Forever Blue (22 page)

    
“So I’ve been tied up since nine this morning,” I explained. “I haven’t been able to use my phone.”

    
“Well, sit down,” Scotty said, pulling out a chair for me. “I have some news for you as well. My client finally decided to make an offer on that two-million-dollar home in Orange Hills.”

    
Scotty went to the kitchen and came back with
an unidentified covered dish that
smelled of garlic and rosemary. He removed the lid, revealing braised lamb shanks. My stomach growled at the sight and smell of its deliciousness.

    
“It looks like the owners are going to accept the offer, which means a huge commission is coming my way,” he bubbled away, placing a shank on my plate.

     
“Aw, I’m really proud of you, sweetie.”

    
“Oh, but that’s not all. A couple weeks ago, I happened to come across a home in Laguna Beach that I want you to come and look at with me.”

    
“Oh yeah? Why is that?” I asked, chewing and savoring every morsel of the delicious meal.

    
“Well—” Scotty swallowed his food and shot me a sly smile. “Since we’re getting married, I thought maybe it would be a good time to find a bigger place.”

    
“Sweetie, it’s just the two of us.”

    
“Yes, I know that.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin and continued. “But you never know what the future holds.”

    
It was clear
from his tone
what he was hinting at. “Okay. When can we go check it out?”

    
“Ah,
I was hoping you would ask that question.”

***

    
Scotty and I took a trip to Laguna Beach early the next afternoon. The longer we drove down the coast, the more I anticipated seeing the house.

    
We pulled up to a European inspired villa home with a four-car garage and courtyard. The place had a wrap-around porch and a panoramic view of the Crystal Cove coast. It literally looked like something out of a fairytale.

    “Scotty, this is...it’s just unbelievable.”

    
“Wait until you see the inside.”

     
Scotty fumbled in his pocket for the key.  He finally opened the door, exposing a wide, spacious entryway with marbled
floors and a grand spiral staircase.

    
“This is unreal,” I said, feeling
as though
I had to catch my breath.

    
“It just finished construction a couple weeks ago.” Scotty led me into the kitchen. “Now check this out—”

    
I stepped into something I only dreamt about: a state-of-the-art kitchen with gleaming black granite countertops, an electric stovetop range, and rich cherry wood cabinetry.

    
“I feel like I’m dreaming,” I said in awe. “I thought this only existed in magazines.”

     
“So you like it?”

    
“Like it? I love it,” I said.

    
Scotty came up from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder and said, “I can just picture it. You at the stove…trying to perfect your mom’s recipes. While I—”

    
“Taste test?”

     
“Hey, it’s what I do best.”

    
I stood there, admiring the beauty
of the kitchen, as
I pictured myself making a gourmet meal for our friends where we would all sit around a luxurious dining room table. We would sip wine and talk about trivial things like how getting our husbands to wash their own dishes every once in a while was like pulling teeth.

     
“This place must cost a fortune, Scotty.”

    
“Life is good right now, Alexa,” he said, cupping my face. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment.”

    
“What are you saying?”

    
“What do you think about a May wedding in our new home?”

    
The question tossed me into a state of confusion. “Our home?”

    
Scotty’s brilliant brown eyes locked with mine, and his smile was luminous when he said,
 
“Yes, kid—our home.”

    
“I..I..couldn’t think of a better time.” I jumped into his
arms, feeling in some way that
life was finally turning around and heading in the direction I wanted.

***

    
Scotty wasted no time getting a ring on my finger. Every time I caught a glimpse of that five-carat diamond engagement ring, I felt like one of the luckiest girls on the planet.

Three months after our engagement, we put my parent’s house up for sale and moved into our new home. Around that same time, Scotty wanted to make our engagement official by introducing me to his family. I heard so much about them since we started dating that in a way, I felt like I already knew them. But meeting his family face to face would finally put everything in perspective. Scotty was definitely a family man and anxious to show off his bride-to-be. We planned on announcing the seriousness of our relationship to his mother the day after we moved in.

