Page 26

Miri

J ust how much chocolate could a girl eat before before she made herself sick?

Miri eyed the chocolate croissant in front of her. It was certainly more than the overpriced pastry had stuffed inside of it. Too bad. She would have taken any excuse to ghost her mother and run from the cafe.

Her darling mother had summoned her for a meeting at her favorite gourmet coffee house with the driest croissants known to man. Miri brushed some crumbs off her sweater and took a sip of her iced coffee. What the emergency could possibly be, she couldn’t imagine.

Maybe she had finally gotten over Miri’s new menage a demon and wanted to give her blessing… and maybe Miri would find a winning lottery ticket in her croissant Willy Wonka style.

She sighed. Weathering a little disappointment from her mother was an average weekday for her.

It was still early days, but things were going too well—minus the snafu with Nico— for her mother’s pearl clutching to ruin her newfound joy.

She’d looked in the mirror that morning and she was glowing. Honest-to-god glowing.

Miri wasn’t sure if it was the surplus of demon dick in her life, or that she’d finally started using retinol in her skincare routine, but she wasn’t about to question it and risk the universe spitefully revoking her new dewy complexion.

Either way, she wasn’t about to stop either one.

The retinol and hot demon sex were there to stay. Period.

Resolve firm, Miri sipped her coffee. She was going to savor every sweet sugary sip for as long as she possibly could.

“Miriam!”

Her happy bubble started to deflate. So much for savoring.

Sweeping through the cafe, her mother fluttered into the open seat at the small table. Her bracelets jungled quietly as she settled and folded her hands in her lip.

“Hiya, Mom.”

Did that sound like a sigh? It definitely sounded like a sigh. There was no point trying to sound cheerful, they both knew how this conversation was going to play out.

Elaine Brown’s sharp gaze narrowed on the iced caramel chai latte piled high with whipped cream. Her lips tightened but for once she didn’t say a word.

Miri straightened in her seat. Holy shit, was she dying? Is that why she had asked Miri to meet her there? Her stomach dropped, the dry croissant mixing painfully with the sweet coffee.

“Are you okay?”

Her mom raised one over-lucked eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Okay, so she definitely wasn’t dying. There was no way the great Elaine Brown wouldn’t have thrown herself into her chair in a fit of hysterics and announced to the world that she was on death’s doorstep.

Miri shook her head. “No reason. So, what’s up?”

“What do you mean?” Elaine sniffed and wiped a napkin over her side of the table. “Can’t I just want to spend time with my only daughter?”

Historically speaking… no.

She eyed her mother suspiciously. There was something else going on, but she was going to make Miri pull it out of her apparently.

“Maybe you should go order a coffee.”

“Oh no, the line is far too long. I’ll wait.” Her mother leaned forward, her hands folding in her lap. “Speaking of lines, did I tell you who I ran into in line at the bank?”

No, but she had a sinking feeling she wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Louise and her son, Jason. He was helping her run errands like a gentleman.” Her mother was positively beaming as she praised the man. “You two were such a cute couple.”

Miri bit her tongue to keep from sighing. So that’s what she wanted. Her mom didn’t want to have coffee with her, or catch up on each other’s lives. No, she wanted to strong arm her into going out with Jason “You’re too fat to be seen with” Wilson.

“We went out for a month and it was a nightmare,” she said shortly. “And you couldn’t even wait until I finished my croissant to bring him up and ruin my appetite?”

Elaine waved her words away. “Don’t be ridiculous, Miriam. I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding between the two of you.”

“It really wasn’t.”

Quite frankly, the rude bastard had been lucky to leave apartment without her smashing him over the head with a frying pan.

“I really think you two should try again. In fact, I’ll go ahead and give him your new number.”

“I have a boyfriend. Four, actually.” Miri smiled. Even facing down her mother’s chronic discontent couldn’t stop her lips from curving. “You’ve met them. Claws, horns, you remember? With four men already in my life, I don’t have room for a loser like Jason Wilson.”

“Don’t be silly.” Her mom waved her hand dismissively. “They’re not really your… you know.”

Miri would love to see her tell them that. She wasn’t sure which of them would protest the loudest, but her money was on Ace.

“No, they definitely are. Moved into my house and everything.”

And it was fucking great. Nico was starting to get along better with the others now that his begrudging apology tour was complete.

It was still baby steps, but better was better.

No one was arguing… well, more than usual.

Duke had actually laughed at something Ace said.

There was a steady supply of yogurt in the fridge.

As far as Miri was concerned, life was good.

“Honey, you have to come to your senses. They’re demons .”

“And?” Miri took anger sip of her coffee as she stared down her mom.

“You can’t date demons.”

“I’m pretty sure you can,” she laughed. “There’s a dating app for it and everything.”

“Miriam.”

“Elaine.”

Nose wrinkling, her mother glanced around them quickly to make sure no one was listening and leaned in to speak.

“You can’t trust them . Everyone knows you can’t trust a demon, and now you’ve let four of them into your house!”

