It’s Wes who stops her this time. “Andrea, she’s not done.”
“I’m in a really good place now, and I won’t jeopardize that by allowing you back into my life. I won’t apologize for putting myself first. In the end, we all have to make choices. You made yours, and now I’ve made mine.”
I hold her gaze because I want her to see that I’m not going to waver in my decision. I will not break down and change my mind. I’m done living a life where she has the power to come in and flip it upside down.
“Joss.” Her voice quivers. “I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t a good mother to you, but please, don’t write me off. I can be better. I knowthat I can. Your father and I both can, please don’t do this. We can do better for you.”
“I appreciate the apology, I really do, but it’s too late at this point to fix the damage. Even overlooking all the terrible situations you put me in over the years and the stealing, it’s the fact that you made a decision to keep me from my father—encouraging me to hate him as much as you did so that I would never want him back.Thatis what I can’t forgive. You stole time I can never get back because you were hurt, and you never once thought about what I needed.”
I look at my dad now and reach a hand out to grab his.
“We can’t get those sixteen years back, Dad.” My eyes fill with tears, and he squeezes my hand, looking just as grief-stricken at that loss as I feel. “But we can try to rebuild now.”
I look back to my mom, her eyes ping-ponging between Dad and me like we’ve each grown an extra head.
“You’re choosing him?” Her voice rises, drawing attention from the surrounding tables. “You’re choosing a man who abandoned you over the mother who stayed? You’re choosing a homewrecker, a man who, no matter what he says to you now, never wanted you? He only wanted to hurt me.”
“Andrea,” my dad says, attempting to stop her tirade.
She continues as if he didn’t speak. “It’s because of the money, right? He offers you a big bank account and, like a money-grubbing whore, you let him back into your life.”
“Andrea!” Dad’s voice rises above hers, but the damage is done. I feel the sting of her insult like she physically slapped me. “That is enough. I will not sit here and allow you to attack Joss this way.She’s made her decision about how she wants to proceed. You are embarrassing yourself.”
He’s vibrating with rage, and beside me, Wes is nearly out of his seat. He said his sister was fiercely loyal, but it must be a family trait based on the way he looks like he wants to pick my mom up and throw her out of this restaurant. Their outrage on my behalf is helping me to stay calm, and I give them each a squeeze to let them know I’m okay. I’m just ready for this to be over.
“Mom,” I say, voice steady. “I’m not forgetting the pain Dad caused me, but much of that could have been avoided. I want the chance to see if there is a relationship to salvage there. But with you, as your outburst only proves… there is no future here. I won’t subject myself to your selfishness any longer.”
She sits in stunned silence. Her mouth hangs open slightly, her eyes wide as she continues to look between me, my dad, and Wes. It’s like she’s waiting for one of us to sayjust kiddingand pretend the last few minutes never happened.
“Brian, surely you can talk some sense into her,” she says with an arrogant indignance. “I am, after all, the one who brought you two back together. You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me.”
It’s my dad’s turn to look like she’s slapped him. “You can’t be serious. I would’ve never needed to track you down if you had enabled contact from the beginning. I’ve taken responsibility for my actions, and I won’t downplay their damage, but Joss’s choices are her own. I won’t attempt to influence her.”
“But you already have!” Her voice rises again. “How does she even know, Brian? Clearly you told her in a ploy to turn her againstme. I wasprotectingher so that she wouldn’t get hurt by you in the same way I did. I figured it was better to do it all in one fell swoop.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” I interrupt. “It should have been mine, and you took it from me. I won’t allow anyone to do that to me again.”
I take her in, knowing this will be the last time I see her. It doesn’t make me as sad as I thought it would. Her reaction was exactly what I expected, and to be honest, it’s only going to make it that much easier to move forward.
“Fine. If that’s your decision, I guess it’s time for me to leave.” She stands, grabbing her purse off the back of her chair. “I don’t need to stay and be attacked further for trying to reconcile with my own daughter. You don’t want me here, I’ll leave.” She pauses only briefly to look at me, like I might change my mind and beg her to stay. I stay planted in my chair, not needing the firm hand Wes has placed on my thigh but appreciating it all the same.
“Goodbye, Mother,” is all I have left to say.
She blanches momentarily before lifting her chin and stalking out of the restaurant. So many eyes follow her before awkwardly looking away.
Once she’s out of sight, I let my head fall to my hands, not out of sadness but out of sheer exhaustion. Wes gently rubs my back, his fingers trailing up and down my spine. I raise my head to look at him, finding a small smile tilting his lips. And with that, I release the last of the breath I was holding.
Picking up my glass of wine, I raise it to the two men at the table.
“To new beginnings.”
They raise their glasses to clink with mine, then I wave to the server to come take our dinner order. I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat, but as I look at the men beside me, the knot in my stomach loosens. They both stood up for me, defended me, and it feels odd to have people who are truly on my side.
“I am so proud of you, Grey. So fucking proud,” Wes says, his breath ghosting my ear. “Watching you hold your own, fight your battle, and come out the other side with your head held high… I don’t think I’ve ever been more in love with you.”
His lips find mine and I close my eyes, letting him anchor me. His hand tightens around my thigh, making goose bumps shiver across my skin.
My dad clears his throat, and Wes’s laugh is right against my lips before he pulls back. “My apologies, Brian, I couldn’t help myself.” His eyes finally leave mine and he sits back in his chair to look at my dad. My cheeks are ablaze with the heat of his words, his kiss, and the knowledge that my dad witnessed all of it.
