Free Restoration of Love by R. L. Kane Page A

looked warm and inviting. Carlos’s mother came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron. Nikki was not expecting her to look so young. She could have passed for one of Carlos’s sisters. In fact, she didn’t look much older than Nikki. She was a very attractive woman looking very stylish in her denim jumpsuit and high heels. So, this is where Carlos gets his good looks, she thought.
         “Mom, this is Nikki. Nikki, this is my mother, Sylvia.” Although she smiled and hugged Nikki when Carlos introduced them, Nikki was almost certain that she saw her roll her eyes when she thought Nikki wasn’t looking.
         Carlos’s father entered the room and extended his hand to Nikki warmly. “Welcome to our house. Carlos speaks of you often.” His thick accent and friendly smile put Nikki at ease.
         For the most part, dinner went well. Carlos’s brothers and sister were there with their children and she thought how they were just a typical family, not so different from her own. They laughed and teased one another and you could see that there was true affection between all of them. Nikki was glad that she came, but she was unprepared for what was to come later.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
     
         Nikki helped Carlos’s mother clear the table after dinner. His sister was herding the children outside to play and the men had gone into the living room. Carlos’s mother took the plates from Nikki and thanked her, but said that she didn’t need help. She suggested that Nikki go sit on the patio and she would be out shortly so they could talk and get to know each other better. Nikki thought she detected a coldness in Sylvia Ruiz’s voice, but she dismissed it and headed outside. She sat on the swing and watched the children play kick ball.
         About ten minutes passed and Carlos’s mother came outside to join Nikki.
         “That was a lovely dinner, Mrs. Ruiz.”
         “Please call me Sylvia,” the woman said, “ Since we are obviously so close in age.”
         Nikki bristled, preparing herself for what was coming.
         “Nikki, I am not one to beat around the bush, as my son has probably told you. I think you Americans say ‘I call it as I see it’. Carlos tells me you have a son in college.”
         “Yes.”
         “Then you know how protective we women can be of our male children. I am sure that you are the same way about your son.”
         “Yes, I am.” Nikki decided that she better speak up for herself before this little talk went any further. If this woman was going to size her up as some older woman trying to steal her baby, she needed to set her straight before she took the conversation there. “Mrs. Ruiz, when my son went off to college you have no idea how frightened I was for him and for myself. I don’t think I have ever had to pray for guidance as hard as I did then. I prayed for help to get me through it and my prayers were answered. I raised my son right with very little help from his father. I was a responsible single parent. I provided him with the necessary tools spiritually and morally with the hope that he would make good decisions in his life. I respect those decisions. When he decided to go to school so far away, I was devastated, but as it says in the bible, God does turn situations around and He did. As it turned out, it was time to let him go, and in letting him go I found myself.”
         “Did you, Nikki, or did you just replace him with my son?” Sylvia said, challenging her with a steadfast gaze, waiting for her reply.
         Nikki thought carefully about the next words that came out of her mouth. “Mrs. Ruiz, you are way out of line saying that. If you knew your son half as well as you think you do then you would know that Carlos Ruiz is nobody’s child, not yours and certainly not mine. He is a grown man.
         “I know that, Nikki, and when he first told me that he was seeing someone who was older and who