Read Online Don't Close Your Eyes (Stephanie Chalice Thrillers Book 1) by Lawrence Kelter - Free Book Online

father in the house? It’s not natural.”
    Okay, this is where the rift in the generations starts to grow. What can I say? I knew she’d see it that way. “Ma, lots of women do it. Just because a woman works doesn’t mean she can’t raise a child. You’re so old fashioned.”
    “Bah!” Not eloquent but descriptive.
    I tore off another hunk of bread and pressed it into my plate to soak up all of the blood. “Believe me, Ma, a kid could do worse than to be brought up by a woman like that. She was smart, hardworking, and generous.”
    “Yeah, but you need a man around,” she insisted.
    For what? She had the suave Dr. Villas on the side. I was about to tell Ma just how fine Dr. Villas was and brag a little on Ellen Redner’s behalf, but that would have led to a conversation on infidelity, the sanctity of marriage, sinning, God, and who knows what else, so I let it go. When it came to the subject of man and wife, Ma was as old-fashioned as they came.
    “You think you would have grown up the way you did if we didn’t have Daddy around the house?”
    I didn’t want to concede my point of view, but there was no way that I was going to trifle with my father’s memory. Besides, there was a compliment buried in there somewhere. “I understand, Ma.”
    “While we’re on the subject, I’d like to raise another point.”
    Oh no, here it comes. “Isn’t this a good example of what we’ve talked about? Doesn’t this show you how important it is to find someone? You’re a beautiful girl, Stephanie, but you’re twenty-eight.”
    Almost menopausal.
    “Don’t you think it’s time to find someone and get serious?”
    Now you get serious. “Ma, let’s not go there again, okay? Right now I’m concentrating on the job. As soon as I’m ready to get serious, I’ll let you know.”
    “Stephanie Chalice, you listen to me.”
    Stephanie Chalice? Every daughter knows that when your mother addresses you by your full, proper name that something serious is coming.
    “I want to show you something,” she continued. And just like that, she stood up and walked into her bedroom. I had just twisted up a perfect forkful of spaghetti and was ready to devour it when Ma walked by. It was so close I could taste it. “Stephanie, are you coming?” Damn.
    Ma was going through her closet. She had four or five housecoats hanging behind the door. “You see the green one? Look.” She showed me the inside of the pocket. A vault key was attached with a safety pin. “I’ve got a safe deposit box at the savings bank on the corner. Your name is on the box too. I had you sign a signature card. Remember?”
    “Not really.”
    “Well, I remember and now I want you to remember because it’s important.” Ma unpinned the key and sat down on the bed with it, her hands folded in her lap. “Stephanie, come here and sit . . . please.”
    So I plopped my fanny down on the bed next to Ma. “Don’t start talking about when you die, Ma, because I’m not ready for another one of those when I’m gone conversations .”
    “Stephanie, look.” She held the vault key under my nose. “The box number is eleven-eleven, four ones. One day, when you’re ready and you want to settle down, there’s enough money in there to use for a down payment on a house.”
    “Ma, stop already. I love my apartment. I really don’t want to know.”
    “Fifty thousand dollars, Stephanie, fifty thousand dollars that we were saving for you. Cash.”
    She said “we” so I’d know that it was my Dad’s wish as well as hers. Fifty large in cash . . . Really? Let the good times roll. “ Madonna! Mom, where’d you get that kind of money? I know Dad wasn’t on the take. So how’d you come by that much cash?”
    “We saved it, silly. A little here, a little there.” Ma winked at me. “Learn how to save. Capisce?”
    “Can I buy a boat?”
    “No. I said, buy a house.”
    “But I want a boat.”
    “So buy a houseboat.” She gave me another of those dismissive