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“I can’t believe you are in love with someone and I’m just finding out.”
“Mom,” he said. “Calm down. Did you ever stop to think the reason you weren’t told is that this reaction is exhausting?”
“I just want to know what is going on in my son’s life,” his mother said quietly.
“I’m trying to tell you,” he said. “You’re not letting me. Or you are making it difficult.”
“It’s hard,” his mother said. “I lost you so young.”
He’d heard this before. That he was her oldest and would always be her baby. That he was more mature and away at college so early that she got fewer years with him.
Part of this was on her because she’d pushed it into his life. He wanted to tell her that and had before to no avail.
As he’d told Daisy, you can’t change those things in the past.
“Move past it, Mom. You didn’t lose me. I’m still here and I’m talking to you when I’m at the point I’d like to hang up.”
There was more silence there. Harmony would be upset having this conversation. Erica would be snapping and he might yet.
He stayed calm and he knew that bothered his mother more at times. It would remind his mother of the way his father was in life.
Serious and not always showing a lot of emotions.
He felt emotions even if he was serious, but there was a time and place to show them and he’d get nowhere on this call if he did it now.
“Fine,” his mother said. “Keep talking. I need to get a tissue to blot my eyes.”
Meaning they were filling with tears, but he wasn’t going to address that.
“I told you about her and how we met. She works a lot. She is in her busy time of year. I work a lot too. But we are good together.”
“It sounds as if you don’t see each other often,” his mother said.
“We see each other enough. I spent Thanksgiving with her and her mother.”
“Just her mother?” his mother asked.
He was going to keep this part short and simple. “Her mother’s boyfriend too. Then Dad and the girls came down on Friday and Daisy came over after work. She saw them again on Saturday. Friday is the first that Dad met her.”
“But he knew about her?” his mother asked.
“Yes,” he said.
He’d told his father a month ago. He should have told his mother, but he wanted to avoid what was happening now and should have learned that you can’t run forever.
“I’d like to meet her,” his mother said. “Can you arrange that? Maybe this weekend you can come for a visit?”
“Daisy is extremely busy until the end of the year. She is working six days a week. Sometimes seven. Her boss is still partially out on maternity leave. If you want to meet her, you’ll have to come here one day. Otherwise it will have to wait until after the holidays.”
“Which means you won’t be spending the holidays with me?” his mother asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“I have no idea what I’m doing for the holidays,” he said. “It’s possible that Daisy’s schedule is fine by then. We haven’t talked about it, but I will.”
“Thank you,” his mother said. “I’d prefer not to go there. You know I’m not fond of Mystic. And how is work going?”
He figured he might as well fill his mother in on the change in his position. That he’d be in New Haven one to two days a week now. That would make her happy since she hated his decision to go to Lawrence and Memorial.
By the time he was done with the call, he was ready for aspirin and was fishing for it in his bag on the passenger seat. He popped two with some water he always kept in the car and couldn’t wait for this day to end.
