Mable busied herself in her kitchen, pacing anxiously as she moved from one little task to another, all the while glancing at the clock on the wall. She was more than a little nervous about accepting Leslie's invitation for a social get-together and couldn't help but wonder might have precipitated such an invitation.
More than anything, she longed to have a positive relationship with Jimmy's mother but feared that, once Leslie discovered the depth of her relationship with her son, that positive relationship might very well suffer the consequences.
She had felt good about their first encounter however. She had genuinely liked Leslie and had even sensed that Leslie liked her as well. She was pleased that Jimmy had given her the complete freedom to deal with his mother in whatever manner she thought best, but that responsibility weighed heavily on her.
She took extra care to dress in what she perceived to be the most appropriate manner, wearing dress denim jeans and a loose-fitting, short-sleeved pullover. She applied a minimum of makeup and did her best to style her hair, finally throwing up her arms and laughing at her reflection in her mirror. What on earth was she thinking? Compared to the blonde bombshell that was Leslie, any and all superficial efforts on her part to attain that level of pulchritude was almost laughable. She opted instead for business casual.
She arrived at the appointed time, rolling her eyes as she noted she was nothing if not punctual to a fault.
"Hi," beamed Leslie as she opened the door. "Thank you for coming. Please, come in."
Mable smiled and thanked her, her mind eased by Leslie's welcoming demeanor. "Thank you," smiled Mable as she entered. "You know...I don't believe I mentioned it the first time I was here, but you certainly have a lovely home."
"And, now it's my turn to thank you," smiled Leslie. "Come and sit down," she said, leading her to the sofa. "Please make yourself at home. I was just about to make some tea; would you like a cup?"
Mable nodded and smiled, "Tea sounds nice," she said as she took a seat on the sofa.
"Excellent, I'll just pop out and put the kettle on," she said, "I'll just be a second."
Mable looked around and smiled. It was no empty compliment she had given Leslie; her house was very tastefully decorated and spotlessly clean. Certainly, more of a feminine look to the decor than masculine, but as a single woman, that was certainly her prerogative. She smiled to herself. So far so good, she thought to herself. Leslie had certainly seemed to reveal a warmth and friendliness toward her when she arrived which managed to dispel a little bit of her anxiety. But was still very curious as to the reason for the invitation.
Leslie entered and sat down beside her on the sofa, crossing her legs and reclining casually. She was certainly a lovely woman, Mable could certainly see the resemblance between mother and son. Leslie was dressed casually as well, also in denim jeans but with a sleeveless pullover and barefoot.
"Thank you for agreeing to this visit," smiled Leslie. "I'm sure you're probably curious as to why I initiated a meeting with you like this."
"It did cross my mind," smiled Mable in return.
"First of all," said Leslie reaching over to pat Mable's hand, "I wanted to personally thank you for all of your efforts to help James get into this fledgling computer repair business. He's always seemed rather rudderless whenever the subject arose as to what he would do after graduation. I suppose I always hoped he might opt for UNLV or, at the very least, some sort of career college. But he always seemed more interested in his damn computer game than thinking about his future. I was ever so happy to see how enthusiastic he's been for doing computer work."
Mable nodded. "Well, I for one can personally attest as to his talents with computers. He saved me weeks, if not months, of work by retrieving and backing up all the work files I thought I had lost. And, knowing that a great many of the people I work with every day have the same issues with their computers, it seemed to be a perfect fit for someone with his knowledge and enthusiasm. I couldn't help but suggest such a thing to him and how he might turn his knowledge into something much more lucrative than one of those minimum-wage summer jobs that students usually fall into."
Leslie nodded, "I couldn't agree more," she said, "Nothing has made me happier than to see him focused on something other than computer games. In all honesty, Mable, I have to tell you that I definitely see a lot more maturity in him these days as well. Since the two of you have put your heads together to come up with the idea of this computer business, he..." She shrugged, "I don't know, he just seems so much more down to earth and level-headed now, if that makes any sense to you."
Mable smiled, reasonably sure that much of the change Leslie saw in Jimmy might likely have something to do with releasing all of the sexual tension and frustrations he had accumulated over the years. "Well, I don't have the same perspective that you have, I've only known Jimmy for the past few weeks. But to me, he's always seemed to be mature and level-headed."
Leslie's eyes widened in mild surprise and she smiled curiously. "You call him Jimmy?"
Mable realized her slip of the tongue too late and mentally smacked her forehead. "He mentioned to me one day that he had always been called Jimmy until the two of you moved to Las Vegas. And, I remember thinking at the time how the name Jimmy just seemed to suit him a lot better. He just seems more like a Jimmy than a James."
Leslie smiled, "I totally agree," she said, "to me, of course, he's always been Jimmy. I think you are probably the only other person to call him that now though." After a poignant pause, she continued. "And you know, having just said that, I can't help but feel that a lot of the new maturity I see in him is because of you, and the mature influence I think you have on him."
"Thank you, but...I'm not so sure I have all that much influence on him."
Leslie smiled. "I wouldn't be too sure of that," she said. "You are older and much more mature than the group of friends he's forever hanging out with. And, now that I think about it, I suppose I probably even have you to thank for his newfound love of jazz music," said Leslie, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Who was it again? I know he told me. Gerry Mulligan and...Coleman Hawkins, and Paul Desmond. He's even been listening to Dan Fogelberg too, go figure."
Mable smiled, "I'm afraid I'm guilty as charged. Those are the kinds of artists and music that I usually have playing in the background around the apartment. He's commented on them several times and asked me who it was that he was hearing."
"Well, I for one am supremely happy to hear that kind of music emanating from his room instead of all that death metal he and his friends have been into."
Mable grimaced, "Ouch, in that case...you're VERY welcome," she said with a laugh.
"It's easy for me to see that the two of you have become rather close in the short time you've known one another."
Mable swallowed, keeping her expression neutral. It was asked innocently enough, but boy, was it a loaded question.
"What can I say?" Shrugged Mable with a smile. "Jimmy is a very personable young man, and I'm very fond of him," she responded, choosing each of her words judiciously.
