She turned and set her stuff on the kitchen counter, then took her cell out of her purse.
Sorry, can’t come tonight.
One of the girls pinged her, but she ignored it. She needed advice from an unlikely source. She needed a different perspective. She dialed her mother’s number.
“Hello, Olivia.”
She closed her eyes, her mother’s monotone washing over her like a calming wave. “Hello, Mom.”
“I’m puzzled to hear from you. This isn’t our scheduled time.”
“I know.” Olivia sat down on the love seat. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Regarding what topic?”
“My relationship with Kingston.”
Taking a deep breath, she explained everything to her mother, including the moments after the movie and coffee shop and at Anita’s wedding. She told her about the matchmaking Kingston’s mother had plotted and that she was sure Aunt Bea was in on it. Then she told her what she’d been afraid to admit to herself. “I have feelings for him. Deep feelings. I’m afraid they’ll never go away.”
“I see.”
Olivia could imagine her mother sitting in her favorite chair in a sparsely decorated living room, listening intently. For years people had said she was the spitting image of her mother, down to her olive skin tone and black hair, although Mom wore hers in a practical pixie cut.
“If I understand you correctly, you’re dissatisfied with your life.”
“I didn’t say that exactly—”
“That’s exactly what you said. You were finding your extremely confining life stifling until you found excitementwith Dr. Bedford. When he neglected to fulfill his promises, you were hurt and retreated to your carefully structured existence. Then when you were given another chance with him to be a couple—”
“A pretend couple,” she corrected.
“Are you saying you didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to be closer to Kingston?”
“I...” She couldn’t deny it, although she sure did rationalize it.Why did I want to call my mother again?“No. I’m not saying that.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Olivia. Your actions, while illogical on the surface, are completely reasonable considering how much you care for Dr.Bedford.”
That made her feel a little bit better. “But how do I stop those feelings?”
“A better question is, why do you want to?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Because they’re fruitless. He couldn’t guarantee I would be his priority after he went back to work.”
“Does life give us any guarantees?”
Her mother’s habit of giving answers in the form of questions was becoming tiresome. “Mom, I don’t know what to do.”
“Perhaps you should give him another chance.”
She shook her head, even though her mother couldn’t see it. “I already did. Twice.”
“Are the circumstances the same now?”
No. They weren’t.
“I’d also posit that you haven’t been fair to Dr.Bedford.”
“What? He’s the one who ghosted me, remember?”
