Chapter 14

TIFFANY

I had done the laundry and made up my parents' bed again as if I'd never been there. As if I never shared it with the two men hired to work in the backyard. My mom rolled in not long after I'd put the old bedding in the dryer. After that, I'd cooked myself some eggs and toast and sat down just wearing a pair of faded denim shorts and a tee-shirt, my hair hanging in damp ringlets from showering.

She'd just looked at me, somewhat relaxed so her night away must have done her some good. I smiled at her because she expected it.

"Hi mom ... did you have a nice time?"

She nodded and then went straight to the frig to get the mango juice to pour herself a nice glass of it. As she sipped it, I didn't look at her.

"So how was your night?"

I didn't know how to answer that, not right away. Images flashed in my head of how I'd spent it and my body still felt sore, my muscles tight and I knew I'd be spending some time in the spa later on. Anything to loosen them up because I knew I had made plans to go with Sheila to the jazz club again.

"Quiet ... I just did some reading..."

I knew it was a lie my mother wouldn't challenge. Face it; she'd always thought I was a bit of a square as they probably called it back in her day. Not that she had done anything crazy that I knew of and she'd been married to Dad forever.

"Oh anything interesting... ?"

I just scooped another fork of eggs into my mouth.

"Not really ... I'm going out with Sheila tonight," I said, "and won't be back until late."

My mom just nodded. I knew that even though my father wouldn't be back until the end of the week, she'd keep herself quite busy with all of her meetings.

"You are doing laundry?"

I nodded not really wanting to get into the details.

"Yeah I had some clothes to do," I said, "and I just am finishing up this morning ... I fell asleep while starting a load last night."

I was getting good at this ... this lying part of it but I knew my mom would freak if she had a clue what I'd been doing last night and where. It still freaked me out a little ... I really never thought I'd be doing the kinds of things I had just done with any guy ... let alone two of them I barely knew. Damn, I thought what had I done? My body still betrayed some soreness from what had been done to it. Both men had used me hard and heavy and that's what they had done was use me. But I had used them back because I'd been so tired of being a virgin while building up a rep around school that I'd been anything but. People treated me like I was some hot number doing guys and some wild party chick not afraid to expand my boundaries. But all this time ... well not that it mattered anymore because I didn't have an ounce of virginity that remained after spending the night with those two men.

They'd left I knew that and I'd been relieved because what if my mother had seen them? Seen us before I could get rid of all the evidence of what had happened?

Now she thought I was her demure little daughter who had been reading on a night when most girls my age would be partying at one of the clubs. But that's what I wanted her to think right?

"Are you interested in going to the ice cream social this weekend?"

"The ice cream what?"

My mom rinsed her glass in the sink and put it in the dishwasher.

"The Historical Society is putting it on at that old Shaw house," she said, "to show off all of the renovation that's been done."

I shrugged my shoulders. Afternoon socials not being my thing ... no matter what my mom might think.

"Your father should be back by then..."