Constantine was outside, talking to people while the boys continued to climb all over him like he was a living tree. He didn’t seem bothered by it at all, handling two rowdy boys like it was a walk in the park.
I spotted Beatrice drinking her wine by the back door, one arm crossed over her chest, watching Constantine entertain her boys.
I was tired of the animosity between us. This woman would be my sister-in-law in a couple of months, and she felt like a complete stranger to me ... even an enemy. Constantine told me to ignore her and that he didn’t care what her opinion was, but seeing him play with his nephews like he was their father told me he cared a lot more than he let on.
So I walked up to her. “Hey, Beatrice.”
She turned to me slightly and acknowledged me with an indifferent stare. “Hey.” Then she looked out at the patio again and drank her wine—and waited for me to walk away.
“You know how silly this is, right?”
She turned back to me like she didn’t know what I would say next ... but waited on the edge of her seat.
“To be prejudiced against me because I’m not Isabella. It’s not fair for you to hate any woman he brought home just because she’s not the woman you wanted him to end up with. It’s his life, not yours. You should support your brother and be happy for him. I know if this were reversed and you didn’t end up with his best friend, Constantine wouldn’t treat your partner like this. He’d take him out for a drink, invite him to hang out with the guys at the beach, completely include him in his life.”
She turned back to the door and released a sigh. “It’s not because of Isabella.”
“Oh ...” So was it because she really just couldn’t stand me? That my presence was that off-putting? “All right, then what did I do that was so egregious, Beatrice? Because I’m generally a lovely person unless someone forces me to be vocal and combative ... like you have.”
“Look.” She pivoted her body in my direction, and it was the first time she actually spoke to me like a real person worth eye contact and full attention. “It’s not you, okay? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“So I did nothing wrong, and I still have to deal with the consequences? Yeah, that sounds fair.”
“I don’t want to do this here—”
“Well, we’re gonna,” I snapped. “Because you’ve had plenty of opportunities every day at work to talk to me and chose not to. Because we’ve had family dinners, and you’ve chosen to act like I don’t exist. I’m marrying your brother and having his child whether you like it or not, and I know my voice is rising and I’m mad as hell right now, but I would love it if we could find a way to get along. I would love more than that—friendship and sisterhood—but I don’t think you’ll ever give me that.”
This was a version of me she’d never met before, and she was clearly blown away by it. Even had to take a step back. I’d been kind and quiet and nonconfrontational up until this point, but my compassion had officially expired. I didn’t understand how his mother could be so warm but his sister ice cold. “I’m tired of watching Constantine be the favorite. I know you’re close with my mother and think she’s the greatest woman ever, but you don’t know her like I do. My whole life, I’ve watched her favor him. And now that you’re pregnant, she acts like she doesn’t already have grandchildren. She doesn’t spend time with them. When I’ve asked her to help me with childcare, she tells me they’re my responsibility and to figure it out. But I know it’s because she resents me for getting divorced. For choosing an asshole she vocally disapproved of. She shuns me and lets me drown just so she can prove her point—told you so.”
That was the last thing I expected Beatrice to say, and her words packed a punch.
“You come in here, and she acts like she doesn’t already have a daughter. I heard you and Con had a fight, so you stayed here for the night. When my husband left me and I needed her, she told me to learn from my mistakes.” Her voice started to rise as it was packed with emotion. “She didn’t open her home to me, a home that Constantine bought that I could never afford to give her. It just hurts that she clearly loves you more than me, simply because you’re marrying Con ... than she does her actual daughter. I’m drowning, juggling work and being asingle mother, and she never offers to help me, and the only time I get to myself is when my brother lets them climb all over him for twenty minutes so I can have a damn glass of wine.” She dropped all of her problems on me in a few breathless sentences, a catharsis she needed for years. “Don’t misunderstand me, I love my boys and wouldn’t change anything, but I feel like my mother punishes me, when I’m the victim of poor judgment. There’s nothing my mother wouldn’t do for Con, but there’s a very limited number of things she’d do for me.”
I remembered when I’d first met Con, he said he was his mother’s favorite. Said it in a joking way, but even he recognized it. Now I felt guilty for snapping at Beatrice during the couple of minutes she had to herself. “Beatrice, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “You’re right, I’ve been a total cunt to you.”
My eyebrows rose at her brutal honesty and emotional intelligence.
“My anger should be reserved for my mother, but the problem is, she doesn’t give a shit. When I give her the silent treatment, I never hear from her. When I try to talk to her about it, her eyes fill with so much annoyance like I’m burdening her. There is no solution to this problem. I just have to accept that my mother resents me far more than she loves me.”
“Have you talked to Con about this?”
“No.”
“Maybe you should.”
“It’s not his problem.”
“I think if he knew this is how you felt, he would make it his problem, Beatrice. You’re his sister and he loves you.”
She looked out the window to the terrace and took another drink of her wine.
“When the baby comes, I’m going to be home all day. You’re more than welcome to drop off the boys a couple days a week. I’m happy to watch them. Constantine will be there too, so it won’t just be me.”
She slowly turned to look back at me.
“And I’m sure Medusa would love to have someone to play with.”