And her vagina, but who was counting?

“I like them, Mom, and they treat me well. They make me happy.” Miri frowned at her mom.

When had she become so hateful? Sure, she’d always been judgmental, but this level of prejudice was out of left field…

or maybe she just didn’t want to admit her mom had it in her all along. “How is that not enough for you?”

“Don’t you care what people will think?” she huffed.

“Not really.”

“Don’t you care what I think?”

The silence that fell over the table said more than Miri ever could.

“That’s really nice, Miriam.” Her mom shook her head, her signature disappointment rolling over her face like a mask. “My only child doesn’t care about my opinion.”

The longer her mother pouted at her, the more annoyed Miri became.

Had she always been this manipulative? The passive aggressive comments?

The outright rudeness? And, more importantly, why had it taken Miri so long to see it?

Years of being the target of her mother’s criticism had conditioned her to accept it without question.

And she was definitely over it.

“I love you, mother.” She sighed. “But I just don’t want your input on?—“

“You’re ruining your life!” Elaine spoke over her. “How are you supposed to go on dates with those things ? How can you be seen in public with them ? What will everyone say?”

“No wonder she’s walking funny?” Miri quipped drily.

Her mother gasped. “Miriam Christine! That is enough?—“

“You’re right. It is enough.” Blood boiling, she shoved her chair back and stood. “Excuse me! If I could have everyone’s attention, please!”

The cafe fell silent. Surprised faces turned to stare at her as she waved her arms over her head. The suspicious stares made Miri want to sink into the floor, but she had a point to make.

“I am dating four demons. They have horns and claws and are as demon-y as they come. They also do my laundry and pick up the grocery shopping, and they think my ass is the perfect size no matter how many donuts I have. We are very happy and I’m finally getting laid on a regular basis.

” She paused. “Does anyone here— besides my mother—have a problem with that?”

The room stayed silent. No one made a peep as they waited for her outburst to end. With the exception of one woman in the back shooting her two thumbs up, no one cared. She was just the nutcase interrupting their coffee and muffins.

“I’ll take that as a no. Thank you for your participation.”

Cheeks burning, Miri turned back to her mother. The older woman gaped at her. Horror was etched into every faint wrinkle on her face. For once, Miri looked at her and she didn’t feel small, just tired.

“There. See? Not a problem.”

“Miriam, that was disgraceful!”

She sat down and took a drink of her coffee. Disgraceful— that was a new one. Usually her mom hit her with “disappointed” or “heartbroken.” Miri kind of liked “disgraceful.” It had more gravity than her mother’s usual litany of complaints.

“Do you even like me?” Miri took another sip of her iced coffee. “Is there a single thing about me that you are proud of?”

Her mother blinked. “What?”

“I’m serious, Mom. Do you like me as a person?” Miri studied her face as she gaped at her. “Or is my existence just one big disappointment for you?”

All her life, her mother had somehow made her feel like too much and not enough at the same time. Her hair was too frizzy. She wasn’t thin enough. She chewed her fingernails. The list was as endless as the week before summer break. No matter what Miri did, it wasn’t enough. It was never enough.

“You’re being ridiculous?—“

“Pay me a compliment,” Miri cut her off. “Just one. It can be anything.”

She waited, studying her mom’s face with each passing second.

Had she ever seen Elaine Brown smile at her?

Beam at her with pride? Not even when Miri had managed to hack away pieces of herself and walk the razor-thin line her mother insisted on could she ever remember her mom looking at her with pride.

As her mother opened and closed her mouth, Miri realized just how much it didn’t matter.

“You can’t do it, can you?”

“Miri, I don’t know why you’re?—“

“I’m sorry.”

Elaine relaxed, the anxious set of her shoulders settling as she reached across the table to pat Miri’s hand.

“It’s okay. I know you’re a little emotional right now.” Her pale eyes flicked around the cafe, as if checking to make sure no one was watching them after her daughter’s outburst. “Just ground the melodrama while we work through this situation you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Miri laughed. Her mother pulled her hand away with a frown at the joyless sound.

“No, Mom. I mean that I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment to you.

” For once in her life, Miri found that she just didn’t have it in her to care anymore.

“I’m sorry that you can’t find a single kind thing to say to me.

I’m sorry you can’t see past your own insecurities to appreciate the person that I am.

And most of all, I’m sorry that I ever thought that was my fault. ”

Because it wasn’t her fault. It never had been.

Whatever her mother saw in her that was so lacking, it wasn’t Miri’s problem. She had spent her entire life trying to fit herself into the tiny, narrow box her mother allowed, and now she was done. She wasn’t going to make herself smaller or less than just to fit someone else’s ideal.

“I’m happy, Mom. I am completely, and utterly thrilled with how my life is going, so just for once— try to be happy for me. Or don’t. Either way, I don’t care anymore.”

Grabbing her bag and her coffee, she turned her back on the table and walked out of the cafe. She had iced coffee to drink and horny demons to get back to, and she was tired of pretending like that wasn’t exactly what she wanted.