It was already early evening, when Mike finally arrived back home, and from the many voices Deb could tell he had brought company.
“Hi, mom, dad, how is everything going in here?” Mike greeted them. Much to Mrs. Weston’s happiness Max followed soon after him.
“We just arrived here at the same time” Max explained, in case Mrs. Weston was jumping into conclusions.
“Of course” Mrs. Weston replied with a wink. “Oh, and I suppose this is agent Hardy. Mike has told us so much about you. I think he has a little man crush on you”
“Mom, for God’s sake” Mike muttered embarrassed.
“Oh, I’m just kidding, Mikey” Mrs. Weston replied, as she shook Ryan’s and then Claire’s hand.
“Where’s Deb?” Mike asked, looking around the room.
“She’s in the kitchen” Mrs. Weston answered, and the temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees. “But, I wouldn’t bother her right now. She tried to make dinner, but…She’s probably very embarrassed”
Mike ignored her and walked inside the kitchen. He spotted Deb on the floor, leaning against the floor. Around her where fragments, and vegetables, and potato peelings. He walked towards her and sank down next to her.
“Do I even want to know?” he asked.
“Your mother is such…” Deb wanted to express herself, but she didn’t want to hurt Mike. This was his mother, after all.
“A bitch?” Mike added helpfully. “Yeah, I don’t think she can compete with your mother, no offense, but she can be a pain in the ass at times”
“She hates me” Deb shrugged.
“She doesn’t hate you. She’s my mother, and you’re the bad wolf who’s going to take her son away. Trust me, no one is good enough for Michael Emerson Weston. Not if they have to live up to Jean Weston’s standards” Mike tried to reassure Deb
“She seems to think sweet Maxine is pretty perfect for you” Deb commented, with a bitterness in her tone, which Mike decided to ignore.
Instead he motioned with his hand at the floor. “So, how did this happen?”
Deb walked to the basement and collected some potatoes. When she walked back into the kitchen, Mrs. Weston was leaning against the counter.
Deb decided to ignore her and walked to the sink. Mrs. Weston peeked inside the strainer. “You know you took too many potatoes, right?”
“How do you mean?” Deb asked, uptight, keeping her eyes on the potato in her left hand and the knife in her right one.
“Mike is going out to dinner, with sweet Maxine” Mrs. Weston smiled gleefully. “And without Mike, I really don’t have much of an appetite”
“Then, I guess you must be very hungry” Deb replied sarcastically. “Since, Mike hasn’t lived with you for months”
Mrs. Weston’s mouth twitched and in a moment of incontrollable anger, she pushed the strainer of the counter. With a clung the strainer hit the floor. “I’m sorry. Let me pick it up” Mrs. Weston kneeled and collected the peelings. She stood, and dropped the peelings on Deb’s head.
Feeling quite amused with herself she walked towards the door, when she heard a loud blow. She jumped up and turned around. Deb was surrounded by fragments and vegetables. Apparently she had swiped off whatever was on the counter, including the blender.
Mrs. Weston walked back towards Deb, who stared at her provocatively, defiantly. “This is why I don’t want you anywhere near my son. By tonight you are gone. You will get to say goodbye to Michael, but that’s it” Mrs. Weston grunted, slightly trembling.
“No” Deb replied simply. “I’m not leaving Mike”
“Listen to me, you selfish-”
“No, you listen to me” Deb cut her off angrily. “My own mother treated me like crap. I don’t need to take the same from you”