    
We scheduled dinner at the house on a Sunday. Scotty’s mother Evelyn, Jim, and his two sisters would all be driving in together from San Diego. The whole shindig had me on edge. I was never serious enough with anyone to meet their family, so I didn’t quite know how to react. Scotty assured me that after all the good things he
had
said about me; his mother was dying to meet me, and all I had to do was be myself. What made the whole situation more nerve-racking was his plan to announce our engagement that very same night. More than anything, I was terrified of what his mother would think of me.

    
I spent the whole afternoon trying to replicate Mom’s pomodoro sauce, the
one she made every Sunday night when I was a kid. It
would
probably
never taste exactly like hers, but I was going to give it my best shot. At the beginning of that evening, the whole house filled with a scent I remembered from my childhood days—garlic, onions, and spices—a
little of Mom’s love all rolled into one.

    
I finished cooking and put on the most conservative dress I had. It was a knee-length, button-up floral chiffon that
I
had purchased
from Fashion Land years earlier, but
had
never worn.  The dress wasn’t exactly cute or sexy, but it made me look sophisticated, like a housewife in the making—which I kind of was.

    
After all the weeks of waiting, the family finally arrived that early evening. I’d seen pictures of Evelyn, but they didn’t do her any justice. She had auburn hair, thick and soft, that went to her shoulders. I was taken by her huge sea-green eyes that fringed her sooty black lashes, which
accentuated her fair skin and smooth complexion. She stood about five-two, was very petite and impeccably dressed. She matched from head to toe. The woman was a size zero. Standing next to her, I felt like a beached whale. On top of that, her ensemble gave off the immediate impression that she was
high-maintenance. She donned a white cashmere sweater that clung to her delicate curves, tan pants, and an air
of importance. Every appendage
was
dripping
in jewelry.

    
Evelyn walked in the door
and greeted me with a hug, and then
proceeded to look me up and down. “Sweetheart, that dress is dreadful.” She chuckled a bit maliciously. “Where on Earth did you find such a frock?”

    
Her comment was like a kick in the stomach. I looked down at my dress, terribly humiliated. “Well, it’s new. I’ve never worn it.”

    
“Scott, you actually let her go around wearing something like this?” she asked, looking at my dress as if it were an old potato sack.

    
Scotty just shrugged and smiled at me as if he didn’t know what to say. Being insulted by my future mother-in-law within the first five minutes of meeting was not a good way to start off our relationship. Needless to say, she didn’t leave me with the warm and fuzzes.

    
“Scott, you must give me a tour of this magnificent house,” Evelyn said, looping her arm with his and dragging him away.

    
After
I led Jim into the living room,
Elizabeth and Jaime situated themselves on the couch and fell into conversation.

   
“Would you like anything to drink?” I asked Jim.

    
He clapped his hands together and said, “Sounds great. What do you have?”

    
“Beer, wine, soda—”

     “A glass of wine sounds great, my dear.”

    
Personality wise, Jim was quite the opposite of Evelyn. He was friendly, genial in manner and a great conversationalist. Although he wasn’t typically handsome, I found him curiously striking. He had salt-and-pepper hair and a beard to match. His tall frame was perfectly portioned, making it rather apparent that he liked to stay in shape.

     
“Tell her the forks should be on the right side of the table. A woman of the world should know these things,” I overhead Evelyn mention to Scotty while I was in the kitchen. Her criticism was demeaning and beyond irritating.

    
I managed to sit down after the salads were served, and during this time, I took the opportunity to make nice with Scotty’s sisters

    
“So, Elizabeth, do you have a boyfriend?” I asked. She was quiet beautiful with high cheek bones, full parted lips, and long dyed platinum-blonde hair. In stature, Elizabeth was tall and slender, but also well portioned and graceful.

    
She smiled at my question and answered, “I do. His name is Tommy.”

    
“Tommy who has no job and still lives with his mother,” Evelyn cut in.

    
“Mom, I told you he just got laid off,” Elizabeth retorted with a roll of her eyes.

    
“So how did you and Scotty meet?” Jaime asked.

