Savannah opened her eyes and squinted at Gabriel. “What is it?”
“Someone’s at the door, kitten.”
Savannah looked confused. “Who would visit me except you or Jay?”
Gabriel shrugged. The movement made Savannah’s head bounce. “I don’t know.”
“Will you get it, Gabe? Please?” Savannah asked, even as she struggled to keep her eyelids up.
Gabriel nodded. “Sure, kitten.” He eased off the bed so he didn’t jostle Savannah too much. “I’ll be right back.”
Savannah made a muffled sound he assumed meant she’d heard. Gabriel walked down the attic steps and across the living area. The knocking sounded again, louder now that he was closer.
When Gabriel opened the door, he wished he’d had the good sense to peek at who it was first. Standing in front of him was the stern blonde woman he’d been hoping to avoid as long as possible. The one with the power to place a wedge between his and Savannah’s blissful happiness if she put her mind to it.
“Gabriel? What are you doing here?” Mrs. Meridian asked sharply.
“Uh… hi, Mrs. Meridian. I was just visiting Savannah.” Gabriel stood there feeling awkward.
“Step aside, please. Where is Savannah?”
Gabriel stepped to the side, pushing a kitten back gently with one foot. Mrs. Meridian strode inside and glanced around. She spotted the kittens and grimaced. “Ugh, why on earth would she want those things? That girl can't take care of herself, let alone two flea-infested vermin.”
Gabriel said nothing as he picked both kittens up in his arms. He deposited them safely in Savannah’s at-home office and shut the door. Gabriel didn’t think Savannah’s mother would hurt them, but he wouldn’t put it past her, either.
After Smoke and Soot were out of Mrs. Meridian’s clutches, Gabriel went back to the living room. Savannah’s mother stood in the middle of the room, sticking her nose up at everything in sight. “Well?” Mrs. Meridian asked when she saw Gabriel return.
“Oh, uh… I think she went upstairs. I’ll get her.” Gabriel didn’t want to be the one to tell the stern… correction, evil… woman he and Savannah were dating now. But he didn’t want Savannah to do it, either. His poor kitten always crumbled in front of her mother.
Gabriel bounded up the attic stairs and gently shook Savannah. “Kitten…” She stared at him in a daze. “Kitten, your mother’s here.” Savannah’s eyes popped wide open and Gabriel saw the fear in her eyes. She’d been hoping to avoid telling her mother about the two of them, too.
Savannah rose from her bed and ran her fingers through her hair, not that it made any difference. She smoothed out her clothes and looked at Gabriel. Fear and anxiety were playing in her eyes where blissful joy had been not so long ago. “Do I look okay?”
Gabriel nodded and reached out to run a finger down her face. “You look beautiful, kitten.”
Savannah nodded and offered a wan smile. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Savannah went down the attic steps. Gabriel followed a few steps behind. When they reached the living area, Mrs. Meridian turned, face tight. “It’s about time.”
“Hello, mother,” Savannah said.
“What on earth were you doing?” Mrs. Meridian looked at her daughter and then at Gabriel. Her green eyes were eagle sharp and so unlike her daughters. It was hard to believe Savannah had come from his woman.
“Resting."
“In the middle of the afternoon? That’s sheer laziness. You’ll never make anything of yourself by lazing about. But then again, what would you make of yourself with an English degree anyway?” Mrs. Meridian shook her head.
“What did you want?” Savannah asked, eager to have the reason for her mother’s visit done with so her mother could storm away as usual.
“I came to tell you I’ve convinced George Johnson to give you another chance. You won’t ruin it this time. I’ll ensure you’re appropriately dressed.” Mrs. Meridian stared at her daughter in distaste.
“No, mother,” Savannah said.
“No? What do you mean no?” Mrs. Meridian had always hated that word.
“I mean, I’m seeing someone else.” Savannah looked at the floor in front of her feet.
“Someone else? Who would be stupid enough to want you? I have to beg you dates, so don’t try lying to me.”
“Me,” Gabriel said the word before thinking about the consequences. What if Savannah didn’t want her mother to know it was him? Savannah looked up from the floor and gave him another wan smile. That smile reassured him.
Mrs. Meridian stared at Gabriel for a long moment, eyes squinted angrily. Then, she laughed. The sound was so unlike his mother’s deep, joyful laughter. It was sharp, calloused, and made Gabriel’s skin crawl. “So, Savannah, you’ve decided to slum? Hook up with a poor boy from the wrong side of town to get some kicks?”
Gabriel stared open-mouthed at Savannah’s mother. Slum? She thought Savannah was slumming with him? Although Mrs. Meridian had never been particularly kind, Gabriel had spent a large part of his childhood in that woman’s house. His feelings were hurt, and Gabriel wanted to defend himself but didn’t know what to say. He also didn’t want to make the situation worse for Savannah.
Gabriel didn’t have to say anything because Savannah’s voice came to his ears, loud and clear. He’d never heard her yell before – not in more than twenty years –, and the sound made him jump. “NO, MOTHER!” Mrs. Meridian jumped, her squinted eyes growing as large as her daughters. “I’M NOT SLUMMING! HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?” In a softer voice with an equal edge, she said, “I love Gabriel and he loves me. He makes me happy, and you never could stand to see me happy, COULD YOU?”
Mrs. Meridian stared at her daughter in shocked silence. “Why you little, insolent, ungrateful brat! I don’t care if you think you love him,” she waved a hand in Gabriel’s direction, “I forbid you to see him and what I say is final.”
“NO, mother, it isn’t. I’m a grown woman now, and you don’t pay my bills. I can do what I want, see who I want, SLEEP WITH who I want, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it anymore. Your days of running my life are over!”
“You don’t want to listen to me? Fine. You’ll end up knocked up, raising somebody else’s child, in a run-down shack on Lock Street. Do you think he’ll stay loyal to you? Please. You’re too stupid, too ugly, too immature….” Mrs. Meridian had intended to continue berating her daughter.
As Gabriel heard all the nasty things Mrs. Meridian had to say about her daughter, he looked at Savannah. Despite her resolve, Savannah’s face was falling as her mother tried to verbally destroy his kitten. Gabriel couldn’t stop himself from butting in.
“Stop!” He placed his hand in front of him. Gabriel didn’t yell. His voice was low and deadly as he interjected. “I can’t let you keep doing this. I’ve watched you tear Savannah apart since the day she understood your words, and I can’t do it any longer.” Mrs. Meridian opened her mouth to say something, but Gabriel continued talking and the words never came out. “No, it’s over. I don’t know how you sleep at night, knowing the emotional pain you’ve inflicted on Savannah. She is a beautiful, smart, funny woman with a beautiful, kind heart and I don’t know how you can’t see that. What is wrong with you?”