“Ouch. Okay. Wow. Well…first of all, I suspect the boss wants to do a lot of things when it comes to you, Gia, but murder isn’t one of them.” He laughed. “Anyway, how bad could it really be? What did you say that was so awful?”
I shook my head. “I can’t even repeat it. Ironically, I was paraphrasing something he said to me privately. I want to throw up.”
“Well, let’s back up for a second. The good news is…Melody is very down to Earth. She probably laughed it off. She doesn’t strike me as a prude. I’m sure Rush has explained the situation to her by now.”
“What situation? That he has a nutjob working for him who yells out sexually explicit things in the middle of a crowded bar…in front of his mother?”
“Sexually explicit? Dang. Sucks to be you.”
“Yeah. Dang. It does.”
“I’m kidding.” He laughed.
Sighing, I said, “Seriously, I don’t even know what I would say to her if she were standing in front of me.”
His eyes gestured to behind my shoulders. “Well…now’s your chance to find out.”
What?
I slowly turned to find Rush’s mother standing there.
My heart dropped. “Oh…hello, Mrs.…Ms. Rushmore.”
“Please call me Melody, Gia.”
She knew my name. Then again, Rush had yelled it out in a failed attempt to stop me from making a fool of myself.
God, she was really pretty. Her shoulder-length, light brown hair was colored ombre, blonder at the ends. Her blue eyes were glowing. She sort of reminded me of a young Goldie Hawn. And she was short—like me. It was weird to think that this little woman pushed a big guy like Rush out of her.
“Hello.” I smiled awkwardly.
Oak seemed amused. “Good to see you, Miss Melody. Looking beautiful tonight, as always.”
She waved. “Hi, Oak.”
He stood up like he was rearing to leave. That was not good, because he was the only buffer I had.
Please don’t go.
Oak then slipped away, leaving me alone with Rush’s mom.
She was the first to speak after a brief moment of silence. “My son forbade me from coming to introduce myself to you, but unfortunately for him, he’s not the boss of me.”
Her smile definitely calmed me down.
“I’m really glad you came to find me. I didn’t have the guts to do the same because I feel awful, like really mortified about what I said to him upstairs in front of you. That was so disrespectful and not language I typically use. I had no idea you were his mother. Quite honestly…you look way too young. I assumed you were his date and I was…jealous.”
“Well, flattery will get you everywhere.” She grinned. “I understand you were upset. No harm done.
We’ve all said and done things in the heat of the moment.”
She smiled again and I smiled back.
“Anyway, I can’t tell you enough how much I regret my words. I’m sorry for making a scene.”
“I appreciate your apology, but it’s really okay.”
I looked around. “Where’s Rush?”
“He got caught up in some business…something about a liquor delivery that was supposed to have been made before tomorrow, but it never showed up. I took advantage…came and found you. Hope you don’t mind.”
“No, not at all.”
“Am I interrupting you at work?” she asked.
“No, my shift just ended, actually. It’s closing time.”
“My son explained everything to me, that you didn’t know who I was and that he actually provoked your outburst earlier. I suppose I should be apologizing for his behavior toward you.”
It surprised me that Rush took any of the blame and that he had been so open with his mother. Still, it was me who made the scene out there. I made the decision to use that language in front of her. There was no way I was going to let this all fall on him.
“I take full responsibility for what I said. It’s not like me to use such language so freely, especially in a public place, and especially at my job. Sometimes things get heated between him and me. Your son…well…he’s driving me a little crazy.”
Melody nodded in understanding. “I don’t envy you there. He’s not an easy one to navigate, my Heathcliff.” She closed her eyes briefly then covered her mouth in laughter. “I mean, Rush. Sorry.
Old habit. He’d kill me if he knew I just let that slip.”
“It’s okay…I know Heathcliff is his real name.”
She looked shocked. “He told you?”
“I got it out of him, yeah.”
“Good for you.”
After a few seconds of awkward silence, I said, “So…I’m out of luck, huh?”
She bobbed her head to the side. “How do you mean?”
“In the romance department? Your son’s a lost cause?”
“I didn’t say that. When I say he’s not an easy one…I just mean he’s not easy to read. It’s not always easy to get him to open up. My son has a big heart. But that’s not something that people can figure out very easily about him. He’s complicated, and it just takes a while to peel back his layers.”
“I’m definitely learning that.”
“Rush has learned a lot of tough lessons. He’s been hurt by people who are supposed to love him.
Even though he acts like he doesn’t care about that, it’s definitely had an effect on the way he lives his life, with his guard constantly up.”
I frowned. “I know all about his dad, yeah.”
She was examining my face. “He’s fond of you.”
My heart sped up. “He said that?”
“No, not in so many words. But he seemed very concerned that I would think negatively of you. It’s not like him to talk to me at all about women he’s friendly with. His personal life is just something he’s always kept to himself. But he told me a little about you over dinner…told me you’re a writer.”
“He did?”
“Yes.”
That reminded me…
“By the way…” I said. “I want to thank you, actually. Rush once told me that when you get stuck in your art process, that you sometimes go to see a movie to break out of your funk. I actually tried that once and it worked. After that, I had one of the best writing days I’d had in a long time.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Yes, that’s one of my strategies for sure. I’m glad it worked for you, too.”
“Do you come visit him here at The Heights often? I haven’t seen you here before…obviously.”
“I drive out here once every month or two.” Melody was delicate and soft-spoken, not at all like her son. “I wanted to capture the sunset over the ocean on canvas tonight.”
“You painted here tonight?”
“Yes. Rush set up my easel upstairs on the roof earlier.”
“That’s so neat. Can I see what you made?”
She looked thrilled that I’d asked. “Sure.”
I looked around nervously for Rush as I followed her up to the roof. She led me to a canvas painting that was leaning up against the wall in the corner.
She held it up to show me. “It’s not exactly perfect, but I’m happy with how it came out.”
With blends of orange, purple and yellow, she had beautifully captured the stunning colors of the evening sunset over the beach. Smudges of paint accurately portrayed the clouds in the sky. I couldn’t begin to fathom how she’d made the ocean so realistic with a mix of green, blue, and white tones. It somehow looked like the water was moving across the canvas, coming into shore. My favorite part of the whole painting was a single and elaborately detailed seashell with brown and white lines drawn throughout. It was just laid out on the sand, which she’d meticulously painted in beige hues. Even though the shell was small, it seemed to be the focus to which all else served as the backdrop.