The sound of a car horn made me jerk my own vehicle back into my original lane. In my excitement, I started to change lanes without a thorough check beside me. Fortunately, the other car was paying closer attention than I; so, the incident was really a minor one. The other guy didn't even give me the finger.
I was preoccupied with anticipation because I was on my way to see my girlfriend Lauren after being out of town for four days. I had hoped to get to her house early so that we might engage in some intimate reunion activities before heading out to our planned dinner date. However, there was a mountain of work waiting for me back in the office, and with traffic it was now looking like I'd be twenty minutes late instead of a half hour early. Oh well, Lauren's mother would likely be there, making a quickie before dinner a bit awkward.
Lauren lives with her mother, Susan. Putting the situation that way doesn't sound right though. It's not like the 26 year old Lauren was still living with Mommy. No. Lauren had gone away for college, and she was now a successful nurse and an independent, free-thinking woman. In reality, Lauren and Susan's living situation was more like roommates than mother and daughter. In fact, the two of them had bought the house they lived in together. Lauren and Susan had the best of two worlds β caring mother- devoted daughter and best friends. They were close confidants and sometimes seemed inseparable. As my relationship with Lauren had grown, it was nice to feel a part of their happy family.
I snuck a glance down at my cell to see if Lauren had returned my text, she hadn't. I had sent one earlier to warn her I'd be late. A response would let me know she wasn't worried. I knew that she often didn't pay much attention to her phone β that was one of things I liked about her. I just hoped that before she worried or started getting impatient that she would look for a text. Of course, even with a warning, she could rightfully be a little irritated with me for being late after such a long (for us) separation.
The package I had in my pocket gave me confidence that she wouldn't stay mad for long. I had picked up a necklace for her while I was out of town. I tried to pick a tasteful one, like she preferred. I couldn't spend too much, because I had just tied up so much money in an engagement ring. Lauren didn't know it yet, but I had plans to ask her to marry me in a couple of weeks on our seven month anniversary. I had to wait for the ring to be made; I planned it custom.
I had always figured that I would date a woman longer than six months before proposing marriage, but Lauren was the perfect match for me. She was kind and caring and funny and smart and lively. She worked on the pediatrics floor at the biggest hospital in the area. I had observed her at work a couple of times, and you could tell that she brightened the lives of each of the children under her care. Some of the cases of childhood cancer were so heart-wrenching that I couldn't maintain a cheery attitude in her position, but somehow Lauren remain happy at work and at home.
I was proud of her work, but her work was also the source of our only serious fight. The argument had occurred just a couple of weeks previous at the hospital staff's holiday party. One of the new docs, Steve, hit on Lauren hard at the party. I might not have been too upset, except for the fact that for the two previous weeks Lauren talked a lot about how this new Dr. Steve was so great with the kids and such a great surgeon, yada, yada, yada. When Steve turned out to be remarkably handsome and only in his 30's, his continual fawning over Lauren made me finally lose it.
You can't blame me (or Steve for that matter, I suppose). In addition to being the nicest woman I ever met, Lauren is hot. Naturally glowing honey blonde hair surrounding an angelic, yet sexy face. An awesome body β toned by years of competitive tennis, yet rounded enough to be the model of the female form. Yeah, when I looked at Lauren, I had to conclude that she was out of my league. So, how could you blame me for getting a little jealous when Dr. Perfect got to handy with her?
Not that I'm such a bad catch. I was gifted with a naturally small waist and broad shoulders. Years of sports and many hours in the weight room put a pretty cut set of muscles on the frame. In addition, I did get my engineering degree from a good school. It was my choice to work for a green firm that works on environmentally sound solutions β and that pays about half what I could earn at a big engineering firm. Lauren always said she liked the fact that I chose ethics over money, but Dr. Steve helped kids and made a hefty salary to boot.
Well, things seemed to be all patched up with Lauren and I now. I could barely wait to hold her in my arms, smell her hair, feel her body pressed to mine. Plus, I had about a million things to share with her about my recent work trip.
Finally, I found myself at her door and prepared to answer questions about my late arrival. Lauren's mother opened the door. As usual, I had to make a conscious effort to keep my eyes on Susan's face. To be clichΓ©, it was easy to see where Lauren got her good looks. Only in some areas β like up top β the mother outdid the daughter. If Lauren had beautiful, perfect ripe grapefruits for breasts, her mother had attention-grabbing, giant watermelons. Today Susan had on a sleeveless top that showed plenty of her bountiful cleavage. The eyes of any man would be naturally drawn there.
"Hi, Susan," I greeted, with my eyes firmly transfixed on her eyes.
"Hi, Adam." There was none of her typical cheerful attitude. "Please come in." I closed the door and followed her in. Her skirt was shorter than she typically wore, and she had heels on, which seemed odd. However, I didn't question and just enjoyed the view of her splendid legs and jiggling tush. Yeah, I know that I shouldn't have been looking at my future mother-in-law that way, but like I said she was hot too. Admiring Susan's good looks really only made me confident that in marrying Lauren I would still be a very happy man in 25 years. I must admit that at the beginning of my relationship with Lauren, my thoughts about her mother weren't so pure. Although Susan was close to 50, in the first couple weeks of dating Lauren I tried to make a good impression on Susan as well as Lauren. At the time I figured that if things didn't work out with Lauren, I would happily pursue her gorgeous mom. Of course now, I had no such thoughts. My only thoughts were of Lauren, and that's where I started the conversation.
"Where's Lauren? Is she still getting ready?" I quipped as we entered the living room. "Here I thought I was going to be in trouble for being late, and she's making me wait." Susan didn't respond to my good-natured joking.
She sat on the couch and patted her hand next to her. "Sit here, Adam," she stated stoically. I complied, concern starting to build inside me. Susan breathed out a long, pained sigh before continuing with a strained voice. "Lauren's not going to be here today."
"What!" My concern rocketed to stress. "Did something happen to her? Is she alright?!"
"No. No. No." She patted the back of my hand in comfort. "She's not hurt or anything. She's just fine." She paused for another foreboding sigh.
"Well, what is it, then?" I was completely confused.
Looking at the ground, she sighed again. "I don't want to be the one to tell you this." She shook her head, and muttered to herself. "I told her I didn't want to do this." Still perplexed, I waited patiently. Finally, she turned to look at me and continued.
"There's no good way to say this; so I'm just going to say it. Lauren's not going out with you because she's out on a date with another man."
"What!" I exclaimed. I couldn't have been more shocked if she said that Lauren had grown another head. "That doesn't make any sense. No, that can't be right." I denied.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but she's been seeing that Steve from her work for the last three nights. She's out with him tonight, and wants to end it with you."
"And she doesn't even tell me this?" I couldn't believe what Susan was saying. "No, she wouldn't just not show up and leave me hanging."
"That's why she asked me to tell you. She said it would be too painful to do it herself."
"Well, it's painful to me either way!" I bellowed. Jumping up from the couch, I started to pace the little area in front of it. I heard what Susan was saying, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. It didn't fit with what I felt in my soul. Lauren and I were both in love. I
knew
that we were!