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“What?”
“You know how when someone’s so late getting home that you go from being mad at them to being so worried that when they do finally walk through the door, all you can do is hug them?”
Mom crosses her arms over her chest, “So that’s what he was doing at your place last night, hugging you?”
Among other things, I restrain myself from saying. “He wants us to pick up where we left off.” I shrug. “We’re a couple, Mom. You and Dad are going to have to figure out how to be okay with this.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” mom says slyly as she sits back into her chair. “Two days ago he had you in tears. Now he’s in your bed and you’re a happy couple?”
I grit my teeth. Iknewshe’d be a pill about this. “Why can't you just be happy for us? Rhence proved you wrong by making a huge success of his life. You’re going to have to face him and admit that.”
“I amsotired of arguing with you over that boy—”
“Rhence, Mom. His name is Rhence.” I narrow my eyes at her.
“Fine, you two lovebirds do as you please,” she says, gesturing a finished motion. “I’ve grown bored with the topic.”
This isn’t like Mom. Usually she goes on and on, presenting argument after argument until she inevitably bends me to her will. But what rational argument could she possibly pose now that Rhence has made a glowing success of himself? I suppose she could harp on how badly he hurt me when he disappeared, only to show up a decade later.
But nothing. Only silent surrender. This is a first. This is…promising. I decide to test the waters.
“He wants us to focus on the future and not waste time discussing who was at fault for screwing up our relationship.”
She turns to look at me, her all-knowing brown eyes study me carefully. “Maybe that’s the best advice.” My face obviously reflects my shock because she raises and eyebrow. “What? I’m not going to stand in your way. If he’s what you want, just move forward with it and stop rehashing the past.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my mother?”
She rolls her eyes dramatically and takes another sip of chardonnay.
“All right, I believe you,” I say and decide to test the limits of her resolve. “We’ll need to clear the air between you all and Rhence. I’d like to invite him over for dinner, so we can start over fresh.”
Mom closes her eyes with head lifted as if praying for strength. At last she sighs and replies, “I’ll have to look at my calendar and get back to you on a suitable date. I suggest something at least two weeks out, to make sure last night wasn’t just a one-time thing.”
“It’s not, trust me!” I laugh and leap out of my chair to throw my arms around her. “Mom, that’s so great that you’ve finally come around.”
“Calm down, child, calm down,” she says, patting my back. “Wait till your father hears of this. The last time he saw Rhence, he was tossing him out of our house half naked.”
I bat away the concern. “We can talk Dad into anything. He’ll be fine.”
“What about his mother?” she asks with a raised brow. “She wasn’t exactly welcoming you with open arms.”
I shrug. “Rhence will have to work that out on his own time. As long as you all make amends, I’m happy.” This almost feels too good to be true, like a fairytale ending to my life. If only I knew why he left in the first place.
“The really sad thing is,” I hesitate a moment as I search for the right words. “I think Rhence’s own insecurities drove him away. I think he thought, despite my assurances, that he wasn’t good enough for me and that he had to go make a great success out of himself before he could seek my hand in marriage. You know, like Heathcliff did for Catherine in Wuthering Heights.”
Mom frowns at the allusion to one of our favorite books. “Oh, so now Rhence is Heathcliff? What makes you think that?”
“Because he keeps making snide comments about his money and how now that he’s respectable I won’t leave him.” I shake my head. “That’s so ridiculous considering I agreed to marry him straight out of high school. I can’t stand the thought that he thinks this is the only way I’d have him,” I say. “It’s infuriating and really…sad.” I look at my mom. “What did I ever do or say to him that would make him think so lowly of me? Or of himself, for that matter.”
Mom gazes into the distance across the expanse of Lake Norman. “Sweetheart, I earn a living probing and examining the human mind in an effort to discover what drives us to do the strange things we do. Considering his background, contrasted to yours, I can only speculate as to his motivation.” She finally turns to look at me. “Don’t look a gift horse too hard in the mouth.”
I chuckle. “I know. I should just be happy that we found our way back to each other. And hell, I’ll gladly sign a freaking prenup if that’s what it takes to prove I couldn’t care less about his fortune.”
“Don’t lose your head, sweetie,” Mom laughs. “If it gets to that point, your father will draw up a prenup that’s fair and equitable.”
“This is all so surreal. Never in a million years would I have thought we’d be having this discussion.”
Mom peers back out over the lake. “I suppose stranger things have happened.”
