Nancy's Plan

"It was Uncle Joey," Nancy said as she put down her cell phone, "He said he needs me to come over for a couple minutes. Sounds like an emergency."

Vanessa Beardy sat across the table from her daughter's boyfriend, taking in the nervous look on his face. Even when he felt uncomfortable, he was still immensely attractive. From his slight frame, his short height, to the way he did his makeup, there was no denying it; Nancy had found herself a real man.

Not that Vanessa was entirely comfortable with the proposal that Nancy had brought to her, the idea of sharing her boyfriend. She'd done the mental gymnastics on it since her daughter had pitched it to her. Yes, she herself had realized that in an ideal world Nancy would end up in a relationship with someone who could be jealous for her, someone could share her partner while still watching Nancy's back. But could that someone be her? Should that someone be her?

The idea of ending up with a man like Tim certainly did pique Vanessa's interest. He was quite the handsome man, confident, attractive, but wouldn't people talk? Wouldn't the idea of a mother and a daughter sharing a man be bit too close to taboo to be considered acceptable?

Of course, Vanessa was getting ahead of herself, as she usually did. Their little scheme hadn't even played itself out yet, and she hadn't had a chance to see if Tim would even be interested in an older woman like herself. Not that she wasn't putting in the effort. The short black dress she wore to the dinner was a bit formal, but Nancy had assured her that it made her look beautiful. How long had it been since she had felt beautiful? Too long. She had been so focused on raising her daughter and building her business that Vanessa had allotted no time for beauty.

Just as she had feared, though, Tim had shown her up. As he stood at the door in a tight, strapless, red gown with a slit all the way up his left leg, it was all Vanessa could do to not stare at him with her mouth agape. The dress itself looked like it should have belonged to a celebrity on the red carpet, but it was a perfect fit for Tim's body. Where did he get such amazing outfits?

"Should I come with you?" Tim asked, pulling Vanessa back to the action.

"No," Nancy said, "I shouldn't be too long. My uncle lives just around the corner, and he was very clear that he only wanted me over."

"Take the SUV," Vanessa said, remembering their plan, also remembering that the car had been wrecked, "The keys are by the door."

"Thanks mom," Nancy said with a smile, standing up from the table. She crossed to give Tim a light kiss on the lips, then left the room, calling over her shoulder, "It's a blessing in disguise! Now you can get to know each other!"

And then she was along with him.

"So, Tim," she began, "Nancy tells me that you share a class at school."

"A gender studies class," Tim confirmed, spearing a green bean on his plate, "It's where we met."

"Young love," Vanessa said with a warm smile, getting lost in his eyes momentarily, then pulling herself back, "I'm glad that she met someone like you. So many of the boys your age are so immature, but you seem to have a head on your shoulders."

"Thank-you, ma'am."

"Oh, we're not going to do that," Vanessa laughed, "You can call me Vanessa."

"Venessa," Tim said, tasting the word like he had tasted the steak she had made.

"Much better,” Vanessa said, “If we start to go down the ma’am road, you’ll be thinking of me as an old lady,” she raised her right hand and teased her cleavage subtly, “and that’s the last thing I want you to see me as.”

Tim coughed, **** on the drink he held up to his lips. He put his glass down and wiped his mouth on his serviette, then bent to retrieve his clutch, where he pulled out his lipstick and a mirror to give himself a touch-up.

“For a long time it’s been only Nancy and myself here,” Vanessa continued, “a mother and get little girl. And now suddenly we have a man in the house, and it seems that my daughter has gone and grown up.”

“Your daughter is amazing,” Tim said, snapping his clutch closed and placing it on the table, “I’m lucky to have her.”

You don’t know the half of it, she thought, but didn’t say. Instead, she said, “I agree, but you must have noticed that she is unique. Smart, beautiful, a bright future ahead of her, but she is missing one thing. She doesn’t know how to be jealous.”

A look crossed Tim’s face, the same nervous look from earlier. Was she coming on too strongly? Her world for too long had been business. She was feeling quite clumsy in this other world, this world of romance. She should just put her cards on the table.

“And I love my daughter, and don’t want to see her hurt. Boys she’s dated in the past didn’t treat her right, and left her broken hearted. I don’t want to see that happen again.”

“Listen, Vanessa,” Tim started, “Nancy told me to go ahead and…”

“What I’m trying to get at, Tim,” Vanessa cut him off, “is that for the first time, Nancy didn’t bring home a boy. She brought home a man. And we’ve needed, I’ve needed a man here for a long time. She and I have spoken,” she paused to take a breath, then stood up and walked around the table to stand behind him, placing her hands on his hairy chest, her breasts pressing against the back of his head, “and I think I’d like to get to know you better. And I’d like you to get to know me better as well.”

“Wait,” Tim said in a confused tone, “what? You want me to…”

“I want you to consider taking the Beardy women as a package deal.”