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“You’re not and I want to. Love you, Merry.”
“Love you, Willa. Truly. Now, let me have a quick word with my little bird.”
A few hours later, I arrived at her place with Olivia in tow to find Zale already home. We had dinner together as a family, a warm feeling for me. Zale had been a huge part of my life since I was a tween.
He, along with Mara, supported me through all my teen years. I felt a twinge of grief at the reminder, but since that time he had become the supportive father figure I’d always needed in my life. After my dad passed ten years ago, Zale took on the role entirely.
I don’t think I’d ever told him how much he meant to me. I hoped he knew.
Despite Mara’s less than stellar news, there was happiness around the dinner table. After dinner, we puttered around, cleaning up. Zale and Mara both teased me about Barrett. Thank goodness I did not have to lie when I told them we were only friends and that was not likely to change. It was while Zale was laughing, a rare occurrence, and both Mara and I were teasing him back, that the phone rang. Mara snapped it up without checking the call display.
“Hello?”
I heard the strident tones of my mother’s voice.
“Hi, mom. How are you?”
I watched as a range of emotions flitted across Mara’s pretty face.
“Why are you so tired?”
I watched Mara as she listened and then took a deep breath. “That’s okay,” she said, “I had an appointment at the doctor’s today. He’s worried about my blood pressure and wants me to take it easy for a couple of weeks. I’m going to stick close to home, take some time off from homeschooling, so we won’t see you for a couple of weeks.”
Mara fell silent and no tinny voice sounded from the phone for several moments. The weight of Mara’s anxiety blanketed the kitchen. I felt my fury rise and I battled to keep it from showing on my face. Zale stood silently sentinel; his dark eyes trained on Mara’s face.
“What do you mean you won’t see me for a couple of weeks?” Bea’s volume made it so that I had no problem discerning her words. Mara moved the phone further from her ear.
“I just told you. The doctor wants me to get some rest, he’s worried about my blood pressure…”
My mother’s shrill voice permeated the space between us. “It’s those people you’ve been hanging out with. Low class, crass, no family values. Did he divorce his first wife? She probably caught him sleeping all over town, he looks the type with his dirty boots and tattoos.”
Mara gasped, “Mom, do not talk about my friends like that!”
“What do you care? You care more about them than your own mother! You and Willa both, selfish and self-centered, leaving me here alone all the time, I can’t even visit because of that filthy cat Willa coerced you into taking...”
Zale stepped forward half a second before I did and plucked the phone out of Mara’s hand. I hadn’t even seen him move, my mother’s accusations pulling me into the past, and triggering my fight reflex.
He held it to his ear and listened. His face darkened ominously, and his voice was gritty when he spoke.
“Bea? You’ve got Zale.”
Her voice went up an octave, I could hear her clear as a bell.
“Zale! How are you? I was just complaining to Mara that I don’t get to see her nearly as often as I’d like…”
He cut her off again. “Save it. I heard more than enough. You just heard your daughter tell you she’s having problems with her blood pressure, and she needs to rest, and all she got from you was a bitter tirade.”
“No, no, you misunderstood…”
His jaw ticking, his full lips drawn thin, he interrupted her again. “Maybe so, but you make sure you understand what I’m about to say next. You are never to speak like that to my wife, not ever. You speak to her like that again, you won’t speak to her at all.”
Bea had had enough, outraged that he dared challenge her. “That is my daughter you’re talking about, and I’ll speak to her how I want to.”
“Not anymore,” she tried to speak again, but he continued, “Mara will call you back when she’s ready to talk to you. Hopefully, that will give you time to cool off and consider your options. Goodnight, Bea.”
He closed the phone without waiting for a response and turned to find Mara and me standing with our mouths hanging open.
“What?” he growled, “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with your mother but she’s out to fucking lunch.”
