The Perfect Candy

Chapter 14: Mother Knows Best

Jackie was sitting with her legs curled beneath her on the living room sofa when her son stepped through the doors. She looked up from the book in her hands and smiled. "Hey Coop, how was school?"

Coop muttered something indecipherable as he walked past her and disappeared into the kitchen. Catching the frustrated expression on her typically careless son's face, Jackie's interest was piqued. She set her book off to the side and waited patiently for him to reappear. Minutes rolled by, and she began to tap her fingers against the armrest. Just before she would've gotten up to simply follow after him, he reappeared in the doorway and made to walk right past her towards the stairs in the hall.

"Stop."

The school rebel froze mid-step and turned to look at his mom with a sandwich halfway to his lips. "What?"

"You're different."

He stared at her for a moment, and then scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have homework to do."

Jackie snorted and simply pointed to the chair adjacent to her own seat. Shooting her an annoyed look, Coop fell gracelessly into the chair and gave her an expectant look. Her son could teach a monk the art of silence. Rolling her eyes, she set her feet on the floor and leaned forward. "What's going on at school?"

"Nothing."

Mother and son stared hard at one another, waiting for the other to break first. After a minute had passed, she shot him a sweet smile and shrugged, pulling her feet back up under her and curling back into the couch as she reached for her book. "Okay."

Instantly suspicious of her speedy retreat, Coop's brows furrowed. "Okay?"

"Okay," she repeated with a nod. Opening her book back up to her page. "You can go."

Coop stayed where he was. "What's the catch?"

"No catch."

"There's always a catch."

She turned the page. "If you don't want to tell me what's going on, you're entitled to your privacy. What kind of mother would I be if I invaded it?"

"Mine."

She smirked at that but didn't look up. She waited until he'd given up waiting her out, stood up and started to leave the room, and then she struck. "I forgot to tell you; I invited Spence over for dinner tonight."

"Mom!"

Jackie looked up from her book and blinked at him innocently. "What's wrong?"

***

Coop was convinced that there wasn't a woman in the world as manipulative as his mother. Mentally cursing her perceptiveness, he moved back to the chair and sat back down and tried to decide just exactly what to tell her. She'd know if he was making it up. "I met a girl."

She raised a brow, "Honey, I love you and I wouldn't trade you for the world, but there's not a number for the quantity of girls you've 'met'. What's so special about this one?"

"She's the first one to 'politely decline' my advances." And that fact still jabbed a bit.

He caught the twitch of his mother's lips as she set her book off to the side again and gave him her full attention. "Did she? That must have irritated you. What did you do in retaliation?" When he opened his mouth to protest, his mom held up a hand and shook her head. "Don't bother trying to tell me you let it go. You forget that I've known you for seventeen years now and I'm well aware of my son's faults."

"She wanted me to kiss her," Coop snapped defensively. "She likes me, she's admitted as much. But she's the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"Oh," his mother said with a soft laugh, "I could think of another." He just rolled his eyes, so she continued. "What's she like?"