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“I can’t very well hide his presence in my life,” Jay pointed out by way of an answer.
“Why don’t you tell your siblings tomorrow morning?” his mom suggested. “Then we can have dinner here tomorrow night so they can meet him.”
Jay didn’t want to overwhelm Peyton, but he also didn’t want to drag out the family introductions with meeting after meeting. Maybe this would be like pulling the bandage off in one quick jerk.
After Jay agreed, his mom said, “But come out a little early so we have a chance to meet him before the gang arrives.”
When he got up to leave, his parents gathered him into their arms, and his dad took a few minutes to pray for Jay and Peyton. Jay struggled to accept the requests made on his behalf in his dad’s prayer, feeling like he really didn’t deserve them.
Jay had mixed feelings as he left his parents’ home, but that seemed to have been his default state since Amberlyn had dropped her bombshell. It would be great if he’d be able to get past the emotional quagmire he was in soon, but somehow, he doubted that was going to happen.
Even if he managed to sort out his feelings about the situation with Peyton, there was still Misha. He felt a little sick every time he thought about what he had to lose, but it wasn’t fair to ask her to continue a relationship with him when he needed to be so focused on Peyton. And it definitely wouldn’t be fair of him to ask her to wait, especially when he had no idea how long it would take for his life to settle into its new normal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Misha had hoped that at some point on Saturday, she’d hear from Jay. Though busy at the clinic all day, she’d checked her phone regularly. Unfortunately, there’d been no message from him, or from anyone else, for that matter.
She’d thought that Janessa would contact her once she’d talked to Jay, and Misha had a hard time believing that Janessa hadn’t tracked her brother down for a conversation as soon as he got back into town.
It left Misha feeling off-balance and like she had no right to an explanation, even though whatever had been going on with Jay had deeply impacted their budding relationship.
Perhaps it had been stupid of her, but she’d really thought that she and Jay would talk as soon as he got back to Serenity. That she was important enough to him that he’d get in contact with her right away.
But perhaps he was still angry with her for telling him they needed a break.
As she prepared to leave the clinic at the end of the day, Misha struggled with a feeling of despair. She regretted what she’d done, but she had no idea how to fix it. Janessa had told her to be patient, and she could do that. But how long did she need to wait?
The only thing that gave her a small spark of hope was Jay saying that he didn’t need a break from the women he loved. Her heart longed to be included in that, even if the words had been said in anger.
Knowing her mom would ask her if she’d heard from Jay, Misha was in no rush to get home that day. But still, she didn’tdawdle. She was exhausted and despite having to disappoint her mom, home was actually where she wanted to be.
“How was work?” her mom asked after she’d gone upstairs to change into something comfy.
Misha sank down onto the floor where Ciara was playing and held out her hands to the baby. Ciara grasped Misha’s fingers, pulling herself up with a grin and taking a couple of steps toward Misha. It was her latest trick, and Misha figured it was just a matter of time before she tried walking on her own.
“It was fine,” she said. “Had a couple of no-shows.”
“That’s unfortunate.” Her mom walked to the table and began to set it for their dinner.
“It happens. Thankfully, not too frequently. Most of the time, if people can’t make it, they phone.” Because it was just her and Betsy at the clinic on Saturdays, they didn’t take calls or make appointments, but there was a number that people could call to leave a message, which was then forwarded to Misha’s phone.
Her mom finished setting the table, then returned to the kitchen to dish up their dinner. Misha got to her feet and picked Ciara up. She took her to the table and put her into her highchair, buckling her in since she liked to stand up in the chair now.
When Misha saw the food her mom placed on the table, she realized she hadn’t expected her to come home with good news. She’d made some of Misha’s favorite foods. In this case, it was her mom’s fried pork chops and homemade mac and cheese. She didn’t like either dish made by anyone else but her mom.
Misha tried to ignore the ache in her chest as she poured water into their glasses, then sat down at the table with hermom. It wasn’t until after her mom had said a prayer for the meal that she said anything.
“Guess you didn’t hear from him, huh?” her mom said as she slid the bowl of mac and cheese closer to Misha.
“Nope.” She plopped a spoonful of the macaroni on her plate, then put some in Ciara’s small bowl. After mashing it up a bit, she set it in front of her. “I didn’t hear from anyone, actually.”
“Not even Janessa?” Her mom frowned. “That seems odd.”
Misha hadn’t kept anything from her mom. She trusted her more than anyone else in this situation. Including Janessa, since, at the end of the day she was Jay’s sister. She might be upset with him, but that was more on her own behalf than Misha’s. It was entirely possible that she’d talked with Jay that day and didn’t feel it was necessary to talk to Misha.
The ache in Misha’s chest increased as a longing grew for a friend who would be there for her in situations like this. Janessa, Aria, and Charli had been friendly to her, but they already had solid friendships in their lives. There was no one who was solidly in her corner except for her mom.
Misha was deeply grateful that she hadn’t had to make this move on her own. Facing this situation alone might have broken her more than it already had.
