When We Meet Again

*****

Dean opened the door for Amanda wondering with trepidation if she had more uncomfortable questions in store for him. He was surprised to find that he liked her; maybe it was the resemblance to her daughter or that tongue that could come up with the most outrageous things at a moment’s notice or maybe he just liked Amanda for herself. She was his idea of how a mother should be; stern yet friendly, nurturing even as she was uncompromising (he hadn’t missed her passing him chamomile tea even as she interrogated the fu*k out of him); close with her daughter and protective of her, but willing to give Dean a chance if only because her daughter liked him. He hoped her daughter liked him.

“Where to?” he asked her.

“Forest Hills Hospital,” she says and when he still looks puzzled she adds, “I’ll direct you.”

Dean nods and starts the car. The turbo engine is loud and attracts the clientele at the open air salon. They stare with wonder as the seven hundred horses under his hood revved up ready to take him to the moon and back if he pleased. Amanda paid them no mind so Dean didn’t either, accelerating down the street as he keyed in Amanda’s direction to his navigation system.

Amanda asked him if he had some music and Dean thought frantically about what he had on his mp3 player, deciding to go with radio as a safer bet. He didn’t need Meaghan’s mother judging his music. He was pretty sure he had some rap music she wouldn’t approve of; they threw around the n-word a lot.

They rode in silence and then suddenly Amanda turns to him.

“What do you want with my daughter?” she asks.

“Good question,” Dean blurts before he really thinks about who he’s talking to. “I mean…I have some extremely strong feelings for her obviously but…”

“But…” Amanda agreed.

“I am trying to figure it out,” Deans says.

“I’m sure you are. But meanwhile it’s my daughter’s heart you’re jerking around,” Amanda warned.

Dean was silent thinking about that.

“I’m not,” he said quietly.

“You’re not what?” Amanda asked.

“Jerking her around,” he said stealing a glance at her and then facing forward again. “No matter who she was, I would still be trying to figure this out – I’m trying to be as honest with her as I can and if anyone’s got a level head on her shoulders it’s Meaghan. I just need to think how we can do it without causing damage to…anyone.”

“Are you sure you need to do this?” Amanda pressed. “Not want. Need,” she clarified.

Dean pursed his lips as he thought about it. “I have to try. If only because…” he trailed off reluctantly.

“If only because what?” Amanda asked.

Dean smiled ruefully at her, “You know the KGB could have used you in their heyday.”

“They couldn’t handle me, now answer my question,” she replied.

“If only because – and this is going to sound extremely corny it’s just that I have no other way to put it – I’ve just never felt this alive before. I think I can feel my blood running through my veins when she’s in the room. Colors get brighter even though my vision gets hazier. It’s crazy. I may be hormonal or I could be in love. I need to find out which it is.”

“Which do you think it is?” Amanda persisted.

Dean said nothing for a long time just concentrating on driving. They pulled up at Forest Hills hospital and Dean got out to open the door for Amanda. She got out and stood by the door, studying him.

“Which is it Dean?” she asked again.

Dean avoided her eyes, staring at the door of the Lamborghini like it might have the answer.

“I don’t know,” he said at last.

Amanda made a sound between a snort and a huff. She wanted to tell him to stay away from her daughter until he was sure but she knew that wasn’t her call. Meaghan had to live her own life; make her own mistakes, and if Dean was one…then so be it. Amanda would be there to pick up the pieces and Meaghan would be the wiser for it. If he wasn’t a mistake then…God help them all.

*****

Hey, did we break up?

The sound of the beep that signaled she had a text woke her up and she squinted at the screen in fuzzy puzzlement. At last she thought to read the name of the sender.

Bain.

She clicked reply immediately and typed out a message.

Not as far as I know. Why? What have you heard?

She rubbed her eyes, trying to rub the tiredness from them and failing miserably. She peered at the clock; it was just passed noon which meant she’d slept for maybe two hours. She tried to remember if she’d told Bain she had the night shift last night and then remembered that she was avoiding him.

Just haven’t heard from you in like two days.

Meaghan stared at the text wondering if it was accurate. Two days? That would be unprecedented. She tried to think back to the last time she spoke to Bain but couldn’t quite pin it down.

Meaghan: That can’t be right.

Bain: That’s what I said but there you are.

Meaghan: What can I do to make it up to you?!!:(

Bain: Sleepover?

Meaghan: Done.

She wanted to avoid her mother anyway after the whole ‘why did you call my daughter a wh*re’ fiasco with Dean. She was impressed that he agreed to drive her to the hospital after that. He was a braver man than she thought. Still he was being dodgy and her mother was bound to have noticed that on the drive to work if not at the kitchen table and Meaghan wasn’t ready to hear about how bad Dean was for her. She already knew that, thank you very much. Still, another one of her grandmother’s sayings had always been ‘You only live once so make the most of it’…or was that someone else? Meaghan wasn’t sure but she figured that either way the saying was true. If Dean was a mistake, well he was her mistake. She didn’t want to get into it with her mom though so best thing to do was spend the night elsewhere. She wanted to hear all about Bain’s stripper anyway. She flopped back down and closed her eyes, dropping off back to sleep after setting her alarm clock for 3pm. She needed to get to the Mt. Sinai clinic then for her shift which ended at midnight. She’d get Bain to come pick her up after. Tomorrow she had the whole day off so sleeping in wouldn’t be a problem if catching up went very late. R.I.P to Bain’s day though; oh well the sleepover had been his idea. She rolled over and closed her eyes, dropping off to sleep immediately.