Read Online So Many Reasons Why by Missy Johnson - Free Book Online Page A

chalk and cheese,
though it was obvious where my mother got her looks from. Even at her age, Gran
had silky smooth skin, deep green eyes, and a smile that still managed to tempt
men ten years younger than her.
    Unlike gran, mom had no idea how beautiful she really was.
With her long blonde locks falling halfway down her back and her long lean
body, she could have been a model. Dad always said he was instantly drawn to
her emerald green eyes. She was the complete opposite of me. I had the dark
hair and blue eyes of my father. While I was in no way overweight, my body
seemed to lack the length and grace of my mothers.
    “Now Emma, how have you been?” Mom asked, taking a seat on
the sofa. She glanced around. “The place looks nice.” She looked at me closely,
obviously looking for signs of emotional instability from the other day. I
smiled at her. In mother language that meant 'oh good you're cleaning.'
    “Thanks.” I carried over the pot of tea and the condiments.
“Scones will be a minute.” I placed the tray on the coffee table and went to rescue
the scones. They were perfectly golden.
    “Oh Emma, this all looks lovely. You go to way too much
trouble though my dear.”
    “It’s not like I don't have time on my hands Gran.” I
laughed. The words hung in the air. Shit, why did I say that? I thought. I knew
how much trouble my family had accepting my situation. My way of coping was to
joke and lighten the mood. Their approach was to tiptoe around me and ignore
the fact that I obviously still have serious issues relating to the
attack.  ‘If we ignore it, it's like it never happened.’ That is the
Mancelli family philosophy. If anything, ignoring it made it worse. Who could I
talk to if not my own family? My own dad barely found the time to call me, much
less visit me. In the past year I'd seen him once.
    Once. He had time to play golf, wine and dine clients, but
no time to see his daughter. How did that work?
    “How are your studies going?” Mom smiled at me, deliberately
redirecting the conversation.
    “Good.” I shovelled the last bit of my scone into my mouth. Yet
again I'd outdone myself. These scones were awesome. The secret was the
lemonade. And the cream. Cream can make even the worst scone seem tasty. Hell,
cream made everything tasty. Cooking was what I did to try and hide the way I
was feeling. I cooked a lot.
    “You know Emma, this internet is the way to go nowadays.”
Gran addressed me with all seriousness as she spooned a heap of cream onto her
scone. “I’ve met up with four lovely men in the past week alone.”
    “Gran!” I exclaimed, unable to keep the smile off my face.
Gran was widowed and ninety-six. Not only was she on Facebook and Twitter, she
had discovered the dating scene a few weeks ago. I now knew more about Mix and
Mate, Perfect Match, and Adult Fun than I had ever cared to.
    I'd learned two very disturbing things off gran. The first
was the libido of the over eighty age group was insane. They made prostitutes
look like church going virgins, and; the number of men under the age of sixty
who were into a 'mature' woman was astounding.
    “There is nothing wrong with shopping around Emma. How am I
supposed to milk the cow?” Gran shrugged her shoulders unapologetically.
    I coughed mid swallow, sending bits of scone across the
table Mom shrugged at me helplessly, looking rather embarrassed. Again.
    “So long as you’re happy, gran.” It was all I could say.
    Should I be embarrassed that my great grandmother was
getting more action than me? Probably.
    If you discount the attack, I had never been with any boy.
It's hard to meet men when you're housebound. And Tom was well... Tom. We were
such good friends that sex had never been an issue we'd had to deal with. It
had never even come up.
    Pardon the pun.
     
    Cass answered on the first ring.
    “Expecting someone?”
    “No.” She replied hurriedly. “I was just holding my phone.
What’s up?”
    “I need a little favour.