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“Mom, it’s—”
“What else did that monster of a woman say?” she demands.
I drain my glass. “We forgot about Elliot’s birthday.”
Maria gasps and pulls out her phone. “Shit! I meant to text him.”
“Even Ell forgot. And when Kathleen realized, she let loose. Everything we knew she said behind our backs, she told us directly to our faces. Elliot settled for us, we don’t love him well enough, he’ll realize it eventually, he should leave, blah blah blah. She said that Rhett—fuck, I don’t wanna repeat it. It was a mess, okay? Eventually, Elliot kicked her and Joe out. I think he was a little shocked that Kathleen would actually say all that.”
“One of these days,” my mom says before taking a concerningly long sip of wine, “that woman is going to drive me to murder.”
That draws a chuckle from me. Whenever she makes comments like that, I realize it’s no wonder I ended up taking the life path I did.
“I know you guys would never be cruel to Wren,” I say. “But she’s been through some really horrible stuff lately. I can’t get into the details, but it’s really bad. She’s been pushing herself so hard, and no matter how much she wants to meet you two, she’s just not ready. Maybe once life has calmed down, which should be in the next couple weeks.”
“There’s no pressure.” Mom squeezes my hand. “I’m excited to meet her, but I’m happy to wait until she’s comfortable.”
Maria huffs. “Well,Idon’t want to wait. Maybe I can drop by sometime this week? Kinda like a surprise? And then I can meet her, even if it’s only for a couple minutes?”
“If Wren isn’t ready, we need to respect her boundaries,” Mom says. “You know that.”
With a groan, Maria slumps in her chair. “Isupposeyou’re right.”
Even though Maria may be disappointed, deep down, I know she understands. That’s the difference between Rhett’s and Elliot’s families and mine. Mom and Maria have basic human decency.
“I don’t think it’ll be that much longer,” I assure them. “And I promise, you’ll like her. She’s one of the kindest, most understanding people I’ve ever met. I . . .”
Shit. Should I say this?
My mouth is abnormally dry all of a sudden, and I realize my glass is already empty.
“What?” Maria asks impatiently. “What’s with you not finishing your sentences today?”
When I fix my eyes on my mom, she’s already smiling. Of course she knows. She’s the one who helped me work through my feelings for Rhett and Elliot when I was too scared that I’d ruin everything by admitting how head over heels I was for them.
“You love her.” She doesn’t phrase it as a question.
“An unfathomable amount.”
Maria’s jaw drops. “WHAT?”
My mom’s smile widens. “I know the feeling.”
There’s not a doubt in my mind that she understands. The love she has for me and Maria is the strongest I’ve ever seen. It’s always been a goal of mine to match it.
“Come on,” Maria groans. “You’re that far along in your relationship, and Istillcan’t meet her?”
I roll my eyes. If Maria was serious, I’d tell her to stop, but this is just our dynamic. Neither of us have much patience.
“Soon, I promise.”
“When I finally meet her, I’m stealing her away from you for at least a day,” Maria says. “We can go shopping and get ice cream and maybe walk along the river. Oooh, and she likes books, right? We can go to the library! Or a bookstore.”
“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow. “And who’s funding this shopping trip?”
“You, of course!”
At that, Mom laughs. “Maybe you should ask permission first.”
