MY PRETEND WIFE

Mother-Daughter Conspiracy

Maine still had her misgivings in spite of Madame Faulkerson's bold declaration that her son loved her. Could that possibly be true? She did not want to hope because she might be just setting herself up for disappointment but she still could not stop herself from doing so.

As she was about to leave her classroom her phone rang. She quickly searched her purse for her phone and checked the caller id before answering. The caller id registered her mother in law's name and Maine couldn't help but feel curious why she was calling her.

"Mom?" Maine answered.

"Maine, how are you? Are you done with your class?" Madame her voice was heard on the other line.

"Yes" Maine replied. "I was just about to leave the classroom. Do you need anything?"

"I was wondering if you could meet me at the café downtown. I wanted to talk to you about something." Madame Faulkerson asked.

Maine felt uneasy. What could her mother in law want to talk to her about? She could not say no to the older woman who she has learned to consider as her second mother.

"Alright mom, I'll be on my way" Maine finally agreed.

"Good" the older woman said in a satisfied tone. "I'll see you in a while sweetheart"

Maine arrived at the café after twenty minutes and her mother in law followed five minutes later. Maine stood up from her seat to give her mother in law a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so happy you could make it" Madame Faulkerson said as they took their seats.

"What is it that you want to talk about mom?" Maine asked curiously.

"Remember what we talked about last Saturday?" Her mother in law began while Maine nodded in agreement. "Well, I've decided that I can't stand and wait any longer for your husband to come to his senses" she declared.

Maine's jaw dropped in surprise.

"It's taking too long and knowing my son's capacity to understand the affairs of the heart we might have to wait for years. He might need some outside help to hasten the process so I've decided to rattle his chains a little bit." Madame Faulkerson said with a mischievous smile on her face.

Mai elooked nervously at her mother in law. What does she have up her sleeve?

"I've come up with a plan but for my plan to work I'm going to need your help" she said.

Madame Faulkerson is so determined to make Richard realize that he loves me but what if she's wrong in the first place? What if RJ does not love me at all?

Madame Faulkerson spoke as if she read her mind "I know you still have your doubts. But trust me on this. I know my son"

Maine was silent for a moment. Finally she said "Okay, what do you want me to do?"

Maine was restless while she was on her way home from her meeting with RJ's mother. She has already called RJ  upon his mom's request and told him that she wanted to talk about something. The worry in RJ's voice was so apparent when he asked her what it was about but his mom instructed her not to say the reason yet. Before they parted ways her mother in law repeated her instructions over and over again.

"Remember, say it exactly the same way I asked you to say it." She reminded Maine before getting into her car.

Maine went straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner as soon as she got home. Richard will be home in an hour. Maine's heart was beating like crazy as she tried to concentrate on her cooking. Will she actually be able to pull this off?

Richard was anxious as he drove home from work. Maine called him earlier and told him that she wanted to talk about something. The tone of her voice was so somber that he could not help but worry. He asked her what it was about but she refused to tell him. That heightened his anxiety even more. Since her call he was not able to concentrate on his work at all. His thoughts kept drifting back to his wife's phone call and in the end he gave up and just decided to go home.

As he entered their house he spotted Maine at the dining table fixing their dinner. Maine looked up as soon as he entered. "Oh, hi honey. Come sit down, dinner is ready" she said with a small smile.

Richard had a strong urge to take her into his arms and ask her what she wanted to talk about. He has been going out of his mind thinking about it. But by the looks of it, he needs to wait til after dinner to find out.

Dinner was silent all through out. Maine was too busy thinking about the next step in their plan while Richard was busy worrying about his imminent talk with Maine. Finally when all the dishes were cleared Richard could not stand it any longer.

"Hon, what is it you wanted to talk about?" He asked nervously.

Maine looked at him and his heart beat quickened. "I'm leaving"