Smooth, mostly ...

After a few minutes of dead silence, as you feared, Cat began asking you questions. All kind of questions. About your parents, about school, future life projects and so on ...
Miranda's mom was indeed funny and surprisigly open minded, she was cool with her past and with everything you told her.

It was akward at first, but as the two of you talked, you felt the tension leave you and in the end you even got to know her a little better.
Soon you felt so at ease that you forgot about being still pinching quite the tent down there.
Among the other things, you came to know that the 'old geezer' Miranda told you about was actually 43, that she often suffers of insomnia (hence her willingness to give you a ride) and that currently she's uneployed, still living off the big bucks she made in New York.

At some point you noticed she had put on a dark grey tracksuit and a black winbreaker and soon, without even realizing it, you were staring like a child in front of the window of a candy shop.
You felt you real idiot when she caught you ogling at her chest through the open zipper.
But it wasn't still quite enough to break the spell, you were too fascinated and she didn't seem to have held a grudge at you for that.
Utill you reached your house...

"Sooo, about Miranda ..." She inquires stopping the car where you told her to.

One of the lights in the porch seems to dying out.
Cat turns off the enigine, and leans over staring you right in your eyes.
Her scent seems to have filled the car.
You gulp, noticeably intimidated by her sudden change of attitude and her closeness.

"I'm sorry, i didn't want to scare you or ... embarass you." She adds regretful after a moment of silence and draws back in her seat and biting her lips.

Good God how she much looks like her ...

"It's ok, i mean, it's only fair isn't it?" You say craking a smile.

"Yeah, i suppose it is ... thanks for understanding. She's my little girl after all and this is actually my first time doing this 'parent small talk' thing." She replies smiling back coyly.

"What do you intend to do with her? Is it true that you're not her boyfriend ? Are you two dating? Have you already done it?" She throws at you the questions without pauses, but her tone has held its warmth of before.

"I saw how you were looking at her ..." She adds before you could start negating.

"I suppose it's no use pretending uh? Yeah i like her ... i like her a lot ..."

"It's ok, you can talk, i won't get mad ..." She comments in a motherly tone.

"There's nothing much more to add ..." You continue hesitantly.

You are not very sure that discussing your situation with Miranda with her mom is the right thing to do, but you never met someone so understanding and perceptive as Cat in your whole life.

"So what's the problem then?"

"Who said there is a problem ?" You reply defensively, but Miranda's words soon come to your mind.

She has some kind of freakish sixt sense for lies.

You haven't much choice then, do you?
Either you lie through this, hoping she lets you go home and give up any chance to make a good impression on her, or you tell her what has been bugging you in the past few hours ...
Can you really tell her without putting Miranda in trouble, though?

"I know she can be ... difficult." She sighs intercepting your hesitation.

"I really shouldn't be telling you this but ... don't give up on her, whatever is the reason. She has been raised without a male figure and ... I-It's all my fault, i sheltered her too much when she was a child. She was all my world, i couldn't help but spoil her..." She whines grabbing your wrist.

Tanken by surprise you stare her silently.

" Don't give up on her John, you are the only sane person she has frequented in years. I lied you, i lied her .. I saw quite a few of her boyfriends. Leaving mostly ... They were ... God, i've never found the courage to confront her on this ..."

"I-I remember one night, still back in New York ... this scrawny odd fellow leaving while i was getting back home from a ... buisness dinner. I was closing the car and he drops a gun out of his pocket, right on my doormat ... I-I grabbed it thinking it was some kind of toy. It was ... heavy, it was real ... a-and so the guy returns back and takes it from my hands and says
Thanks bitch
Hey, who do you are calling bitch? i tell him
Oh you're Miranda's mom? Cool you two look like just of the same model, but on hers they seem to have forgotten the handles, she could definetly use some more meat here an there
Can you believe it?" She snorts barely contaning the rage.

Dumbfounded, you can only think that Cat seems to be in great shape right now.
What was that idiot thinking?

"You're Miranda's boyfriend? What's your name? What's that for? I asked him mustering all my courage.
You can call me big D, M'am. Well, lil' girl asked fo' some protection t'night, not sure what she had in mind, but you can never be sure, right? and he waved the gun in fron of my face ...
I don't even want to think why he was called big D ... I watched him leave without being able to bring myself to ask him anything else after that." She concludes sobbing quietly.

Although shocked by this tiny glimps of Miranda's past life, you more feel compelled to console Cat right now.

"I think i'm in love with her, M'am ..." You say taking one of her hands between yours.

"But?" She asks wiping off the tears with her finger.