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The next three weeks seemed to crawl by, and Damian was more than ready for the trip when the day came. As he packed, the phone rang and he activated the speaker on the cordless phone.
“Do you have me on that speaker, Damian?” his mother asked when he answered.
He sighed. “Yes, Mom. I have to pack, and it’s easier than me trying to hold the phone.”
“I hate that thing,” she muttered.
He stifled a groan. He loved his mother, but he didn’t have time for this today. He needed to be at the airport in two hours. “I know, Mom. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. You’ve been back from that cruise over three weeks. I thought you would’ve called me by now to tell me about it. Well?”
“Well, what?” he asked as he stuffed socks and underwear in the suitcase.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” she asked with an impatient sigh.
Loaded question. “It was fine.” He went to the closet, took down four suits and put them in his garment bag.
“Damian, are you still there?”
“I’m here, Mom.”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“I said it was fine. Great music and food, beautiful islands.” And one extraordinary woman.
“Sounds like fun. Did you meet any nice girls? I’m sure there were plenty available.”
Before he could fix his mouth to lie, “yes” tumbled out. He slapped a hand across his forehead.
“Really?” she asked excitedly. “What’s her name, and when will I get to meet her?”
Damian sat down on the bed and picked up the phone, deactivating the speaker. “Her name is Karen, and probably never.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I was hoping you’d find someone. I want you to be happy. You deserve to fall in love.”
“What does that mean?” When she hesitated, he said, “Mom, what are you saying?”
“I’m simply saying I want you to find someone special.”
“What about Joyce? Are you saying I wasn’t in love?”
“No, honey. Joyce was a wonderful girl. I loved her like a daughter, but I just want you to be happy.”
“Thanks, Mom.” First his friends, and now his mother.
She hesitated. “Sweetheart, I know all about that promise you made to Joyce’s grandmother.”
His stomach dropped. He had never told anyone about that.
“If she wanted to interfere in her granddaughter’s life, that was her prerogative, but I made sure Lillian knew, in explicit detail, how I felt about her interfering in my son’s life. Meddling old biddy,” she grumbled. “I was two seconds from stopping that wedding. You and Joyce both deserved to find that special someone, and Lillian, with her selfish and manipulative ways, messed that up.”
Joyce’s grandmother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months to live. She extracted a promise from Damian to look out for Joyce, saying she could go to her grave a happy woman knowing her granddaughter would be taken care of. He knew what the woman was asking. Initially, he had no intention of being manipulated into marriage, but her rapid decline and the sadness in Joyce’s eyes pushed him over the edge. It wasn’t as if he and Joyce didn’t get along. They were best friends, and he loved her. “I can’t believe you knew all this time and never said anything. So what made you change your mind about stopping the wedding?”
“Your father. He reminded me that you were a grown man and could make your own decisions. That we raised you to be God-fearing, respectful and honorable, and you were all of those things.”
“Remind me to give Dad a big hug the next time I come to visit. Mom, I don’t want you to think that I wasn’t happy with Joyce. I was. I loved her.”
“I know, and I’m glad. Do you think you’ll ever want to try marriage again?”
“For a long time I didn’t, but now...”
“Does this have anything to do with the woman you met on the cruise?”
“Yes.” He told her about the days he spent with Karen, how much he enjoyed being with her and about the mishap. “She probably thinks I stood her up, and I didn’t get a chance to tell her what happened.”
“Well, I’m sure if you gave her a call, she’d be willing to listen.”
“I don’t have her number. We sort of never got around to last names and exchanging personal information. I had planned to do all that at dinner.”
