Free Unbreakable by Blayne Cooper

no unsightly piercings. I asked about that. Anyway, she's single and–"
    Nina's jaw dropped and her hand shot up to forestall her mother's rambling. "Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" she demanded. "Now you're trying to set me up with a woman ? Sweet Jesus, I'm in the Twilight Zone!" But an incredulous smile was tugging at her coral lips.
    Agnes crossed her arms over her ample chest. "Don't act so shocked. It might have taken me 15 years to work up to this, but now that I'm here, you're in big trouble, young lady. We should have had this talk years ago, but your visits were so short and every time I broached the subject… Well, things never seemed to go very well."
    Nina gave her a pointed look that said "not my fault." And Agnes nodded, accepting the gentle rebuke graciously. Then her hazel eyes twinkled. "The phone just never seemed like a good place for me to hatch my devious plan."
    "Oh my God." Nina blinked slowly as the full force of what her mother was saying hit home. "You're going to check out every woman with jeans and a short haircut in the supermarket and ask them if they're gainfully employed and single, aren't you?"
    Agnes leaned forward interestedly. "Is short hair and jeans a secret code for being gay? I've always wondered how you all knew."
    Nina continued to stare at her mother as though she'd grown a second head.
    Agnes's brow creased. "But you don't have particularly short–" Her gaze suddenly darted downward and her eyes shaped twin moons. One hand moved to her own head while the other went to the neatly pressed denim covering her thigh. "Oh, my. No wonder the checkout girl with the skull tattoo from Lane 3 is always so nice to me!"
    Nina's head swung towards the back of the room and waited for the Candid Camera crew to come bursting through her pantry door. "You can come out now," she demanded, her eyes narrowing. "I know you're in there."
    Agnes looked towards the back of the room, too. But, of course, there was no one there. Then she focused on Nina's glass. While Nina's attention was on the pantry door, she covertly lifted her daughter's glass and delicately sniffed it. "What are you drinking, dear?" She sniffed again, her nose wrinkling. "Alcohol, by any chance?"
    Nina turned back and scrubbed her face. "No, but that's not a bad idea," she murmured into her hands, her mind still reeling.
    "Are you all right?" Agnes stood and took her daughter's hand, squeezing it gently.
    Nina sucked in a breath and took stock of herself. "I am." She squeezed back, feeling the unparalleled reassurance of her mother's love that came in the form of a small but strong hand wrapped around hers. "I'm just confused. I… I don't understand why you haven't acknowledged the fact that I was a lesbian for 15 years and now all of a sudden you're playing matchmaker. How am I supposed to react to something like that?" Every ounce of confusion Nina felt showed on her face and in her voice and her mother's heart clenched in response. "I feel like my head is going to explode!"
    Agnes sighed, her eyes conveying true regret. "I needed some time and space to understand you, too. I guess I was a slow learner."
    Nina made a face at her mother as her own words were lightly tossed back at her. "God, I hate it when you do that."
    Agnes allowed a small smile to appear. They were going to be all right. "It's a gift." She leaned over and pressed her lips into her daughter's soft hair, kissing the dark blonde head several times before resting her cheek there. "I can see life hasn't given you everything you want from it, Nina. Granted, I don't understand the way you feel you have to live. But whatever it is that you so desperately want… I want that for you, too."
    A lump grew in Nina's throat and as she blinked, the room began to blur.
    "Time for me to go home. You know how I hate driving past dark. We'll talk more when you get over the shock of my being reasonable." Another kiss. "Give Robbie a hug for me."
    Nina stood and