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“I can see how terrible that would be,” Melissa said. “I am so sorry, Bec.”
“I just feel so lonely and unsupported by them, you know?” I said. “And I am terrified they will get worse. They will just keep getting in the way of my relationship with Tyler, and I will either have this awful relationship between them and my child, or my baby will have to grow up without her grandparents.”
“You can’t let them do that to you,” Melissa said. “If I could, I would go tell them what for myself, but this is your fight. You have to do it. But you can’t let them walk all over you like that and take you for granted. You are an adult. A grown-ass adult, and if they don’t recognize that, then they don’t need to be in your or the baby’s life. Shoot. You know what? Why don’t you just let me tell them that and you stand behind me and nod.”
I laughed through the tears that were forming on the edges of my vision. “Thank you, that would be wonderful,” I said.
“You think I’m kidding, but I will put them in their place. No one treats you that way if I can help it,” she said. “To think they would do that after everything that happened to you. All that crap they said about wanting to help you, wanting to take care of you, and then they treat you like that? I have a whole damn dictionary of four-letter words I can use the next time I talk to Nick, I can tell you that right now.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I might just have you do it. But for right now, I would like to go back to the celebration portion of our lunch.”
“And the pecan pie,” Melissa said, straightening up in her seat and shaking off the anger. “It’s a celebration. We can have it first if we want.”
“Screw it,” I said. “Grab the waiter.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Melissa quipped.
“Melissa!”
As I headed home from lunch, I decided that Melissa was right. I needed to confront them and tell them exactly what she said. Or at least close to it. If I said it just like Melissa did, I wouldn’t have the same brashness or power behind it and would get eaten alive. But her points were all right, and I drove straight to Nick’s house and knocked on the door.
Nick answered, looking less than enthused to see me. Still, without a word, he stepped to the side and let me in. I walked into his living room but didn’t sit down as he made his way to the kitchen. He came back with a teapot and sat it on the table beside me, along with a glass.
“Tea?” he asked gruffly.
“No, thank you. I just had lunch,” I said. “I just needed to get a few things off my chest.”
“Is Tyler outside?” he asked.
“No, I came here to speak to you by myself,” I said, anger rising in my voice. “I am an adult. I can do things on my own. Which is precisely why I am here, actually.”
Nick sighed and rolled his eyes, and never before did I want to hit him across the mouth more than in that moment. He was my brother, and I loved him, but he was annoying sometimes. This was one of those times.
“Fine,” he said. “You’re grown. You clearly make terrific life choices, and no one needs to guide you at all.”
I pursed my lips and tried not to snap at him. I just had to keep reminding myself that behind the sarcasm and the ego was someone who genuinely didn’t want to see me get hurt again. Even if he was going about it like a jackass.
“Look, I might not have chosen the right guy before, but that was a mistake I get to make. My love life is my own. I don’t need permission from you or Mom or Dad on who I date anymore. Tyler and I love each other.”
“Oh, Christ,” Nick said, turning away from me and flopping on the couch. “You’ve barely dated, what, a month? Two?”
“That doesn’t matter,” I said. “We’ve known each other all our lives. And when you love someone, you know. You know. I love him, Nick, and he loves me, too. And we are going to have this baby, and have a little family, and you have a choice. You can either choose to be an adult and be part of my life going forward, and part of my baby’s life. Or don’t. Those are your choices. I am going to tell Mom and Dad the same thing. Your approval is neither needed nor warranted.”
Nick didn’t say anything, choosing instead to shake his head, his eyes wide, staring at me as if he couldn’t believe how I was speaking to him. I stomped off and walked out without waiting for a response anyway. I didn’t need it. For once, I wasn’t going to wait around for anyone else to say something about my opinions. They were my opinions, and they could just deal with them without comment.
