Page 88 of Ravaged By Lust
And so I recount to my mother, in detail, all the craziness of the last few days. Well, maybe not all the details. Mom doesn’t need to know how much I like Bishop. But I tell her everything she needs to know.
We are so enamored with catching up that Mom and I don’t even move. We’re still standing by the time I tell her about the performance in front of Mickey Miller and being offered the record deal.
She immediately wraps her arms around me again.
“I knew you’d reach your dreams one day,” she whispers into my ear. “I’m so, so, so, so proud of you, Chloe.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“And what does the future hold for you and Bishop?” she asks me.
I shrug. “Hopefully… everything.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Would you like something to drink?” Maddie asks my mother, guiding her to sit down on the couch.
“Oh, I don’t know. What are you girls having?”
“I’m having a sparkling water,” Maddie replies. “On account of the whole little pregnancy thing I’ve got going.”
“But I’m going to have a glass of white,” I reply. Might as well get stuck into the alcohol now that Mom’s swanned in so dramatically.
“Wine it is, then.”
As Maddie so kindly fetches us both a glass of wine, I turn to my Mom.
“Where are you staying, then?”
“I’ve booked myself into a hotel. Cute little place. Axel found it for me.”
“Oh, right.”
“I’m not planning to stay for long, but I’m happy to just see both my children in the same place for once. You never come here and Axel never comes to Crystal River.”
“True.”
“Why do you hate Los Angeles?” Maddie asks Mom as she returns with our glasses. “I know there’s unfinished business between you and Winston West, but you still haven’t told me anything about that.”
“Going in straight with the deep questions,” Mom replies with a cheeky smile that reminds me too much of Axel. “I like that, Maddie.”
“Who’s Winston West?” I blurt out, completely confused by this line of conversation.
But I’m not sure I’m going to like where this is all leading to.
“He’s my former boss at the publicity company I worked at,” Maddie explains. “He was the guy that paired me up with Axel and Ravaged. Last I heard, Astrid and him have got some history together, although she has been very keen on keeping those secrets quite close to her chest. I’ve yet to wrangle any of the gossip from her.”
Mom tries to wave it all away. “It was a long time ago, long before I met your father.”
I spin around to my mother. “History? With a man? Before Dad? You’ve got to tell me all about this. Right now.”
My mother takes a long sigh and then speaks. “Fine, then. I will.”
“We’re all ears,” Maddie says. I agree wholeheartedly. We both lean in to express how eager we are to hear this tale.
“Okay,” Mom starts. “To set the scene… I once lived, in a time long before Chloe and Axel, in this city as a groupie bouncing around the music scene. Remember, I was young and free and wild at heart back then, very different from the wise, mature woman I am now. I loved that period of my life. I had my routine down perfectly. I would attach myself to some famous band and just let myself be dragged along for the ride. The eighties were a very fun time for me, I have to say. And so we get onto Winston West…”
“The good part,” Maddie exclaims, her eyes sparkling at the thought. I have to admit it’s kind of hilarious hearing my mother talk about her past like this. As a kid, she never spoke of her time before Dad. Maybe now I’m older – much older – she’s decided that I’m finally of the age to be allowed to be privy to her young, free, and wild days.
