Best of Women

Pippa

It had been an exhausting week at work. I hadn't been to the Mirandas' all week. I let myself in one afternoon after lunch. Shooting had wrapped for the day for me. As I walked into the kitchen, it was a mess. Lin was not a good housekeeper. What would he do without me?

I began cleaning around the kitchen and figured the laundry was piled up. I opened the washer and began going room to room to gather clothes. As I got close to Sebastian's room, I heard noises. It was 1:15 in the afternoon on a school day. What was he doing home?

I walked slowly as I got closer and heard laughter, then moans. Oh, God. He had a girl in there. I sighed, hating that I was in this position. I couldn't let this continue. I knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Sebastian asked.

"It's Pippa," I said. "Sebastian, can I talk to you?"

I heard footsteps and he opened the door just enough to put his head through. "What?"

I crossed my arms. "Sebastian, you have a girl in there with you."

"No I don't," he lied. "I came home sick."

I sighed and changed my stance. "Stop lying. You need to ask her to leave."

He narrowed his eyes at me and tossed his red-tipped hair to the side. He was shirtless. "You can't tell me what to do."

Sebastian had always been a sweet kid to me. I knew he and his father sometimes butted heads, but he'd always been respectful and kind. I was speechless for a few seconds at his response.

"Sebastian, your father doesn't want you bringing girls home when he's not home," I reminded him. "Especially not in your room."

He just rolled his eyes and closed the door. I immediately reached for the door, but he'd locked it. I pounded on the door with the palm of my hand. "Sebastian!"

"Fuck off!" he called, and I could hear the girl laughing. I was so angry. I stormed off towards the living room and called Lin. I knew he wouldn't be okay with this. Not with the girl and not with the way he was talking to me.

"Hey, babe," he answered cheerfully.

"Hey," I said, knowing I sounded stressed. "I'm at your place and Sebastian's home. He has a girl in his room and he's refusing to come out or send her home."

He sighed tiredly. The poor man had had his hands full with the kids lately. Everything seemed to be happening at once. "Fabulous," he commented. "Alright. I'll call him. Are you gonna be around for a while?"

"Yeah, I'm cleaning and doing some laundry," I told him.

"Thank you," he said. "And thanks for letting me know."

I hung up and grabbed my load of laundry, stuffing it into the washer. A few minutes later, a young Latino girl walked out left without acknowledging me. Sebastian stormed out, pulling a shirt on.

"What is wrong with you?!" he demanded.

"Excuse me?" I asked him.

"You had to call my dad?"

"I asked you to send her home and you weren't listening. You've never talked to me that way before," I told him.

"You've never acted like this before," he accused. I narrowed my eyes.

"Sebastian, I couldn't just stand by while you had a girl in your bedroom," I told him. "You're supposed to be at school. Are you skipping?"

"It's none of your damn business," he told me, grabbing his hoodie. "You're not my mom."