   
She was almost the spitting image of Scotty
with her olive complexion and deep set brown eyes.
Jaime was also the most well-endowed
of the two sisters,
and slightly on the heavier side. Her black pixie hairstyle gave her a punk rocker appearance.

    
“I was working at a clothing store, and he was actually shopping for your mother’s birthday present. I helped him pick out a few things. The next thing I knew, he started coming in every day.”

    
“You mean that brown sun-dress you bought Evelyn not too long ago?” Jim asked Scotty.

    
“Yes, that’s the one,” Scotty replied.

    
“You picked that out?” Evelyn asked, looking directly at me. “Hmm—surprising.”

     
“Yes, so anyway…I only came in to see her,” Scotty said, gazing at me dotingly.

    
Elizabeth chuckled. “Scotty, you’re such a nerd.”

    
“Your brother has helped me through some really rough patches in my life.” I took a sip of wine and felt everyone’s stare boring into me as if they were almost silently demanding further explanation.

    
Jim shot me a sad, sympathetic half-smile and said, “I’m so terribly sorry about your mother.”

    
“Well, I don’t think I would have made it through if Scotty wasn’t in my life,” I said, squeezing his hand.

    
I was able to relax a bit more when dinner was officially served. The main
course was an ode to my mother, and
I was anxious to know what everyone thought.

    
“So what do you think?” I asked Scotty.

    
“It’s amazing, kid.”

    
“Perfecto,” Jim said with a wink.

    
Both Elizabeth and Jaime nodded in approval.

    
“For me particularly, I find it a wee bit salty.” Evelyn pushed the plate away with her fingertips. “And I’m very sensitive to salt, dear. You don’t want me swelling up like a balloon now do you?”

    
I didn’t know what to say other than, “Of course not.”

    
“Then maybe you might have some of that jarred pasta sauce on hand?” she asked. “That will do, I suppose.”

    
Another blow to my ego. Strike two. “Sure. I’ll make you another plate.”

    
I walked into the kitchen feeling like I was kicked in the face. Per her request, I grabbed a jar of Ragu from the cupboard. I wanted to smash it into a million pieces and leave the shards of broken glass in her meal. I thought of this evil plan while scraping Evelyn’s pasta into the sink and down the garbage disposal.

    
During my short-lived emotional upheaval and homicidal fantasies, Scotty came up behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Hey,” he said. “Are you all
right?”

    
He had to be kidding. I turned around and gawked at him. “Are you blind?”

    
Scotty furrowed his brow as if puzzled. “Why are you
acting
so uptight?”

    
“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe because your mother doesn’t like me very much,” I whispered.

    
“Sure she does. Look, sometimes she can be a bit anal about things, but don’t take it personally. It’s just the way she is.”

    
I shook my head and turned away, silently disagreeing with him.  The situation was more trouble than it was worth. I was really in no mood for an argument. “Okay, fine. If you say so.”

    
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, Evelyn grilled me in the middle of dinner. She looked up from her untouched plate of pasta and asked, “So, dear, what university did you graduate from?”

    
“Well, after my dad died, my life kind of went in another direction, so I didn’t go to college.”

    
“Oh I see.” Her eyes fluttered open only to reveal doubt. “And where has this road we call life led you?” She then looked directly at Scotty. It was almost as though she was assessing him and trying to figure out why he
had
stooped so low to be with me.

    
“To makeup artistry school,” I said, feeling the conversation heading in the wrong direction.

     
Jaime lit up like a bulb. “I’ve always wanted to do makeup. What’s it like?”

    
“I’m on a paid internship. Soon I’ll be working on movie sets and runways.”

    
“Have you met any celebrities?” Elizabeth asked as she took a dainty sip of her ice water.

    
“Well, I just recently started working, but I’ve heard it’s bound to happen.”

    
“Sounds fascinating,” Jim said. “I wish you all best with it.”

    
Scotty
lightly squeezed my shoulder
and said, “Alexa has worked hard to get where she is now.”

    
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think this is some blue-collar job,” Evelyn announced, wrinkling her nose
as if she’d smelled something awful.