“She said that you and Dad are proof that fast love doesn’t last.”
Lily sighed and picked up the cookie, taking a bite. Then she said, “I can see why she’d say that. But that’s not the whole truth.”
Then her mom shared a tale of two young kids who were completely wrong for each other but got tangled up in the hot and heavy of new love. “It was all dinners out and dancing at clubs, and headboard rattling good sex.”
“Ugh, Mom. Geez. I didn’t ask.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Not about sex with you and Dad. I’m going to need therapy.”
Lily grinned and patted Cass’s hand. “Fine. Honey, fast wasn’t the problem. My grandparents met and married within six months and had a fifty-year marriage before they passed away. The problem was that your dad and I were not remotely compatible. He wanted a stay-at-home wife; I was just starting my career. He liked the idea of me more than the real me. And I liked the way he made me feel more than I liked who he actually was.” She finished the cookie and brushed off her fingers. “I was going to break up with him. And then I got pregnant with Lauren.”
Cass stared at her mom. “I thought you got married first.”
“That came after the positive pregnancy test. I thought it would be better if Lauren had a two-parent home. But Jim knew that I’d been on the verge of ending it when it happened, and he never really forgave me for that. Then you came along, and I felt more trapped. I stayed too long, and we were both so miserable at the end. I didn’t mean to sour you and Lauren on love, and I’m sorry.”
“So, it wasn’t because you fell too fast?”
“Nope. Love was not the problem with your dad, or how fast we fell. We just really weren’t meant to be together. Fast is only a problem when it’s not the right guy.”
“How do you know it’s the right guy?”
“You feel it in your heart.”
Cass made a face. “Super helpful, Mom.”
She smiled. “Look, heat is easy, okay? But heat doesn’t make a relationship. Your dad and I didn’t even like the same things. When we weren’tyou know, we had nothing to talk about. So the love was born of physical stuff, shallow and hollow, and honey, that’s not going to last fifty years.”
Cass immediately thought of Trick. How she’d discovered little things they had in common, like music, and movies, and how sweet he was, with a dry sense of humor she really liked.
Did she believe in love at first sight?
She wasn’t sure.
But she knew she was falling for him. They might have skipped a few things like going on a date and getting to know each other, but maybe that didn’t mean it was going to fizzle out.
She told her mom about Trick, and without going into too much detail, how she felt like she’d rushed things and then gotten in her own head.
“I just don’t want to mistake heat for forever, you know?”
“Well, that’s fine, honey, but don’t make my mistake in reverse. Don’t walk away from the right guy because you’re afraid of what staying might mean. If you can picture your life without him in it, then I’d wager he’s not the guy for you.”
She pictured it, her life without him.
And she hated it with a deep, resonating passion.
“Then you have your answer.”
Cass hugged her. “Thanks, Mom.”
“When you get things settled with him, I want to meet him.”
“You got it.”
After staying for a while, she said goodbye and headed home.
The only thing she was thinking about was Trick.
