Chapter 4

"Aleth..."

Alethia heard her mother's indistinct voice in her head and halted. Gosh! Why then when she was just about to savor the beautiful-luscious lips hanging atop her face? And of everywhere her mother could be in that moment, why the fuck was she there?

For a moment Alethia thought she was dreaming, or maybe she was hearing things. On a whim, she decided to go for the lips again. And again, her mother called.

Indeed, she had been dreaming.

Alethia woke up to her mother's bright face staring worriedly down at her. She didn't know what to make of her mother's countenance, but it did prepare her for whatever she might have missed.

"Good morning sunshine," Emily said, kissing her on her forehead.

Alethia found the gesture rather meant for kids. She was an adult, and somehow she didn't feel comfortable with her mother's lips on her forehead, especially not when she'd deprived her of the experience she was just about to have in her actual dream.

She adjusted on the bed and stretched until she could feel her bones hurt a bit, and her skin roughen between the crumpled bedspread. She had only sat up when she realized that she was wet in between her legs. Her mother noticed that as well, and they both stared into each other's eyes.

Emily smiled. "I see you have a little visitor there."

Alethia swallowed hard. The experience she'd had in her dream must have brought her menstruation earlier than it was supposed to. But she wasn't about to start recounting that to her mother. She reckoned she could go with her mother's obliviousness, so she helped herself out of bed and gathered the bedspread together.

"Let me have that," Emily offered.

Alethia sighed exasperatedly. "Mom, I'm not a kid. I can handle this."

"I know, honey. I just want to help."

"It's fine, mom. Aren't you going to work?"

Emily sighed deeply and walked away from the bed to sit in the armchair.

"Well, I'm taking the day off. I figured we could use a we-time."

"Alethia chuckled. "Is that even a word?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know." She smiled. "Well, who cares? So long as it means something, right?"

"Right!" Alethia nodded. Once she'd gathered the bedspread, she dumped it into the laundry basket and fetched a clean bedspread from her closet.

"Help me with this," she said as she held the other breadth of the cloth.

Emily was energized by her daughter's request. She was up and offered a hand immediately.

"What do we do next?" Emily asked.

Alethia chortled in disbelief. She turned to face her mother. "You're serious about not going to work today?"

"You can bet me on it, honey."

Alethia turned away and began to put her pillows in place. "Well, I don't know if that's right. I mean, you love to work…" there was a dead atmosphere between the moment Alethia said those words and the moment she waited for her mother to say something. She abandoned the activity at hand and looked in her mother's direction, seeing the woman somewhat in a retrospective mood.

"Mom, I didn't mean to..."

"I know dear, it's fine."

"I'm sorry."

"No, honey…" She moved closer to Alethia and held her to herself.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, honey. I shouldn't have left you all by yourself to take care of your father while he was at the hospital. It was my responsibility. I should have been there."

"I know we didn't choose this, Mom. But we have to live with it now. I understand that. So, why don't we just forget everything and have that we-time?"

Emily giggled, unable to hold herself back from laughing. "Sounds like we have the word."

"Sounds like it," Alethia agreed.

Alethia couldn't believe how much she'd missed out on what has been going on in the house she lives in. There were so many chores left unattended to, so it meant a hectic day ahead for her and her mother. But they dealt with the chores before Tick could say tock, and by then it was already time for dinner.

"Dinner out?" Emily said as she walked across the living room to the bathroom.

"What? We aren't eating at home?"

"No!" She said almost at the height of her voice. "I'm bringing Ethan!"

Alethia almost choked on her saliva. Yes! Her mother's Ethan, not that Ethan. She remembered she'd approved of her mother bringing Ethan over, but she didn't think it would be too soon.

Well, it was what it was. She had dinner to prepare for and a new face to meet. So she headed for her room.

***

Whoever this Ethan would be, Emily couldn't place her footing on why she was feeling nervous about meeting him. She knew she had to meet him after all for her mother's sake, so there was nothing more to it. But there was some sort of eagerness that was making her body unstable as if she couldn't wait for the moment to come and pass.

Once she had dolled up, she sat in front of her dressing mirror to put her face in shape. A little smile surfaced on her face as she admitted that she looked pretty. She'd always known this, and well, she knew how to make use of it. But she reminded herself that she wasn't going on a date, so there was no need to make much effort.

A little spread here and there and she felt ready. But just then she felt a sudden wave of memory flushed from the inside. She looked keenly into the mirror to observe her lips more closely. Those lips…

What if she had kissed him in her dream? Just thinking about it was already pleasing her at her core, and for some reason, she wouldn't mind having the experience with her mysterious man. But he remained a mystery to her, and it was only a matter of time before she began to think that she might be going crazy.

