AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You told me you were thinking of dating, not that you were dating.”
Mom assembled another cracker sandwich with cheese spilling out the middle. “Just as I don’t expect to hear all the details about who you are seeing, I don’t expect you to need the details of who I’m seeing.”
After filling the water reservoir, I turned on the coffee maker. “You told me I could at least look into your potential dates.”
“You’ll scare them away.”
I grabbed the nearest mugs and roughly set them on the island countertop. One chipped in the process. “Fuck.”
Faith stood up. “You’re going to hurt yourself or break something else. Take a seat and simmer down.”
A sly smile crossed Mom’s face. “You’ll notice I haven’t asked about that photo I saw of the two of you in Vegas holding hands. And I haven’t asked what’s going to happen between you and Faith after her show in a few days.”
Porcelain hit the floor.
“Fuckity, fuck, fuck.” Faith bent down to clean up the mug she dropped.
“I’ll get the dustpan,” Mom said. “Willow, stay away.”
The dog’s ears drooped, tail low as she backed away from the mess and plopped down at my feet.
“You haven’t talked about what happens next, have you?” Mom asked. Gone was the fierce look of satisfaction. Her face was now full of maternal concern.
How had my mom hit the nail on the head so acutely? Brought up the elephant in the room. The one I’d been working so hard to avoid. Faith, too.
Sometimes I’d catch her getting ready to ask me a question, one clearly on the tip of her tongue before shaking her head as if she’d changed her mind.
I would know. I’d done the same. Hoping to find the right words to make her stay. To make this a haven for both of us. Well, both of us and Willow. My dog was as much in love with Faith as I was.
I staggered under the truth of it all.
Shards clinked together at the bottom of the waste bin. In a few swift movements they’d cleared the mess.
Faith could barely meet my gaze.
Mom yawned, stretching her arms in the air. “Well, I better head out.”
She swept me up in a hug first then did the same with Faith. The woman found the perfect opportunity to sneak out knowing that I wouldn’t interrogate her further. At least not tonight. Not with the questions of the future looming over us.
The coffee maker beeped, drawing me back to the here and now. “Take a seat. I’ll make your drink.”
I took the seat across from her and handed over her steaming mug.
Faith blew on it, sending the steam in my direction.
“Your mom is right,” Faith said. “We haven’t done much talking about what’s next.”
I kept both my hands firmly wrapped around the mug. The warmth was a steadying force. Faith sat there, ethereal as ever. Her silky hair around her paint splattered face. All vestiges of makeup had been removed and yet she’d never looked more beautiful.
How hard would it be to ask her to stay?
In this moment, it felt like the right moment…but then a butterfly was not meant to live in a cage.
I cleared my throat. “We take it one day at a time.”
She flinched. “We’ve been taking it one day at a time. Do you think that we could change that? Talk about what happens after the gallery showing?”
That vice around my heart squeezed a little harder.
