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Before I can develop a convincing excuse, the tiny wrinkles around her eyes deepen into notable wings at the corners. “I’ll have a word with him. He shouldn’t do this to you.”
Shit.
This isn’t going the way I wanted it to go. “Mom, wait. It just…”
How do I tell her? How do I ask her to come stay in an empty apartment and leave my father? What possible excuse could I give that wouldn’t put her at risk of fighting with him again? If I tell her what he’s done, what he’s threatened, she’ll either say I’m overreacting or confront him. That will only end in more broken furniture, and I will end up with nothing. Just like he promised.
If she does believe me, she’ll say something like, “nothing could ever keep me from you”. It would only hurt more when the time came, and my mother was nowhere to be found. Perhaps, not by any choice of her own. My father can be very convincing. Either way, it is difficult to convince a woman to leave her husband after thirty-five years of marriage. She’s already put up with so much over the years, why wouldn’t she be able to handle this, too?
My mother’s been staring at me for the last minute. Her scowl gradually tightens with each passing second.
“I just…” The words fail me. “My apartment in San Francisco has been vacant for a while. Dad doesn’t know about it, so...if you ever need a place to stay.”
“Honey, why are you telling me this?” My mother puts down whatever she’s been working on, the gravity in her voice revealing how transparent I’ve become.
“Just in case, you know, you need some time away,” I explain, trying to wave off her worries. “That’s a normal thing married couples do.”
“How would you know?” She sniffs at the air. “You’ve always hated the idea of marriage.”
“Mom.”
“What?” She peers into the camera innocently. “I’d like to see my son settled down before I’m put in the ground, you know.”
“You’re only fifty-six.”
“You never know when it’s your time,” she all but shouts into the cellphone. “So you need to hurry up before it’s too late. Just not with that girl. That Chloe. I mean, my grandchildren would be beautiful, but they’d also probably be born with a Mattel symbol for a birthmark, so…”
She raises whatever she’s been working on up to her lips. Some multicolored concoction with a pineapple wedge and flamingo embellishment flashes across the screen.
“Find someone who treats you right and loves you for all the right reasons.” Her eyes drift off the screen again, staring off into some magical realm from the looks of it.
“Otherwise, you’ll wake up after thirty-five years of marriage and realize you’re too old to flirt with that sexy groundskeeper who’s always smiling at you from across the pool deck.”
What the hell?
I must have slipped into some sort of hallucination. But she appears completely serious, her eyes locked somewhere off screen. “Mom!”
“I’m kidding.” She does a half-turn into the camera and smiles. “You’re never too old. Gotta go, honey.”
The video shuts off, and I’m left staring at a dark screen. “Mom?”
Other than my mom’s disturbing comments about her fascination with the groundskeeper, her words hit me hard. I don’t know if I’m ready for something like marriage with Aly yet. I don’t even know if she will have me after all I’ve put her through these last few weeks. Or how she’ll react if Jackson ever does finally make good on his threats.
All I know is I’ve spent too much time hiding, too much time worrying about problems that don’t really matter. I may not be a billionaire after all this is done, but I won’t be flat-broke either. I’ll still be able to donate a little to Derek and Marianne’s organization each year. I’ll be able to start Aly with a program of her own, one that we build together, work on together. Something where we can change the world.
Who knew I was such an idealist, after all?
I collect my things and rush downstairs. If I show up at Aly’s place, she’ll have no other choice but to talk to me. As I cross the lawn toward the parking lot, I notice a young blonde carrying a yoga mat. I recognize her instantly and hasten my steps to catch up with her.
“Lyndsey. Can I talk to you for a second?”
Lyndsey stops and turns to face me. “You!”
“I’m starting to think that’s the only greeting you know.”
Her dark eyes turn almost black, pinning me with a deadly glare that would even give Medusa pause. “You have a lot of nerve coming up to me right now. Aren’t you afraid someone will see us?”
Alright. I deserved that. “God, Lyndsey. I know I’ve fucked up. Can you just tell me where Aly is? She didn’t show up for class today, and she isn’t returning my phone calls.”
