AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How are you?” she asks me.
“I’m very well, thank you. And yourself?”
“Um, er…yes. I’m well. Thank you.”
This is the most civil conversation I’ve ever had with her.
Wonder how long this is going to last.
Nate clears his throat. “Mother, please tell Eve what you told me earlier.”
She’s a fish out of water, but she’s trying to swim anyway.
“I’m here…I’m here to…” Mrs. Winthrop swallows and continues. “I want to apologize.”
The words drag off her tongue like a knife against a chalkboard. I can’t tell if she’s being sincere, but know better than to jump down her throat before she’s had the chance to say what it is she came here to say. In a way, I respect Mrs. Winthrop for showing up here. Of all the places in the world, Mrs. Winthrop’s made the conscious choice to show up in my home.
She takes a sharp breath in. “I was wrong. I was wrong to say those things about you. I was wrong to assume that you were trying to use Nate for his wealth and status. I was very wrong to blame you for…to blame you for Jacob’s death.” Mrs. Winthrop chokes up a little, the first cracks in her otherwise ice-cold defense. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my behavior these past few months and now realize that I was out line. I was spiteful and rude, and I should never have threatened your career.”
Mrs. Winthrop takes a long pause, her nostrils flaring as she breathes in.
Nate clears his throat. “Go on.”
“I kept trying to justify my actions as a way of protecting my son. To some extent, that was true. I failed to properly act as his mother when I had the chance, and I guess I was seriously overcompensating. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me anymore. And I know you might never be able to forgive me. I’ll understand if you don’t. If I were in your shoes, I probably wouldn’t even let me into your house. So—”
Mrs. Winthrop shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot, casts her eyes to the ground. “So I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever it is you want me to do. I’m just…Philip’s been telling me about…our grandson.” She’s on the verge of crying, but she powers through it. “I hear he’s doing very well. And I hope that I can maybe, if you’ll let me, of course, be a part of his life. I’d love the opportunity to get to know both you and your son very much. If you’ll let me.”
I give her a warm, gentle smile and wrap my arms around her. Mrs. Winthrop stiffens under my touch but relaxes when I think she realizes I mean her no harm. She even pats me on the back twice, the most affection I’ll probably get out of her, but that’s okay.
“I accept your apology and forgive you,” I say.
She sighs in relief. “Thank you, Eve.”
“Do you want to see the baby’s ultrasound?”
“You mean that?”
“Of course. Why not join our party for a little bit and grab a bite to eat?”
Mrs. Winthrop’s hard shell cracks open—by an inch or two—and she allows a tiny smile to grace her lips. “I’d really like that.” She holds out a gift box, a big blue bow glued to the top. “Oh, and this is for you. Nate said you were accepted by the New York City Ballet Troupe. Congratulations.”
I take the gift from her and smile. “Thanks, Mrs. Winthrop. This is really sweet of you.”
“Please, just call me Delilah.”
“Okay, Delilah. Thank you so much for the gift.”
Nate gestures toward the back. “Come on, Mother. I’ll make you a burger.”
“Do you have veggie hotdogs instead? Eating too much red meat’s supposed to be bad for your— You know what? Never mind. A burger sounds great.”
We’re welcomed back to the party by a couple of surprised faces, but the awkwardness doesn’t have a chance to settle in. Nate simply turns up the music. My ballet classmates start dancing to the beat, Tom flips a burger every now and then, Miss Helen’s assigned herself as the guardian of the margarita mix, and A-Ma, Pops, and Delilah all gather around to exchange small talk about the weather.
I join Nate and watch everyone enjoying themselves.
“You doing okay?” he whispers in my ear.
I watch A-Ma say something, maybe crack a joke. Delilah actually looks amused. Pops is laughing his head off.
I hook my arm around Nate’s neck and pull him down for a kiss.
“I’m more than perfect,” I tell him.
“I know you are.”
“Thank you for the party, babe. You’re the best.”
“I know I am.”
I laugh and kiss him again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nate
The McBrindle Bed and Breakfast is located roughly an hour outside of Haven in a remote part of the countryside. It’s got four-and-a-half out of five stars on Yelp with fantastic reviews, so I booked a room to treat Eve to a mini-vacation before the baby comes.
