Not So Funny Valentine Part 3 - Dyrian

623 Words

She came here to entertain you

Since the moment she arrived at her childhood home to see her sick mother, Adrian had not stopped moving. Of course, she was spending time with her mother, but in such a way that it almost overwhelming to watch. She doted on her despite knowing how frustrated Amelia was getting by it. She cleaned the whole house top to bottom, had all of the dishes done, trash taken out. It wasn't even because Dylan was coming over, it was mostly so that she could keep focused on tasks rather than how her mother looked. The sickening part was that she didn't look as bad as Adrian expected. She wasn't herself, she was thin and frail-looking, but she didn't look like she was dying which almost made it harder to be around.

The whole first night, Adrian hadn't slept. She couldn't even consider it and she found that it was when she thought of Dylan the most. Another reason she'd kept so busy was to take her mind off of him and give them both the space that was necessary. She was overwhelmed by her own feelings and she could only imagine how he felt when she was acting the way she did. He didn't complain, nor did he act like he minded, but she was starting to mind. He'd called after his lunch and she was grateful, but she was sure not to spend too long. And she'd stared at her phone, considering sending a goodnight text despite her lack of sleeping, deciding against it only to keep from seeming silly.

It was relatively early that Adrian got started again the next morning. She made breakfast, too much food that neither of them really ate. She took the leftovers to the woman she called a grandmother that lived just a few houses down. She cleaned again and then made it a point to take her time getting ready so that she didn't look like she hadn't slept. Amelia asked a million and one questions the whole time, but Adrian did what she could to keep her answers short. It was bad enough that she could tell her mother was catching on. Adrian had settled on a sundress that her mother picked out and wore a fishtail braid. Her makeup took the longest, but once she felt better, she came out and began working on dinner. Despite Amelia's lack of cooking skills, Adrian was pretty good. She'd learned young and stayed with it.

After setting the table, Adrian heard the car in the driveway, but remained in the kitchen a few seconds after the doorbell rang. She didn't want to seem over eager, but she was. Once she made it to the door, she took a deep breath and opened it to the beautiful man in front of her. Her eyes immediately slipped over him and settled on the flowers in his hand. Before he could notice that she was lingering on them, she looked back up and smiled. Adrian took a step forward and stretched up to kiss him lightly on the lips, "I'm going to apologize now. C'mon in." She took his hand and led him into the main room where Amelia was already standing to come see.

Her eyes did exactly what Adrian's had and after a moment of staring at the flowers, she looked up and smirked, "Adrian, babe, you didn't warn him. Hun, flowers are meant for funerals and I'm not dead yet."

"Mom, Jesus Christ," Adrian groaned.

Her mother laughed, "Too soon? Hi, I'm Amelia, Adrian's mom." She stuck her hand out to him.

Isn't she a dream come true?

395 Words

She came here to entertain you

The quick recovery from him had Adrian impressed. And by the looks of Amelia's face, she'd been relatively impressed by it as well. Unfortunately, Adrian knew her mother had many more things up her sleeve to test him and that was where the apology came into play. She knew that he'd be able to hold his own, after all, he was used to her and the attitude that she had. She was second to her mother in terms of attitude, though.

The look that he gave her was not unnoticed, but she was not about to tell him what he should call himself. They hadn't talked about it and Adrian was content with the way things were going, she didn't want to jeopardize that. Of course, meeting the mother did tend to lead to more serious relationships, but these were special circumstances. She didn't feel the need to pressure him about what he wanted because if he were to ask her directly, she wasn't even sure what she would say. Her lips quirked up at the sides and she rolled her eyes, it was so like him to be quick-witted and charming as hell.

Amelia grinned, the same grin as her daughter, and folded her arms across her chest, "You're pretty smooth there, Dylan. I'm not all that surprised, seeing as you managed to get Adrian to let you come meet the crazy mother. She's usually too embarrassed by me to bring anyone out this way."

The fact was, Adrian had never been serious enough about anyone to bring them to California and subject them to her personal life. Dylan had already managed to learn more about her than any other man had and while the biggest reason he was meeting her mother was because he had the means of transportation, it hadn't been lost on her that she was looking forward to him meeting her mother. Her eyes were going back and forth between the two of them, like a game of ping pong and she was sure she'd acquire a headache from it soon. "Dinner isn't quite ready yet, so we can, uh, go sit down for a minute." Mostly because she didn't like when her mother over-exerted herself.

Isn't she a dream come true?

283 Words

She came here to entertain you

Adrian shot Dylan a look when he brought up old photo albums. As if her mother needed any prompting to do so. "You say that like I haven't always been a total photogenic babe, pfft," She shrugged and gave a look to her mother that pointedly told her that she needed to go back to her chair. Her mother was stubborn to a point, but there were some things that weren't worth the argument.

Amelia nodded and held her hands up in surrender at Adrian's look, "Alright, alright. I'm sure I can find some cute pictures of my baby girl." She gave her daughter a wide smile and Adrian knew that she'd only agreed because the pain had started. There was always a sort of dimness in her eyes when she started to feel it, something that Adrian had picked up on when she was much younger. After finding out that her mother was sick, she had started paying strict attention to any signs she gave off.

While Amelia turned to the living room, Adrian felt Dylan's arm around her and her tension eased slightly. When they were in the kitchen, his arms wrapped around her and she slid her arms up around his neck to kiss him back. She lingered in his arms for a moment, absorbing the comfort it gave her before she pulled away to grab a vase from the cabinet. When she handed it to him, she bit down on her lip and glanced towards the living room, "So whattaya think of her so far?"

