Free Love and War 2 by Jackie Chanel

three French men following you home.”
    “I have a boyfriend,” Caprice reminded her mother.
    “Yeah, I’ve heard,” Mahogany said. “So where is this guy I’m supposed to be meeting?”
    “They’re meeting us at Dock’s Oyster House.”
    Mahogany groaned. “The Boardwalk, Caprice? In the middle of tourist season? And who are they?”
    “They are Diesel, his mother, his little sister, and his brother,” Caprice answered. “And they’ve never been to Atlantic City, so yes, we’re eating on The Boardwalk in the middle of tourist season. It’ll be fun.”
    “What time?”
    “I’m ready,” Caprice stated. “We can head over to the restaurant now and have a drink or two while we wait. Or we can go shopping!”
    “Let me freshen my makeup. I’ll meet you downstairs at the car.”
    Caprice watched her mother walk down the hall to the guest bedroom and was happy that her appearance passed Mahogany’s scrutiny. They would have been super late if her mom had made her change.
    ****
    When Diesel and his family walked into Dock’s Oyster House, Caprice and her mother were on their second blood orange martinis and Mahogany was talking about her latest trip to Paris. The smile on Caprice’s face stretched all the way to her ears. Her eyes were sparkling. She hopped up from the table and stood in front of Diesel. She was extremely excited to for everyone to meet. Unlike Diesel, she wasn’t nervous about him meeting her mother. She wasn’t nervous about meeting his mother either.
    “Mom, this is Diesel.”
    Caprice introduced her man proudly, like she was introducing the President of the United States. She wrapped her arm around Diesel’s waist and waited for Mahogany’s reaction. Mahogany was a woman of poise and etiquette. She stood up and to shake Diesel’s hand.
    Diesel reached out his hand to shake Mahogany’s. He had to admit, he was kind of star struck. He and his friends used to collect Mahogany’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covers just like Tyra Banks. He wouldn’t have been more excited about meeting Naomi Campbell or Iman, and there she was standing in front of him.
    “Pleased to meet you, Diesel. My daughter hasn’t told me a lot about you, but I can see you’re taking very good care of her.”
    Diesel grinned and squeezed Caprice’s hand. “I’m trying.”
    Mahogany’s heart warmed when Diesel kissed the top of her daughter’s head. She recognized the love they had for each other as soon as Diesel walked into the restaurant. There was only one man in her lifetime who made Mahogany’s eyes sparkle like her daughter’s, and that was Caprice’s father.
    Diesel turned his attention to family standing behind him and introduced Mahogany and Caprice.
    Gloria Harris was much shorter than Mahogany and Caprice, but she made up for her lack of height with a wicked tongue and strength for days. She was a very pretty woman, but Caprice instinctively knew that Gloria didn’t take anyone’s shit. She just had that look about her.
    Caprice thought she and Gloria would get along perfectly.
    Before they’d even finished appetizers, Caprice found out that getting along with Diesel’s girlfriend was not on Gloria’s agenda. She fired questions at Caprice to the point that the family dinner had started to feel like an interrogation.
    Caprice reached her breaking point when Gloria demanded to know why she wasn’t going to school for her MBA.
    “Are you crazy or stupid?” were Gloria’s exact words.
    Caprice casually let the napkin she was holding fall to the table. For a minute, she couldn’t believe that she’d just been asked that question.
    “Umm, excuse me?” she said, looking directly at Gloria. “I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you just call me stupid?”
    “Or crazy,” Gloria replied. “Which one is it?”
    Diesel squeezed Caprice’s knee under the table. She ignored it.
    “Neither.”
    “In this economy-”
    “I’m getting by just fine with my dual degree in