AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This is something new. I never heard Mamma talk about men, or anything remotely related to relationships, in all the years I was at home.
"Umm, I’m not sure what you’re trying to say?"
"I assume you’re going to stay married to this man for the foreseeable future, yes?"
"I guess." I meet her gaze in the mirror.
"And for better or worse, he’s the man you’re going to spend some part of your life with." Interesting, my ma didn’t say ‘the rest of your life,’ or use definitive words like ‘forever,’ or anything indicating an expectation of a long future together.
"Where are you going with this?"
"For the time that you are going to be with him—"
"We’ll probably be in different cities," I interject.
"Which makes it all the more important that the times you meet him face-to-face, you make an impression on him."
"And this—" I wave a hand at my dress "—doesn’t cut it?"
"Men are simple creatures. They like to know they’re getting their money’s worth—"
"I am not a transaction."
"Or good sex—"
I gasp. "You didn’t just say that, Mamma!"
"How do you think you and your siblings were born?" She scoffs.
"Yes, I know, but still—" I shake my head. "You’ve never spoken about this to us before."
"That’s because the situation never arose before where I needed to have this talk."
"A little late for the-birds-and-the-bees discussion, don’t you think?" I shuffle my feet. "And really, we don’t have to do this. I know everything there is to know—"
"Not about marriage, you don’t. And you probably won’t heed the advice I’m going to give you, but I’m going to say it anyway."
Of course she is. I blow out a breath, but don’t react. If I do, it’ll only make it worse. Best to hear her out on this.
"You want your Mafia guy to see you as the epitome of beauty, as everything he respects and wants to take home to protect. You want him to be proud of you—"
"I don’t care what he thinks of me, actually."
"—so you can use it to your advantage and negotiate with him."
I hold her gaze in the mirror. "Negotiate? As in, press my advantage?"
"Marriage is a bargain, a contract from which both of you will benefit. You bring some strengths, and so does he. The two of you fulfill your roles, trying to cancel out the other’s weaknesses and build upon each other’s strengths. And gain benefit from your mutual agreement."
"You make it sound so coldhearted."
"The best relationships are. Don’t be fooled by what you see from the outside. Every good marriage has, at its heart, a negotiation. Lines have to be drawn, and rules have to be adhered to. If any one of you doesn’t do your part, the connection suffers," she says with emphasis.
"You talk about it like it’s a business contract," Solene says as she walks over to join us. "But you forget, this is about hearts, and emotions, and love."
"Love?" My mother laughs. "You girls are so naive. Love is a concept made up by poets, filmmakers, and authors, to fool people. When real life intrudes, love goes out the window. When your child cries at night, it’s not love that wakes up and feeds it. When wrinkles crease your skin, and your body sags under the weight of having breastfed your kids, and your husband decides to keep younger women on the side, it’s not love that comforts you then."
"Wait, hold on." I spin around to face her. "Are you telling us that our father had mistresses on the side?"
