Deep Water by Sinden West

cleared his throat. “I told her I had a business dinner
tonight and wouldn’t be home.”
    “Well, she obviously didn’t get the
message. Can you come home? Please? She’s gone to a lot of effort, and she was
in a really happy mood. She wants you there.”
    I heard a women’s voice in the
background. “I’m sorry, honey. I can’t. This is important–”
    “So is Mom’s mental health!” I hissed at
him in a hushed tone.
    “I told you, Jessie. I have an important
client–”
    “Stop lying! Since when do you have a
business dinner on a Sunday? Are you with that Anna woman?”
    “Jesus,” he said in an angry tone. “Are you
drinking your mother’s kool-aid now? I have to go, Jessie. I’ll speak to you
tomorrow.”
    He ended the call. I clenched my phone
in my hand and took a deep breath as I re-entered the dining room. My mother
was pouring another glass of wine. She looked at me with hope in her eyes.
    “He’s not coming. He says he has a
business dinner.” I sat back down on my chair. She had changed her gaze down to
look at her plate, and she just sat there staring at it for a full minute. I
wondered if she’d heard me.
    “Mom?”
    She grabbed the plate and threw it, so
it shattered against the wall, then she took her wine glass and followed suit
with it.
    I flinched with each crash but didn’t
move. She sat there looking at the mess she had just made, her chest heaving up
and down as if she was trying to stop from crying. Then, she stood up and
calmly said, “I’m going out, sweetheart. Leave the mess. I’ll deal with it
tomorrow.” She left with a slow walk as if she was trying to control every
single one of her actions.
    I didn’t move until I heard her car back
out of the driveway.
    I did leave the mess. My Dad could
fucking well clean it up whenever he decided to come home. I sped to the lake,
half dying to get away from home, and half dying to be with Joseph. The party
was roaring away when I got there. Eve engulfed me in a drunken hug before
bounding off to hug other people whether they wanted it or not.
    I spotted Joseph straight away. He was
drinking a beer in the firelight, and for just a moment I stopped and stared at
his beautiful profile. I took a step in his direction, but Ewan intercepted me.
    “Hey, Jessie.” Again I was hugged by a
drunk.
    “Hi, Ewan.”
    He stepped back and bowed his head down
to whisper in my ear. “Are you okay? Really okay, I mean.”
    I took a step back. “I’m wonderful,
Ewan. Really. But thanks for caring. I appreciate it.”
    He gave me a goofy, drunken grin. “You
know I care about you, right?”
    “Of course.” And then Joseph was at my side,
his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me to him.
    “Excuse us,” he said to Ewan, and a jolt
of excitement went through me. For a moment, I felt claimed as if he were
telling the whole world that I belonged to him. I wasn’t sure what Ewan’s reaction
was because I was being spun around to be kissed by Joseph.
    I giggled when our lips parted; I
couldn’t help it. It was like every other problem in the world escaped from my
conscious, and everything was perfect.
    “You’re so cute,” he told me, as he planted
another quick kiss on my lips. “Come swimming with me.”
    “I didn’t bring my suit.”
    He grinned and leaned in close to
whisper in my ear. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll both go skinny dipping.”
    “Joseph!” I went to push him away, but
he held me tight.
    “Don’t worry.” His voice suddenly had an
oddly serious note to it. “We’ll go up the beach further, no one will see, and
I won’t touch you unless you want me to.”
    I held my breath for a second, and then
I looked into his eyes. He was watching me, waiting, with almost a somber
expression on his face. He looked so adorable at that moment that I didn’t
think I could have denied him anything.
    “Okay,” I said quietly.
    His lips flickered into a smile. “Okay.
Come on.”
    Holding my hand, we walked up the