“Hey.” Her mother playfully slapped Kelly’s shoulder. “Watch who you’re calling old. Forty-nine’s the new twenty-nine, I’ll have you know.”

“Same age as Lucy,” Kelly mused out loud.

For several seconds, her mum held Kelly’s gaze.

Kelly didn’t bother filling the silence, her mother was able to read her like a fortune teller.

“Girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

“Serious?”

“I’d like to think so, she’s pretty great.”

“That look suits you.”

“You too, Mum. Give love a second chance.”

“I am.”

Simultaneously, chair legs screeched as Kelly and her mother rose to their feet. Kelly rounded the table first, falling into her mother’s embrace.

“I’m happy for you, Mum.” A lump formed in Kelly’s throat. “Dad would understand.”

“I know, honey. I know.” A tear ran down her mum’s cheek.

Fighting to hold her own emotions in check, Kelly hugged her mother tighter.

“Jack has been honourable, taking his time…”

Deciding it was time to lighten the mood, Kelly stepped out of her mother’s arms.

“Honourable!” She feigned outrage. “He cleaned your pipes out.”

“Oh dear.” Chuckling, her mother turned crimson. “Even old people need loving.”

“La-la-la-la.” Kelly plugged her ears and screwed her eyes shut.

Despite being happy for her mother, she didn’t want to think about her doing the dirty.

Elbowing her playfully, her mum picked up their mugs and put them in the sink.

“Enough about me. When do I get to meet…Lucy, is it? The woman you’ve mentioned on and off for the past few weeks. Or are you going to continue to keep her all to yourself?”

Suddenly feeling nervous, Kelly bit her lip. “Mum, I need a favour.”

Her mother narrowed her eyes. “Go on.”

“Lucy and I are moving in together, we need somewhere to store her furniture. I wondered if it’d be okay to put it in the garage.” Kelly knew she was rambling, but she couldn’t stop. “There’s plenty of room, and hopefully it’ll only be for a few months. Until Lucy buys a house.”

An oppressive silence hung in the air. Kelly squirmed like a child about to be reprimanded.

Way to go, Kel. Perhaps you should’ve started at the beginning.

Looking Kelly dead in the eye, her mother calmly, too calmly, replied, “Let me see if I’ve got this right. You’ve met a woman who’s so wonderful, you’re shacking up with her like a pair of lovebirds, yet you haven’t found the time to introduce her to your own mother?”

“Yes. No. Dammit, I’m making a mess of things.”

Kelly smacked her forehead, an attempt to align her head with her heart.

The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her mother’s feelings.

“Relax, honey.” She gave Kelly a meaningful smile, “Everyone has their secrets, and reasons for them.”

Wasn’t that the truth.

*