Chapter 152 Unexpected Guest
Case was already on his way to the airport when he got a phone call he desperately wanted to ignore. But he didn’t. “Hello, Mom,” he said, trying not to roll his eyes. “What’s up?”
“Case, dear, where are you?”
“On my way to the airport,” he replied. “Where are you?”
“Oh, how wonderful! Did Shayna tell you?”
Confused, Case asked, “Tell me what?”
“That I decided to come and watch your little race this weekend. I’m at baggage claim. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She hung up and left Case staring at his phone with his mouth wide open.
He’d been sitting at a red light, but it had changed, and in his dumbfounded state, he didn’t realize it until people behind him started honking. He hit the gas but couldn’t decide what to do. Should he go get his mother who had apparently invited herself to the racetrack, or should he continue on his way to get Andrea?
Since his own plane had yet to land, he decided he’d better go get his mom first. He sent Andrea a text saying he’d be there as soon as he could, something came up, and then headed to baggage claim. He wasn’t surprised to see that his mother wasn’t actually ready to leave the airport. She had a suitcase in her hands but was looking for another. Mumbling about how he had no idea how anyone could need so many clothes for one weekend, he made his way over.
“Hi, Mom.” He kissed her cheek and took her bag. “I wish I would’ve known you were coming.”
“Oh, but then it wouldn’t have been a surprise,” she noted. “How are you, dear?”
“I’m good, but I’m in a hurry. I need to go pick Andrea up.”
“Is she coming, too?” Rhonda looked around like she might also be in baggage claim.
“Yes. My plane is about to land.”
“She flew on your plane? How lovely for her. It’s too bad they don’t give airplanes to people who win big acting awards. Maybe she’d have her own.”
Seeing that his mother still held animosity toward Andrea, even though she had accepted that Sarah had done some awful things—like lying about two pregnancies—Case ignored her ugliness. “Do you see your other suitcase?”
“I see one of them. It’s right there.” She pointed in the distance to a black bag that looked much like a thousand others. “I have one more.”
Case found himself muttering again.
Eventually, he managed to get his other and all of her baggage into his car and headed over to the shorter runway to get Andrea. He wished he’d thought to warn her, but he hadn’t had a chance. When she got out of the plane, Andrea wore a huge smile on her face, but when she saw Rhonda, it melted away. “Ms. Meyer,” she said, swallowing hard. “What a surprise.”
“Believe me, dear, I’m just as surprised to see you,” the older woman noted. “I’m surprised Case is still dating you at all.”
Andrea’s eyes widened, and Case gave her an apologetic look. This wasn’t at all what he’d had in mind for this weekend, especially considering how awful Andrea’s week was. What’s more, Rhonda was sitting in the front seat and didn’t even pretend like she thought she might get in the back so the couple could sit together. Reluctantly, Andrea climbed into the back, and Case headed toward the racetrack and the RV park, praying his mother had at least booked a hotel. If not, he’d be getting her one. There was no way in the world she’d be sleeping in the RV with them. None.
All the way to the racetrack, Rhonda chatted about people Case hadn’t seen since New Year’s and didn’t care to see. She also mentioned the awards show a few times. “I felt so bad for Sarah,” she said, placing a hand over her heart. “She worked so very hard in that movie. It was such a shame that the award was stolen away from her.”
“Stolen?” Case repeated. “Mom, Andrea worked just as hard as Sarah did. She didn’t steal the award. She won it fair and square.”
“I wasn’t implying that I thought Andrea cheated,” Rhonda said, raising her voice slightly. “I was just saying, it was a shame Sarah didn’t win, that’s all.”
“Didn’t win the award Andrea won,” he corrected.
“Well, maybe they could’ve both won.” She shrugged and went back to talking about other people. Case caught Andrea’s eyes in the mirror, and she looked away. He could tell she was just about at her limit, and he was proud of her for keeping her mouth shut this long. Really, his mother deserved to be told off, and if she didn’t watch it, he’d be doing that himself. Andrea was an angel for putting up with his mother at all.
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