work too hard. You need to relax. You never take any time for fun.”

“I’m fine!” Lily says, exasperated. “I’m a doctor. I’d know if something was wrong.”

“You need to look after yourself better, sweetie.” Heather pets her daughter’s hair. “You should come over more often and let me cook you some real food.”

“With Elliot here?” Lily says. “I don’t think I’ll be popping in unexpectedly again anytime soon.”

“Oh, pish. You’ll get used to him. You’ll learn to love him in no time. You’ll see.” She giggles. “He is very lovable.”

“Seems he’s got love to spare.” Lily says as the pair turn to look at me. “A Prince?”

“That was his choice. And I support it. If he’s man enough for us all then more power to him.” With a scrunch of her nose Heather adds. “I can tell you that he was allll man last night.”

“MOM!” Lily cries as we both blush.

“He he he!” Heather rustles my hair. “Took it like a champ, he did.”

“Heather!”

“He he he!”

“He’d have to be ‘all man’ to…” She glances from Heather’s crotch over to me. “Daaaamn, boy!”

“Elliot is a natural.” Heather says. “He’s special.”

“Hmmm. Oh yeah?” A wicked smile spreads across Lily’s lips as she slowly looks me up and down. “He is kinda pretty, I guess.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Heather beams proudly. “The handsomest man in the world.”

“I don’t know about that but, hmm.” She nods as her gaze continues to glide over my lean physique. “A little make up and…yeah, definitely femboy material. I could work with this.”

“Fem…!?” I guffaw. “You do realize I can hear you, right? I am literally standing right here!”

Lily laughs. “Sorry Elliot. We may talk over you sometimes. We really don’t mean to. It’s just…you’re just a male, ya know?”

“Pfff.”

Leaving her daughter Heather steps up to me and begins her preening of me right here in the open. She runs her hands across my chest then begins to play with my hair.

“He is not ‘just’ an anything.” Though she was looking at me her words were directed at Lily. “What you two do on your own is your business. But…” She looks me in the eyes. “I don’t ever want to see my handsome boy like that, okay?” Cupping my cheek in her soft palm she says softly. “Promise me?”

“I promise.” I whisper.

“I promise too.” Lily says. “Although I bet if you saw him you’d really…”

“I don’t want to see him like that!”

“Okay. Okay.” Lily says. “I was just saying. Is, uh…Bree a part of this? We sharing him?”

Heather’s face flinches at the mention of the name. “We? You’re awfully presumptuous, young lady. He hasn’t even agreed to do anything with you yet.”

“She’s going to ask. You know she’s going to ask.”

“Briana isn’t blood.”

“Neither is Mia.”

“She’s not of our clan.”

“But hers is all the way back in Ireland. She’s alone here. We’re the closest thing she’s got over here.”

Heather tucks a finger under my chin and lifts my head. “Briana can be your decision, my love. But NO MORE outside the clan. That’s it. I draw the line there.”

“I don’t even know who we’re talking about!” I exclaim. “Femboy? Ireland? Clan? Sharing me with…?” Just then I notice a canary yellow sun hat barely peek up from behind the low front fence. “Pearl!”

“Oh!” Up pops a wrinkled brown face looking rather guilty. “Oh, hello there!”

“M-Ms. Hancock!” Lily stammers.

“Well hello there, Lily. A fine day, isn’t it?”

“Have you been there…?”

“Ohhh, I was just doing some weeding on the beds.” She says. “I was so focused on this darned chickweed that I didn’t even notice folks were talking.”

Trying in vain to cover up the real meaning of our conversation that our nosy neighbor had ABSOLUTELY overheard Heather laughs. “If you did hear us you’re probably as confused as I am. I swear these young people seem to have a language all their own nowadays.”

“Indeed.” Pearl grabs the fence for support as she struggles to her feet. I hurry forward to reach over to take her her elbow and help her up. “Thank you, Elliot.” She smiles and pats my hand. I note her gardening gloves were awfully clean for someone who was supposedly just digging in the soil. “Such a fine young man you’ve found yourself, Heather.”

Heather smiles through her cringe. “I think so.”

“I think I’m going to make myself a tea before I get back to these weeds.” She waves. “Have a good day.”

“Have a good day, Ms. Hutton.” We say as one.

The instant Pearl’s door closes behind her Lily hisses. “Oh my God. She heard everything!”

“Shh!” Heather shushes us and herds us toward the door. “Inside! Now!”

Chapter 101