AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mom, stop. Please, just listen to what Max has to say.”
I looked over to him and found him staring right at dad as he spoke, “I love you both and I owe my entire life to you for the sacrifices you made to help me when no one else would. That’s why this has always been so hard for me to admit. See, I didn’t think I had a right to be happy. I didn’t deserve it because of all the fucked up things I did as a kid.”
“Language,” my mother said when Max stopped for only a second to breathe.
“Sorry, ma. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is I love Noelle. I mean, I’m in love with her. I have been for as long as I remember and I just recently learned she would be open to us possibly being together. I get how messed up it all is, believe me I do, but it’s important to her… and me… that you two are okay with this.”
My father’s face had turned a weird shade of red and my mother had tears in her eyes that she attempted to wipe away without us noticing. The silence stretched between us until finally she plastered a ridiculously fake smile on her face and nodded her head slightly.
“Anyone want pie? I think I want pie.”
I watched as she stood and made her way through the kitchen and unwrapped a pie that was meant for Christmas Eve. If that wasn’t enough of an indication that she was out of sorts, her taking a fork to the center of it certainly was. Max and I sat there watching her eat the center of one of her prized pies as my father’s gaze shot daggers into the side of Max.
“I think we should go,” he mumbled.
“No.”
All eyes shifted to me. “No, I am not going to just tuck my tail and run. I understand this may be hard for the both of you to wrap your heads around, but you need to understand that for the first time in my life I am happy.” I reached for Max’s hand and held it in my own. “You don’t know what it was like growing up and always feeling like you were second best to everyone else in the room. I valued the time I had alone with the both of you because those were the only times I ever felt like I was seen. Everyone was always stretched thin and I’m a constant people pleaser. I never wanted to get in between you and any of the other kids. I have had one failed relationship after another for years because I was desperate to find what you and mom have. I had nearly given up hope when Max finally admitted how he felt. He makes me feel loved, and that alone helps me love myself. I’m not going to give him up. I just hope you won’t make us give you up so that we could be happy.”
Mom was full on crying now. She put the pie and fork down and crossed the kitchen pulling me into her arms, “My little girl, I would never make you choose. I love you so much, all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy.”
Tears burned in my eyes, and I didn’t dare look at my dad or Max.
“I love you, mama.”
“This will be hard,” she said as she pulled back from me, “But if it’s true love, it always is. You’ll get through it, I promise you.”
I watched as my dad got up from the table and left the room.
“It may take him a little more time to understand, but don’t worry, I’ll talk to him.”
I nodded as she wiped the tears from my eyes and laughed when I did the same to her. Then she turned to Max and held out her arms.
He stood slowly and made his way over to her. “I’m serious about what I said. This will be the hardest thing you ever do… well, until you have children and that becomes the hardest thing. I love you and I will always love you, but just know if you break my little girl’s heart, I will beat your bottom with a wooden spoon.”
“Got it, ma.”
“Same goes for you, missy,” she said as she shook her finger in my direction, “You better treat my boy like the saint that he is. I have no doubt this thing will work out between the two of you because you wouldn’t have taken on the risk of telling us if you weren’t serious about each other, but relationships have difficulties. Sometimes people say hurtful things when they are trying to protect themselves and words do a ton of damage. Communicate. Don’t bottle your feelings up like you usually do. Max needs to know what’s going on with you all the time for this to work.”
She held her arms out and this time, we both stepped into her embrace.
“Now, go. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon. I’ll deal with that grizzly bear of a husband I have, and we will see the two of you at dinner tomorrow night.”
“I thought you wanted me to come early?”
“It’s okay, dear, spend the morning with Max. Both of you come by whenever you are ready.”
Leaving without saying goodbye to dad felt weird, but knowing mom supported us definitely helped. I was a little concerned about what the rest of the family would say and I could tell by the silence in the car that Max felt the same way. I worried he was going to just drop me off at my place, but instead of turning right on Main Street he turned left. It wasn’t long before he was pulling into his spot behind the shop and when he turned off the car, I finally broke the silence.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”
“No, I guess it wasn’t.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I will be.”
“I don’t have anything with me.”
