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“Mom, he cheated on you, with my girlfriend.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe you are going to go through with it.”
“Colt, do you think it would have been the first time I was cheated on? Honestly, for someone so smart, you can be really stupid.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“No, I haven’t. Look, honey, I’m sorry that things happened the way they did, but I think it might be for the best. I want you at my wedding. Why don’t you bring your friend Whitney with you? I’d love to have her there. It’s been so long, and she’s such a nice girl.” She patted my cheek, “I won’t take no for an answer. It’s a small affair in the gardens of the hotel, so there won’t be a rehearsal. I think we all know what we are supposed to do.”
“How the hell can I possibly walk you down the aisle and hand you off to him when I know what he did.”
“Would you please trust me?” She kissed my cheek and left me standing with my mouth hanging open.
A week and a half later, I was dressing in my suit for my mother’s wedding, wondering what the hell I was doing. Why had I agreed to give my mother away to that ass? While I told my mother that I would give her away, I adamantly refused to stand beside the man and bear witness to her mistake.
Whitney had no problem agreeing to be my date, and I tried to find excuse after excuse to call and say I couldn’t do it. Maybe I’d get a call from the hospital, but I hated myself for even thinking of a child getting hurt.
I picked up Whitney, and when we arrived at the hotel, my mother whisked her away, telling her they had a lot to catch up on. My mother told me to go into the bar and get a drink.
Yeah, I had no problem with that. I’d be more than happy to get shitfaced for this wonderful day. I sank down on a barstool and ordered a gin and tonic.
Someone climbed onto the seat beside me, and I glanced over. My jaw clenched as I glared at Stewart. “Just because my mother forgives you, doesn’t mean I have to.”
“There is nothing to forgive. I didn’t do anything. In fact, you should actually be thanking me.”
I turned to face him better, “Thanking you? For what? Screwing my girlfriend or for showing me how wrong I was?”
The bartender set my drink down and another one in front of Stewart. “No, the only thing you were wrong about was what you think she did.”
“You’re really not making any sense, and to be honest, I don’t care.” I gulped my drink down.
“You don’t want to hear this, but you owe me five minutes, so listen up, soon-to-be-stepson.”
I hit him with a look that should have dropped him dead.
“I went to your condo that afternoon to talk to you. While I was still in the lobby, Ember came running off the elevator in tears. She was practically hysterical and ran out into the street before she would tell me what was wrong. I grabbed a cab and followed her until I caught up to her. She was so upset and out of it, that she didn’t even know where she was. I asked her three times where she lived so I could get her home safely, but she never answered me.” He paused, and I twisted my glass around on the bar. “I had no choice but to take her back to my place, and when she got there, she was saturated and shivering. I made coffee, and I gave her my robe so I could dry her clothes. Then she told me what happened.” He took a sip of his drink and waited for his words to sink in. “See, when you and Wendy showed up, I had just gotten done running on my treadmill. I’d left Ember on the couch to take a nap. She was exhausted. That is why I was barely dressed. I’d only come in to check on her. I never touched her.” Was he telling the truth? “Colt, I love your mother with all of my heart, and I would never do anything to hurt her, or you.”
“What did Ember say happened?” I found myself asking.
“Let’s just say someone put an idea into her head that made an impression and spooked her.” Stewart reached over and put his hand on my forearm. “Ember is an incredible woman. She is worthy of you, but you need to be worthy of her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s so obvious that you love her, and that she loves you, but you need to reach inside yourself and see if you are able to trust her, not that she would do anything on purpose to hurt you, but can you live with her past and trust that she’s different now? That she only wants you?”
Could I? I returned my attention to my drink. A bead of condensation rolled down the side.
“If you find that the answer to that is yes, well, there is a young lady over in the corner who would like to talk to you.”
I turned to see in what direction he was gesturing and spun around to find Ember seated at a small table on the other side of the room, her hands under the table and her face a mask of fear and apprehension.
Stewart clapped me on the back. “You’ve got thirty minutes before you walk your mother down the aisle, and then your ass is going to stand by my side as my best man. Make the most of your time.”