Isn't she a dream come true?

368 Words

She came here to entertain you

She watched him as he dealt with the flowers, leaning back against the kitchen counter. She knew it probably seemed silly to fuss over her mother when she looked the way that she did. Adrian supposed that she was probably the only person who would notice the subtleties that were so different. Her mother had taken herself away from the chemo because she hated not feeling like a person. It had been a little while ago and her hair had already grown back significantly. Even though Adrian had hated it the moment that she made the decision, she enjoyed having her mother back rather than a zombie of a woman she barely recognized.

But she was not the woman that Adrian thought of as her mother still. She looked sunken and worn, like she'd aged twenty plus years in the matter of months. Adrian remembered her mother as a vibrant dancer who flitted around always busy. They'd go on adventures, explore new restaurants, try new things. Each time Adrian visited, there was always a story to tell after. The last year or so, things had stopped being quite as exuberant and fun. Her lips quirked at the sides just barely when he pointed out that she was stubborn. "Like mother like daughter, huh?" There was no humor in her tone when she said it.

Once he made it back to her side, she wrapped her arms around his waist and turned into him, burying her face in his chest. His question made her nod and she took a deep breath to keep her emotions controlled. She couldn't very well go back into the living room with puffy, red eyes. Amelia had a strict no crying about death rule she had been enforcing. "I wish you'd have met her before the cancer. She was even more wild and beautiful than she is now. A real force to be reckoned with."

After a sigh she heard her mother in the other room, "If ya'll wanted to make out, all ya had to do was say something!"

Isn't she a dream come true?

292 Words

She came here to entertain you

Adrian took notice of his silence, but she wasn't offended or upset by it. She understood, probably better than anyone else could because she was the same. There was a reason nobody had met her mother. She hadn't gone to meet any parents either. It wasn't how she normally did things. Casual affairs were easier than this because even if the other party developed feelings, she could break it off without feeling guilty because she was upfront about what she wanted. Never before did she think that she would be that other party that was developing feelings.

Rather than say anything else, she just closed her eyes and settled into his embrace. She knew she should have regretted insinuating that he'd have met her mother regardless, but she didn't. It was what she wanted and if he could get away with the confusion of what they were, then she could get away with saying sappy things like that. He pulled away and her hands dropped to her sides, gripping the fabric of her dress to keep from shaking.

His offer made her smile, but she shook her head, "No, I've got it taken care of. Why don't you go look through pictures and I'll call when it's finished, yeah?" There was a fake brightness to her tone and expression, but it wasn't for his benefit. It was for hers. If she pretended she was okay, she could start to believe it. And with him entertaining her mother, she could have longer to compose herself. Amelia had eyes like a hawk and she could tell when anything was wrong.

Isn't she a dream come true?

401 Words

She came here to entertain you

It took a little bit before Adrian felt she was ready to face the two of them again. She was just glad that what she'd made was time sensitive so she had to pay close attention to it. With the extra distraction, she found it easy to slip back into her role of easily embarrassed daughter who brought a boy home. They all seemed to disregard the sickness because it didn't need to be said out loud.

Adrian was appreciative that Dylan was able to pick up on her own way of dealing with things. He still offered a helping hand, one that Amelia seemed not to mind. It took the pressure off of both women and they shared the same look of gratitude. Once they were settled in at the table, Adrian's eyes immediately went to her mother. She'd had a problem with eating lately and the doctors were on Adrian about keeping her fed. Her eyes then shifted to Dylan and she smiled, "Thank you. I tend to be a pretty awesome cook."

Amelia grinned then too and nodded, "It's true. And she definitely didn't pick that up from me." She shakily picked up her fork and made a pointed look at Adrian as she started eating. Adrian had to laugh at how young her mother acted sometimes. Like their roles were reversed, although, Adrian had spent the majority of her time taking care of Amelia.

Despite the look she had given her mother about eating, Adrian struggled with finding her appetite. She knew it was good and she wanted to eat and pretend that things were fine, but her stomach was in knots and forcing down food wasn't helping anything.

As they picked through their food and conversed about silly topics of Amelia's choosing, things seemed natural. Once they finished, Amelia stood up, "I'll do dishes since you cooked."

Adrian was quick to stand and waved a finger at her mother, "No, you're going to go lay down. You know the routine, old lady. Now get goin'." She saw the look of frustration cross her mother's face before she grumbled all the way out of the room. Adrian began clearing the table and her hand slid across Dylan's shoulders as she passed by him.

Isn't she a dream come true?

292 Words

She came here to entertain you

The fact that Dylan started helping her clean up made her both grateful and annoyed. She wanted to think of him as the playboy that she'd met, but over the last few months together, things had changed drastically. She was starting to adore him more than she was willing to and it only got worse as time went on. If it wasn't clear to her mother before, it was crystal clear now.

While they worked on the dishes, Adrian leaned into him. She was starting to hit a wall of exhaustion and now that her mother was tucked away in her room, she could finally release the fake energy that she'd been forcing. His question had her looking up at him and her eyebrows pulled together, "What am I supposed to do? I don't have the money to get her a place, and she wouldn't want to stay in a hospital. I'm not even sure she'd be okay with living with me." Her mother was the most independent person she'd ever met in her life. The only person that she depended on was Adrian, but even then it was reluctantly.

Her options were limited because while she knew she could force something on her mother, she didn't want her to be miserable for the last few months of her life. And California was her home, it had been since Adrian was born. She never mentioned where she'd lived before California. "I can't force that on her. It'll only make this whole thing more of a reality and I think we're both sort of happy pretending that it isn't."

Isn't she a dream come true?