TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Twenty minutes later, Max was back with his own unit. He was thankful that the streets were not too crowded that morning. Without wasting any time, Max decided to get ready right away.

It did not take long for Max to get dressed for work. He was ready to leave, but decided to heat up the leftover pizza from last night. Max thought that five minutes would be enough to fill his stomach for the morning. However, a call that came in on his cell phone made Max change his plan.

“Mom.”

“Max, how are you?”

Hearing Riley ask about his well-being somehow sent a chill down Max’s spine. Unconsciously, Max rubbed his neck.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Max replied. “Why? It’s unusual for you to ask about my well-being.”

Riley let out a short sigh on the other end. “Is it weird to ask about your own child’s well-being? Or is that not allowed?”

Max let out a long sigh as he left his room. On his way to the kitchen, he decided to reheat the pizza.

“Mom, come on. If there’s something, just get to the point. Don’t make me anxious by thinking of all sorts of possibilities.”

Max took the pizza out of the refrigerator and warmed it up. Then he started to boil water to make a cup of coffee. Meanwhile, Riley sounded like she was taking a deep breath.

“Let me ask you this. When are you planning to marry Vonda?”

Max’s eyes immediately narrowed at the question. He tried to remain calm with a hint of sarcasm. Why should he be surprised by this question?

“Um… Mom, be patient, okay?”

Confused as to how to respond, Max finally chose the safe route. Frankly, that morning, Max was really not prepared to face Riley’s stockpile of questions when it came to Vonda.

“Well, Max,” Riley said with a slightly annoyed tone at Max’s answer. “Why? What are you waiting for?”

Max furrowed his brow. Suddenly he felt like he was getting a migraine.

Vonda and I only pretended to save me from an arranged marriage with Via. But why did it turn out this way?

Max moved when he heard the microwave beep. His pizza was ready, coinciding with the sound of the kettle.

“Mom, we can’t rush into marriage, can we?” Max replied. “We have to take it slow, Mom.”

“Um… take things slow,” Riley repeated. “Let me ask. How’s your relationship with Vonda? Is your relationship stable?”

At least this question should be answered by Max. It should be. But the opposite happened.

“Our relationship is solid, Mom. Don’t worry about it. Besides, we had a private rendezvous last night.”

As the sentence slipped from his lips, Max’s eyes widened in horror. Now he was no longer focused on the kettle in front of him.

“Ouch!”

Max cried out in pain as his fingers accidentally touched the body of the cauldron instead of the handle. He immediately felt the heat.

“Wait. A private rendezvous? What do you mean, Max?”

Max waved his stinging hand as he bit his lower lip. He cursed in his mind.

Oh, my goodness. What did I just say?

“Max, what do you mean by ‘a private rendezvous’ you had last night?”

Max cleared his throat.

I’m doomed.

Max let out a short sigh. He tried to think on his feet to find the right reasons and answers.

“Mom, it’s not what you think.”

“Oh, really?”

This time there was a hint of doubt and an implied threat in Riley’s voice. Max could sense it.

“You mean you know what I’m thinking?”

Max closed his eyes dramatically. Riley’s question really trapped him.

Oh no! Oh no! I’m finished!

Max took a deep breath. He decided to step away from the kettle that was still on the stove. At least he made sure the flame was out.

“Well, Mom, what I meant was…”

Max tried his luck at deceiving Riley this time.

“… a few days ago, we had a fight. So, we haven’t been communicating, Mom.” He took a quick breath. “Well, we just communicated again last night. Reconnected. A private rendezvous.”

Phew! Thank you for this brain, God.

“Oh.”

Riley’s relieved tone on the other end made Max exhale several times in relief.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“So… you’re not fighting anymore?”

Choosing to sit on the kitchen island as his body suddenly felt weak, Max replied.

“No, Mom, we’re not. We’ve made up.”

“Oh… that’s good, Max. That’s why I said if you’re in love like this, you’d better just get married. You’re qualified to be a husband.”

Max grimaced. It seemed that his hand was really burning from the kettle incident.

“Qualifications? Does Mom think this is the qualifying round for the World Cup?”

Riley burst out laughing. “What I mean is that you have a job. Your income is more than enough to support Vonda and your future children.”

Wait a second. Max needed to breathe. He quickly loosened the tie around his neck.

“Besides, there are so many young people out there who don’t realize they’re not mentally or financially ready, but they still go ahead and get married. You who are ready, why aren’t you brave enough?”

“Mom, come on. Whether we’re ready or not, we know ourselves. And we’ll be the ones to live it, you know.”

“Oops! Yeah, you’re right,” Riley said quickly. “Sorry if I went too far. Maybe we can get together, Max. We can meet soon. So, we can talk a little. Maybe your mind will open up.”

Max shivered. “Talking to you won’t open my mind, Mom. In fact, it’s the opposite. My mind will probably become even more clogged.”

“You’re something else, really. All right then. Let’s continue this conversation later.”

Finally… a few seconds later, the call ended. Max let out a breath of relief that felt truly extraordinary. Putting the phone back in his pocket, Max looked at the pizza and the cooled hot water.

I’ll be late for the office if I insist on having breakfast now.

Max stepped out of the kitchen after putting the pizza back in the fridge. As he wiped his face, he thought.

Maybe if I had accepted Vonda’s offer to eat last night, I wouldn’t be so hungry this morning. Damn it! Oh, my goodness. Now I’m thinking about Vonda.

*