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Swinging my legs out of bed, I grab an old pair of sweats, warm socks, and Rick’s flannel shirt and get dressed. On my way down, I twist my hair up in a messy bun and secure it with an old chopstick I keep around just for that purpose.
No sooner have I gotten the coffee going, when the soft security chime announces the approach of a vehicle.
I’m not even surprised to see Rick’s mother’s moss-green SUV driving up to the house. Experiencing a brief moment of panic at the way I must look, I quickly dismiss the notion to run up and put on some proper clothes. I like Theresa, I do, but I also recognize she has a way of getting what she wants by gentle manipulation. Something which clearly gets under Rick’s skin.
But this is my house, and she can’t show up before eight thirty on a Saturday morning and expect anything other than the version of me she’s going to get.
“Good morning,” I therefore call out cheerfully as I open the door for her, bracing against the stiff breeze coming off the mountain.
“Morning, cariño. Sleep well?” She walks up the porch steps carrying two full bags of groceries.
“I did.” I take one of the bags from her hands and step aside to let her in. “How about yourself?”
She shrugs. “Well enough. Ah, I smell coffee. I couldn’t find a single grind of coffee at Rico’s place,” she complains, brushing past me.
“I told you the coffee was in the freezer,” Rick calls out from the top of the stairs.
Theresa waves a dismissive hand as she continues into the kitchen.
I look up and grin at Rick, who apparently just stepped out of the shower, a towel tied low around his hips, looking pretty annoyed.
I blow him a kiss before following his mother, setting the bag I’m holding next to hers on the counter.
“So, what’s all this?” I ask when she begins unpacking her groceries.
“Rico mentioned you planned to do some work on the house this weekend. I’m no good with tools or a paintbrush but I want to be useful, so I will cook,” she announces. “Enough to last you the week because Eduardo is expecting me home tomorrow.”
“That’s uh…amazing, but you really don’t have to go to all that trouble.”
“No trouble. I want to.”
It’s stated in a matter-of-fact way that doesn’t invite further discussion, so I keep it to a simple, “In that case, thank you. That’s lovely of you. Is there anything I can do?”
“Sí. You can pour me a coffee.”
“I’ll get it,” Rick announces as he walks into the kitchen and right up to me. “Morning.”
He hooks a hand behind my neck and drops a soft kiss on my mouth. Then he moves to his mother, brushing her cheek with his lips.
“Morning, Ma.”
The older woman turns a brilliant smile on him. “Buenos dias, mi amor.”
I sit down at the table and watch as mother and son expertly move around each other in my kitchen. Rick slides a coffee in front of me, takes a seat across the table, and pulls out his phone to check messages. I use that moment to satisfy my curiosity.
“Theresa, who is Eduardo?”
“Her neighbor,” her son answers, at the same time she replies, “My lover.”
Rick groans but is quickly distracted by something he’s reading on his phone.
“Shit,” he mumbles.
“Something wrong?”
He flashes me a quick smile and shakes his head.
“Nah, just some developments in the case, but the others can handle it.”
