My Boyfriend's Mother

38: His Stepmom

"Josh, hi. You've been really great to me so far but I just need to focus on myself. No that's such a lie. Josh, I like you. But.. I'm just not ready for something serious. Does that sound fine?" I looked down at the little succulent plant on my counter. "Great. Now I'm talking to a plant." A young boy across the shop looked at me weirdly. I smiled awkwardly and turned around. 

"Boss Grace." Violet is now up in my face. "If you're breaking up with the guy just tell him the truth." She continues to chew her gum. "What is the truth?" I leaned on the counter behind me and thought about how am I going to answer that question. "Josh is really great." I started. "Yeah. You say that a lot. What else?" She's a bit sassier today. "But I'm so confused. I'm just really not feeling it. He's perfect. Literally. You've seen him, right? He's unbelievable. And he's smart and he's just an overall nice..guy. I just don't think he's the right nice guy for me." I don't even think guy is the one I'm looking for.

"Who is the right for you?" She asks further. "Right now? Uhh, no one." I scratched my head. "Look, I'm just going to be single for a while.. for now. I'm even thinking of expanding the shop. I'm not interested in men or.. whatever. I just wanna be alone." And not surrounded by Josh's family. When I turned around, standing right in front of me is exactly one of Josh's family. His stepmom. 

"Elena, what.. What brings you here?" More importantly, how long have you been standing there? She definitely caught me off guard. And I can see in her face that she's been here well enough. I suddenly felt like the air has been kicked out of the store. Elena, say something, please.. "You dropped your.. uhm." Huh? Dropped my what? What did I drop? "Your hoop earrings." Really?? Again? "In my car. The other day when I took you home from the cabin. "Give me your hand." Without missing a beat, she placed my pair of hoop earrings in my hand. I tried to find her eyes but it was like she was looking past me. "Can I get some of those uh, Lilies while you're at it?" She pointed the displays in the front of the store. "Of course." I came out of the counter to get some. Seriously, it's getting hot in here. Where is all the air?? I wrapped her flowers and handed it to them. "Here you go."

"How much are these?""On the house."She nodded. Still not looking at me. "Thank you." We stood there. Silently. I shifted my weight from my left foot. Then the right. Elena walked towards me. No, past me. She paused when she was near the door. "I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Josh." She says. "And you should.. really secure those earrings." And with a blink of an eye, she was gone. "Elena.."