Alethia still couldn't believe that all the abreaction at the beach was just a dream. It had felt too real to be taken for a mere imagination.

Well, what if it was her reality in another dimension?

Alethia chuckled. She must be going insane to be having such thoughts, she decided.

"Honey, are you set?" Her mother's voice echoes through the living room, and Alethia could only hear it faintly. But it was enough to drag her out of her thoughts.

"I'm coming!" She took a final look at herself to make sure she didn't miss the best part of preparing for such an event. Not that it meant much, but she wanted to make a good impression, though she wasn't sure she would like the man.

Truth was that Alethia hasn't come to terms with her mother ready to marry another man. More so because he would be moving in with them. Like, what kind of man moves in with a woman when it was supposed to be the other way around? The idea already gave him off as a leach. But there was nothing Alethia could do about it at the moment. She'd given the approval, and now she could only wish her mother would sooner get to know the real nature of the man, and however unfair it might have turned out for her mother, Alethia somehow couldn't wait to say "I told you so."

"All the best," she said, wishing that for her mother.

"Aleth!"

"I'm coming." She picked up her purse and headed out immediately.

"Oh, wow! Someone is looking dashing." Emily said once Alethia appeared from her room. Her slender figure fits well into her short ox-blood gown blistering under the light.

"Girl, you look blindingly beautiful."

Alethia blushed. She picked the steps gently as she headed down the stairs. Once she was down, her mother further accessed her.

"You look pretty, honey." Emily complimented.

"Thanks, Mom. You look dashing yourself."

"Well, you can say that again." She turned around to further establish the feeling.

"I'm sure Ethan would have his jaws hanging."

Emily laughed. "I'm sure I would be the one to have my jaws hanging. Ethan is unbelievably handsome."

"Oh, now I'm eager," Alethia said and they both laughed it off.

"Yeah, we should go, honey. We're already late."

"Right."

"The keys…" she turned around to look for them. "I left it…"

"Mom?"

Emily checked the table. The car keys weren't on the couch as well. She was about to head for her room when Alethia called her again.

"Yes, honey? Something wrong?"

"The keys are in your hands."

"What?"

Alethia smiled, trying not to make her mockery apparent. "The keys...in your left hand."

Emily noticed the keys now. "Oh, right!" She exhaled heavily. "I guess I'm a little stressed out.

"We could stay behind…"

"No! No, we can't. I already told Ethan we were coming. He must be waiting for us already."

"Okay. I suggest we leave now then."

Emily nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea."

She led the way out and Alethia followed.

Alethia held on for a moment before she could get herself to enter the passenger seat of the car. The last time she remembered riding in that black Chevrolet Suburban was the week before her dad's sickness became an issue.

"Honey, we agreed we're running late."

Alethia shook herself off the thought and got into the car. She could still remember the feel of that day, save that it was a different person sitting in the driver's seat then.

And it was a different destination.

***

The ride took ten minutes before Emily finally pulled over in front of a restaurant. The building was tall and grand, making Alethia wonder if she'd ever been there before. It had been some time since she last came out, courtesy of her dad's demise.

Alethia was still caught with the large expanse of glass that made a whole wall and the beautiful lighting inside when her mother jog her back to where she was seated in the car.

"Are you coming down?"

"Oh, yes." She came down from the car and walked across to meet her mother.

"Honey, please be nice," Emily said.

Alethia recoiled a bit away from her. "Mom, I'm cool."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Shall we go now?"

They made for the entrance immediately. Alethia could feel her heart pounding fast now. She took a moment to breathe deeply before entering the large space that was almost scanty. It was obvious that such a grand atmosphere was strictly based on reservation. Did her mother pay for that, or was her to-be-step-dad a rich-ass man?

Alethia didn't know when her mother hugged the man they were supposed to meet, but she knew when she kissed him. They were the same height, so Alethia couldn't see his face right away. But she could see that he had broad shoulders, and if he was as his mother had prepped, he wasn't as old as Alethia had imagined.

"Honey, come here," Emily said, all smiles.

Alethia hurried towards her, not looking up.

"Here, honey. This is Ethan. Ethan, my daughter, Alethia." She introduced.

"Hi," he said.

That familiar voice jerked Alethia's head up in automatic motion. She raised her eyes and stared at the man who'd just made her insides crumble. And there he was, the daring revelation of her fucking imagination.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"