Dark Moon Rising

“For heaven sake darling! Pick up your chair before you pull it out!”

“Sorry, Mother,” she apologised and sat down.

“Let me assist you with the chair miss,” Jeff offered and shuffled over to push her chair in.

“Thank you,” she whispered over her shoulder.

Her eyes turned to the formally set Elizabethan oak table, with cream padded chairs. A customary continental breakfast lined the sideboard. Without thinking, her elbows rested on the table.

“Alexandra elbows!”

Plucking her arms to her sides, she hit it hard against the back of the chair. Motherload! Inhaling sharply, she bit her lip. Held it firmly to ease the pain.

“Alexandra,” her mother began, “I was wondering if you have given my offer some serious thought.”

OH NO! Not this! Her insides screamed. Sticking a fake smile on her face, she asked innocently, “To which offer, are you referring mother?”

Maria sighed. “Oh darling, you are such a scatter brain.” Switching off her planner, her manicured slender hands clasped together as she looked intently at her daughter. “My offer still stands for a partnership in La Femme.”

Her smile froze. “Well...,” she swallowed, “to be honest mother, I am not the girly kind of woman.”

“Nonsense! You are turning 30 this year, it is high time you worked in a sensible environment.”