Sylvie

True to his word, Casey smiled as the car came to a stop in front of her mother's tan and blue home.  Casey had scooted to the curbside door and was about to open it when the driver opened the door and offered his hand.  “Thank you.”  Casey smiled and stepped out into the fresh but salty air. “Something about coming back home, isn’t it?”

“I agree, Miss Rivers.  Head up and I will get your things.”  The kind driver started calmly.

Much like the last few times Casey came to her mother’s house, she stopped at the small mailbox and pulled the weeks worth of mail from it and placed it on top of their pizza box.  Casey walked up the three steps and had reached for the door when her mother opened the door with a wide smile on her face.  Casey laughed and pointed at the mail. “You’ll never change mom.”

“Good to see you as well.”  Jennifer moved out of the way for her daughter, “Have mercy on my waistline, Casey.  That smells great.”  Jennifer waved to the chauffeur and then headed to her kitchen. “Paul is a good guy, your things are safe.”  She pulled down a few paper plates and tossed them on the stove. “Well tell me, how was your trip?”

Following her flighty mother quickly through the house, Casey glanced over her shoulder at the man stacking her luggage inside the door. “Paul?  He didn’t tell me his name.”  Smiling when the two tiny plates were impatiently spread out, Casey opened the pizza box and gave her mother the initial two pieces. 

“There you go Miss Rivers, all settled.  Will you need my services anymore this evening?”  Paul quietly asked.

Shaking her head, Jennifer walked over to Paul and gave the man a quick hug. “Thank Martin for me, you go ahead home.  Casey is fine with me, thank you.”  She handed him a quick tip and closed the door after he excused himself. “Pizza time.”  Jennifer announced and ran back into the kitchen.

Already chewing on her second piece of pizza, Casey handed her mother the plate she’d loaded up minutes before.  “I needed this.”  Finally having food in her stomach, Casey sighed happily. “The trip home was awful.  Took way too long.”  Casey took another bite and picked up the box and headed to the living room.

Her mouth half full of pizza, Jennifer held her hand up for a moment while she politely swallowed. “I will admit I was a bit shocked to see you come home so soon.  I thought you’d been in Europe for at least five years.”  Jennifer settled into her well used rope chair and finished the pizza she’d been working on. “So, spill it Rivers.”  

Being in a familiar setting with the comfort of her mother close by, Casey took a deep breath and sat down on the white leather loveseat and enjoyed the heat coming from the fireplace. “I must be getting a little better.”  She pointed at the fireplace. “I am not shaking.”  Casey set the pizza box down and showed her hands to her mother. “Where do you want me to start mom?”  She gave up any idea of hiding the truth from Jennifer. “Pick the point.”

“Vivienne.”  Jennifer raised one eyebrow and took another bite of pizza. “I was under the impression you’d be working with her for life really.”

Hearing the name again made Casey slouch on the loveseat, “You went right for the throat.”  Casey laughed to herself and the ironic comment.

“You tell me and I’ll tell you.”  Jennifer smiled and kicked her feet so the swing started moving slowly. “Just keep in mind that I have spent lots of time with Martin and company.”  Jennifer laughed and saw the questioning look cross her daughter’s features. “Nope, I am the elder.  You go first…and give me more of that pizza.”

Reluctantly Casey pushed herself up from the comfy loveseat and walked back into the kitchen to get the breadsticks that she knew her mother would ask for. “Okay, Vivienne.”  Casey refilled her mom’s plate and continued, “Honestly, that was the plan.  I can’t say much about the terms of employment, but yes, it was for life.”

“Because she’s a vampire.”  Jennifer nonchalantly commented and bit off a hunk of garlic bread and laughed. “Things moms know, right?”  She poked the breadstick at Casey. “Well, go on.”

Stunned into silence, Casey stood there looking at her mother in disbelief.

“I’ll wait, sweetie.”  Jennifer pumped her feet so the chair swing moved faster. “Just do me a favor and don’t drop the pizza, I think we are about to have a very long night.  The food will help.”  She reached beside her and pressed a small remote and the stereo in the living room flared to life, playing piano covers.

Registering those few words about their late dinner, Casey somehow managed to get her body to move after a couple minutes. “Mom..I…”  Casey knew that she was on the verge of breaking a promise that could get her into much more trouble than just one little FBI agent. “...How..how do I go first after that?”

Jennifer waved her hand and laughed, “Martin talks in his sleep, dear.”  She winked and shrugged. “I didn’t believe it at first myself.  It took meeting his mistress to know for sure.”  Jennifer laughed, “She spoke fondly of you.”

Unwilling to deal with her mother’s sexual antics at the moment, Casey sank on the couch once more. “You spoke to Sylvie?”  She watched her mother shake her head and laugh. “Yeah, she and I are friends.  She’s the one who … who helped me with...”

“Brian.  Yes, she told me, Casey.”  Jennifer put her feet down to stop the swing. “We’ll get to him.  Tell me what happened with Vivienne.”

Unaware if it was the need to confess or the alcohol doing the work, Casey took another deep breath and answered her mother. “I never told you how Vivienne and I met, but that isn’t really all that important to what happened.”  Casey sighed, “So there I was, in southern France, having the time of my life.”  She waved her hand, “It was a dream, everything I thought I wanted.  I got to work with a few dive teams to study marine life out in the Med.”  Plucking a pepperoni from her pizza, Casey munched the crispy meat, “I saw the two of them enjoying each other, and I knew I wouldn’t ever really be part of it.”  She tapped her big chest. “I was..that third wheel.”  Casey shrugged, “Vivienne wouldn’t ever have said it, but I saw it.  So I asked her if I could leave.”  Casey paused for part of a garlic breadstick. “She gave me options to stick around and still be her ward, but ultimately I asked her to release me.”  Casey raised one eyebrow, “I guess the best news is that I have nothing to worry about financially for the rest of my life or like three lives.”  Casey chuckled.

“That was a mouthful.”  Jennifer pushed her swing once more. “Do you feel better?”  She asked and looked at her daughter thoughtfully. “I am shocked she freed you, Casey.  I am told that it generally never happens.”

Suddenly feeling a bit thirsty, Casey got up and went to the kitchen to get herself and her mother something to drink. “No, they don’t.  She initially didn’t even know how to do it, since I was her first ever.”  Casey laughed when she opened the refrigerator and saw lines of fruit punch pouches. “Having a craving mom?  This is a bunch of punch.”  Casey grabbed four little packages and returned, handing her mom two. “Turns out that doing it was as easy as freeing Faye.  She simply thought about it and presto, I am myself.”

“Yeah, April called me fruity a few weeks ago and since then it’s been a silly craving.”  Jennifer laughed, “You should see the studio, its...”  She waved her fingers like they were sparkling, “..like aluminum looking in there.  I guess I went a little metallic crazy.”  Rubbing her stomach lightly Jennifer pointed to her daughter once again. “Well, go on. Don’t stop.  I have a feeling there is more going on, much like I did when you tried to cover up the whole thing with your last semester.”