AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, you’re not. You’re doing what needs to be done. Sometimes, being a good mother is defined by making the hard decisions. Don’t stay buried under the weight of them. Caleb will understand. It may not be tomorrow, but one day he will,” she assures.
“You think leaving was the right decision?” I ask.
“Yes, I do. You needed space and distance to sort yourself.”
“Sort myself,” I repeat.
“Exactly. You were dealt a raw deal. You were hurt and humiliated, but you don’t have to stay hurt and humiliated and turn bitter. You can rise up like a phoenix from the ashes of that pain, and in the process of healing, you just might find that you feel more alive than you ever have. The door has been opened, baby girl. All you have to do is walk through it.”
I let her words permeate my soul.
“You still talking to God?” I ask, breaking the tension.
She huffs. “Of course I am. Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I didn’t realize the big guy was a fan of your extracurricular activities,” I tease, trying to lighten the moment.
“Oh, don’t be such an old fuddy-duddy. God doesn’t mind me using my crops for healing. He makes it grow. I don’t overindulge, and it’s better than drinking myself numb,” she defends.
I shrug. “If you say so,” I muse.
“Listen, I settled it with the Lord, and that means it’s settled. You and the other gossiping old biddies in town are just going to have to accept me for who I am,” she declares.
She returns to washing dishes, and I step behind her and wrap my arms around her shoulders. I kiss her cheek.
“I can do that, Mom.”
“And so can I,” she whispers with a catch in her voice.
“I still don’t know what to do.”
“Well, kiddo, it’s your life and your book. Now, all you have to do is turn the page, and you’ll get to start a brand-new chapter.”
“Yeah, I wonder who all will be in this story.”
“Anyone. Everyone. Just make sure you choose what you want this time.”
We end our night in her bed, watching a sappy movie and falling asleep side by side.
When I awake in the morning, I have a voice mail from Damon.
Asshole.
I take my phone upstairs and dial his number. I pace back and forth, growing angrier and angrier as it rings.
“Hello?”
“What the fuck, Damon?”
He sighs. “I know.”
“No, you don’t know. He is going to be so disappointed. Why did you even have me tell him you wanted him to go with you if you were going to cancel?” I ask.
“Something came up.”
“Oh, really? What could be more important than seeing your son?”
“It’s an emergency at the office.”
I scoff.
“What?” he asks.
“Try again, Damon. You can’t possibly know of an emergency that is going to take place next week.” I call him out on his bullshit.
The line goes silent while he scrambles to come up with a better excuse.
“I should have known better. You decided not to go the minute I told you I wouldn’t and you still let me ask Caleb and get his hopes up. You were counting on him to convince me to go too, weren’t you?”
“That’s not true.”
“Liar. I don’t know why I thought you might actually want to spend time with Caleb. You selfish bastard!” I scream.
“What about you?” he yells across the line.
Me?
“What about me?” I ask.
“Graham Tuttle,” he spits out.
How does he know about him?
“What about Graham?”
“Is he that singer you went to school with? The one who comes from one of the wealthy families in Balsam Ridge,” he asks.
“No, that’s Garrett. Graham is his older brother and he has nothing to do with this.”
“When I talked to Caleb, he told me that he drove your friend Graham’s car.”
“So?”
“He’s twelve, Taeli. He shouldn’t be driving anything.”
“He was in an open field without any other cars. Graham was just letting him get a feel for it. It was completely safe. I was driving my daddy’s truck around the farm when I was ten,” I tell him.
“I should be the one teaching him to drive, not Graham fucking Tuttle,” he roars.
“Then, why haven’t you?” I ask.
