Till Death Do We Part

Chapter Five

"You've met someone?"

My mother pulled her hands out of the soapy water and wiped them on a dishtowel, turning to me with a wide smile plastered on her face and her hazel eyes brimming with excitement. "Oh, Sienna! That's great news! Tell me all about him! What's he look like? What does he do? Is he nice? Does Haven like him? Are you going to see him again?"

"Mom, please!" I say with a laugh. I finish drying the plate I was working on and set it in the cabinet above my head. "I wouldn't really say that I 'met' him the way you're thinking, but he did invite me to dinner tomorrow night at Johnny's."

"That nice Italian restaurant by the outdoor mall? Now you have to tell me all about him!"

I sigh and roll my eyes playfully, casting her a smirk. "Okay, alright. His name Is Joseph Pierson. He's thirty-six. He's one of the top lawyers in his firm who stands for victims of rape and abuse. He's tall and very handsome, with blond hair and the most amazing grey-blue eyes I've ever seen. He's lean, clean-cut. Haven barked at him at first, but she quickly warmed up to him. And yes, Mom, he's nice."

"Thirty-six?"

Mom turns to me with a concerned look on her face, her eyebrows furrowing together. "He's quite a bit older than you. Are you comfortable with that?"

"He's not that much older," I protest, but the pointed look my mother gave told me she knew we both didn't believe that.

"Sienna, sweetie. You're only twenty-three. This Joseph guy is thirteen years older than you. I know you're an adult and can make your own choices, I'm just... concerned about the age gap."

"You and Dad have an age gap, though," I point out, and Mom frowns.

"Yes, Sienna. But it's about seven years. I'm not trying to be a hypocrite, but sometimes older guys tend to be more... well, more controlling. Before you came along, your father and I had a lot of issues with that, and it too him a long time before he realized that I was my own person and just because he's older than me doesn't mean he can control me."

"I didn't know that about Dad," I say quietly. 

Mom sighs and places her hands on my shoulders. "Your father's changed a lot from when I first met him to now, and I don't regret meeting him. I just want to tell you what I think, and I just want you to be aware of that. And I'm not saying every older guy will be controlling, Sienna. Just be careful. That's all I ask. But if you continue to go out with him and it grows serious, as long as you're happy that's all that should matter, okay?"

"I know, Mom. Thanks."

"Of course, sweetie. Now," she adds as I pull away from her embrace, "let's finish with these dishes so that we can watch that new movie your father was talking about. And you have to show us pictures of this Joseph."

After further interrogation about Joseph from my father and after the credits of the movie had rolled, I told my parents goodnight before retiring to my bedroom. It was then that I got my clothes out for work the next morning and took a hot shower, washing away the grime and sweat of the day. When I had finished with that I changed into my comfortable pair of pajama shorts and a baggy T-shirt, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed. My feet instinctively tucked beneath Haven's sleeping body as she lay curled up at the end of my bed, and as my head hit the pillow I felt the exhaustion hit me like a tidal wave. It didn't take much longer for me to slip into unconsciousness after that, my dreams circulating around the mysterious man I met in the park, his blue-grey eyes drowning me. I wanted to know him, I wanted to know the secrets he kept.

I wanted to know everything.