Under His Eye: Falling for Stepdaddy

I was up late studying when I got a call from my cousin Susan.

"Is everything all right?" I said when I answered.

"What? Sure, sure," said Susan. "Henry just went down for a nap, so I thought you might be up for a chat."

"It's just that it's after midnight, Suze," I told her. "And I'm facing down a brutal week of finals. I had no idea college was going to be this difficult."

"Oops!" said Susan. "Sometimes I forget about the time difference. Anyway, no big deal. We can talk later."

I sighed. I knew I should keep hitting the books, but even something as mundane as a conversation with my stay-at-home mom cousin was a welcome distraction at that point.

"Nah," I said, leaning back in my chair. "I could use a break. So, what's up?"

We proceeded to chat about the usual things, including how I was getting along at Crestwood and hearing about Henry making progress on things like learning to sit up and occasionally letting his poor mother get to sleep through the night. But then Susan dropped a bombshell on me.

"Hey, so what do you think about your mother's new friend?" said Susan. "Pretty exciting, right?"

"Huh?" I said. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh my goodness, I thought you knew," said Susan. "Your mom has apparently met a... how did she call it? Oh yeah, a gentleman caller. I hear he's really handsome, too."

I honestly couldn't believe my ears. Ever since my father died when I was six, my mother had remained stubbornly single. She'd always claimed that his love for her was all that she needed.

"Are you serious?" I said. "Maybe it's someone from her book club and people are misinterpreting things. You know how people love to gossip."

"Yeah, maybe," said Susan. "But I doubt there are many billionaire members of her book club."

"Billionaire?" I said, letting my chair slam back down on all four feet. "What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, his name is Malcolm. Malcolm Kent," said Susan. "He founded Global Synergy Solutions, although I'm not sure if he's still running the company anymore. Either way, he's loaded. You should Google him."

"Oh, I definitely will," I said. "But how did my mother meet him? And what is she doing with a guy like that?"

"I don't know," said Susan. "But I heard he took her off to Los Angeles last weekend on his private plane. And Uncle Bill said he's been sending loads of flowers to the house. I really can't believe your mother hasn't mentioned this."

"Well, she hasn't," I said. "I called her a couple of days ago, and all we talked about was how she was considering putting some tulips in the front garden. You know, the usual stuff. Are you sure people aren't just making things up? People in small towns like to make a mountain out of a molehill. You know that."

"That's true," said Susan with a chuckle. "But cousin Greg drove your mom to the airport. That's how I know about the private plane stuff. And, of course, Uncle Bill was delighted to be getting in so many orders for his flower shop. I was actually hoping you could fill me in on the details."

"All I can tell you is that I'm flabbergasted," I said, quite truthfully. "I didn't think my mother had her eye on anyone, much less this Malcolm guy or whatever. If it wasn't so late, I'd call her right now because I definitely have to get to the bottom of this!"

"Ooh, I can't wait," said Susan. "Promise to call me back and fill me in on all the juicy details once you know?"

"Sure," I said with a little laugh. "But I really doubt anything is going on. I mean, why would a rich business mogul even be in a town like ours, much less want to date my mother?"

"Hey! Your mother looks great for a woman her age," said Susan.

"Oh, of course. I definitely agree," I said, nodding. "But none of this makes any sense. You might as well have called me and told me my mom's an astronaut now or something."

"I just think it's exciting," said Susan. "I mean, of course I understand it was sad when your dad passed. That was a shock for all of us. But it's been more than a decade, you know? A woman has needs!"

"Suzie, you goose," I said with a little laugh. "I think you're doing a bit of projection, dear. You keep popping out those babies, so I know your needs are being met."

"Ain't that the truth," said Susan with a little chuckle. "Jason is as randy as a goat whenever he comes back from deployment."

"Ugh, too much information, girl. But yeah, I'm definitely gonna find out what's going on," I said. "I don't know. I guess I just never pictured my mom with anyone else. And all this talk of jetting off to Los Angeles? It's so unlike her."

"All right, Ally, I guess we'll find out," said Susan. "But you promise you'll let me know, yeah?"

"Of course, of course," I told her. "And give all my love to the boys. Talk to you soon. Bye."

After I hung up, I sat there for a long moment, stunned by everything I had just heard. My mother was only in her late 40s, so it wasn't like she was some senior citizen or anything, but I guess I'd always pictured her as a sweet old lady, puttering around in her garden and knitting by the fire, not plunging into a whirlwind romance the moment I went off to college.

For a minute there, despite the lateness of the hour, I considered calling her. But then, with a sigh, I set my phone aside and got back to my books.

Little did I know then just how much that phone call was going to drastically alter the course of my entire life.