“Okay.” Elena waved her card over the card machine until it bleeped. “I’ll be by the window.”
“It won’t be long.”
Elena hoped not. She was starving. Heading over to the little table in the corner, surrounded on two sides by windows, she put her bag down and settled into the soft leather chair. It felt good to be sitting down after being on her feet all morning. Her hands were sore from massaging body parts and getting all the knots out.
At least she was content, albeit tired. This was a job Elena loved. She got to work her own hours, and she had contracts with several major sports teams in Seattle. As a result, Elena got free tickets to go and see all the home games, which was a definite perk. What could be better? So what if she didn’t have a husband on the horizon?
This was a good medium for her, and Elena didn’t really want to change it, no matter what her mother thought.
Her phone started ringing again, and Elena could see Jessica’s name lighting up. God, she was persistent today. She declined the call, only for it to start again. Elena stabbed the red button. How had her mother managed to get to her age and not comprehended the word ‘no’?
When her phone started up again, it wasn’t Jessica’s name that Elena saw. Breathing a sigh of relief, Elena answered.
“Hey, Fleur.”
“Hey, did you know Mom’s calling you? She just said to me that she couldn’t get through.”
“That’s because I’m ignoring her.”
“You’re at work, aren’t you?” Fleur sighed. “I don’t understand her. She knows not to bother us during work hours.”
“I know, right,” Elena grunted. “Three guesses as to what she was up to.”
From the sound coming from the other end, her younger sister knew exactly what had happened.
“Again? Doesn’t she give up?”
“Apparently not. You’d think after the other times she would know not to do this.”
“How did she think you were going to accept it? You haven’t since you humored her that first time.”
“I don’t know. I think she believes that if she wears me down she can do what she needs.” Elena rubbed a hand over her eyes. “God, it’s giving me a headache. Why can’t we have a normal mom?”
“I know. I’m not looking forward to her turning her attention on me.”
“Well, you’ve got a couple of years until she turns it up a notch. To her, anyone over thirty with a vagina devalues the further away from thirty that she gets.”
“Sounds about right,” Fleur grumbled. “What are you going to do? Do you want me to tell her off?”
“I doubt she would listen. Shall we just ignore her for now?”
“If you think that’ll work.”
Elena didn’t, but she didn’t want to deal with Jessica today. The only thing she and Fleur could do was block her for a few days before contacting her and demanding an apology. Again.
“I’ll block her, then,” Fleur said. “I’ll call you later once I’m done with work.”
“Call me about five thirty. I’ve got dinner with a friend tonight, so I’m going to be busy later.”
“Sure thing. And if Mom keeps bothering you, let me know. I’ll deal with her.”
“I thought I was meant to be the older sister.”
Fleur laughed. “And I’m the one who’s always looking after you. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
Elena hung up just as Matt appeared with the panini and a mug of coffee. He placed them on the table.