Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin

you’re not even going to keep that car. Am I right?”
    “You’re right,” Amanda said softly. She was amazed—her mother was actually honoring her for a choice she had made. That was something different. On the other hand, maybe she had grown up a little bit out in California, away from the stifling confines of Hillside Park. Maybe her choices were a little more honorable than they might have been in the past, when she had done exactly as she pleased, with whom she pleased, when she pleased—which is why her relationship with her mother had never been that great to begin with.
    “I just think what you did tonight . . .” Elizabeth said, leaning slightly toward Amanda, just enough that Amanda could smell the alcohol on her mother’s breath. “I thought it was really cool. You’re tough as a boot, kiddo. And you quitting Bill because of the way he was sleeping around on you? I wish I’d have had the courage to do what you’ve done when I was your age. I don’t know what we would have done as a family, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered, because your father was away so much anyway. But at least I wouldn’t have been putting up with all that dishonesty and deceit, playing that charade of the perfect Hillside Park family, knowing that that fool husband of mine was doing some stewardess in Barcelona or Houston or wherever the hell he was.”
    “Mom,” Amanda said gently, a bit embarrassed for her mother by now, “don’t you think maybe you ought to get to bed?”
    Her mother thought for a moment.
    “I’ll tell you what I think,” she began, and Amanda braced herself—her mother had been telling her what she was thinking for the last ten minutes, and it was more honesty than the two of them had shared in the last twenty years. It was almost more than Amanda could bear.
    “I believe he was sitting in his own car, the whole time, waiting to see if you would show up. Because anybody who’s got the kind of money—no, that’s not true. Tons of men who have that same kind of money wouldn’t think twice about plopping themselves down at the bar at Al’s, waiting to see what the selection of ladies will be on the menu this evening. So that’s not what he did. He was too cool for that.
    “Anybody who drops off a hundred-thousand-dollar car—I don’t even know how much it costs. Two hundred thousand? Three hundred thousand? I’m old-school. It’s hard to imagine anybody paying that much money for a car. But still. It was an incredible gesture on his part to give you the car, and it was even more impressive that he didn’t sit in plain view in the restaurant, flirting with all the other women in the bar until you came in, like many men in this town would have done.”
    “Mom,” Amanda said, shocked to hear such talk from her mother. But then, her mother had always been a pretty straight-shooting woman, and she probably talked this way with her friends. The only difference was that now she was sharing her innermost feelings with her daughter.
    “I’m okay,” Elizabeth said, waving a hand. “I know, you’re shocked to hear Mommy talking like this. But we’re all adults. You can take it. I’ve been angry at you these last couple of days, but the reality is that I’ve been really angry at me. For living that lie. I don’t know where you got the gumption to stand up for yourself, but I admire you for it. And I wish I’d had it, too.”
    “You were hardly the only one, Mom. Dad was definitely the rule back then, not the exception. A guy really had it all—a beautiful wife, wonderful family, awesome career with great financial success, multiple homes, expensive cars, and, oh yeah, a rockin’ mistress on the side that everyone knew was his, to discourage any possible legitimate suitors. So many of them did it in Dad’s time, and some still do; they just aren’t as arrogant about it.”
    They were silent for a moment. “You’re really gonna return that car?” Elizabeth asked