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“Yeah. I’m hanging out with Stacey and a bunch of her friends.”
“It’s always good to get out of the house. You never take time for yourself between working and assuaging your mother’s concerns.”
“I know.”
“I’m glad that you have....”
“Why do I hear a ‘but’ at the end of your sentence?”
“No ‘but.’ Your mother has called me, worrying the hell out of me the last couple of days. She said that you’ve been ignoring her calls.”
“She called once last night, and I was busy, and I told her I’d get back to her as soon as possible.”
“Let me guess, soon as possible isn’t quick enough for her.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you know why she’s calling?”
“Probably because I haven’t returned Sydney’s calls. I blocked her.”
“Good for you. Liliana wouldn’t tell me why she needed to speak with you. She just said that you were ignoring all her calls.”
“If by ‘all’ she’s referencing Sydney’s calls too, then yes, I am. Leave it to Mom to make it a bigger deal than it is.”
“You know that your mom’s primary concern is appearance.”
“I wish she would’ve been worried about appearances when she did what she did to me.”
“She meant well.”
“I thought you disagreed with her decision to send me to Serenity Springs.”
“I did and still do. I know she thought she was doing what was best for you. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn about it until it was too late. You kind of pushed all of us away during that time, so I had no idea how hard it was hitting you.”
“I know, Daddy,” I reply in a wistful tone regretting that, of all people, I’d pushed him away.
My daddy has always been my biggest champion and supporter. He would have protected me when my mother dearest told everyone that I was taking a much-needed vacation in Europe and there was no specific time that I was scheduled to return if I’d told him.It was an entire week after she’d paid a handsome price to cover up the fact that I was doing a stint at Serenity Springs that she’d finally disclosed that to my Daddy.
“God forbid that tidbit of information should ever get out. Your mother would be mortified. On the other hand, I would love to see how she spins that tale to benefit her and her family.”
A grimace crosses my face as I think about my poor father.
“Daddy, how did you put up with her all those years? You’reagood, gentle, strong, and loving man.”
“I loved your mother with everything I had, so it was easy to overlook her flaws for a long time. Unfortunately, I never win when it comes to battling your mother.”
“Daddy, you’d rather swim with a school of piranhas than deal with her deadly claws.”
He chuckles.
“I made some poor decisions on my part regarding your mother.”
I know he still carries a lot of guilt for cheating on her during their marriage and for the toll their divorce took on me at the tender age of ten. He’s always torn between doing what’s best for me and doing what appeases my mother.
I don’t know why. My father is still in love with my mother, and I believe he secretly hopes she’ll divorce my stepfather and return to him.
If you were to ask him why he cheated, he’d only say that he was a foolish man. He won’t talk about how miserable my mother made him, how nothing was good enough for her, nor how she would often make disparaging racial comments.
