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Bing sat his half-empty glass on the counter as he turned to follow me, sighing, “You’re not going to listen, are you?”
“There’s nothing there, Bing. Frankly I’m disappointed that this is why you had me cut my run short. A freaking tabloid post?”
Bing stared at me, and we both glanced at the stairs as my mom, Tessa, gently made her way down, her granddaughter in her arms.
“At the very least can you try to be a little more discrete from now on?”
“Why?”
“Jesus,” Bing scrubbed his face in frustration.
“Am I supposed to just disappear into a cave now? I wanted to get this far so I could live my life exactly as I chose.”
Bing put his hands up in surrender.
“I’m just suggesting that you not try to make things so difficult.”
“I still don’t get why I should care what anyone says.”
I smiled as I turned away from Bing, lowering myself to pick up Stella.
“Hey sweetheart,” I said as she barreled into me. Stella hugged fiercely and it only made me wish she had more people in her life.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said into my shoulder, her arms squeezing around my neck.
“Did you have fun with Grandma?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding enthusiastically with a big smile on her face. I kissed her on the cheek and she giggled as I gently tickled her. She kissed my nose before hurrying away from me toward the couch where my mom had put a cartoon on the big screen.
“For one, you can think about her,” my mother said softly, clearly wanting to add her opinion to the mix.
“What are you talking about?” I asked incredulously.
“If you don’t care about yourself and feel like you have all the time in the world to fool around, think about that baby.”
I scoffed, “Like there’s ever a time I don’t think about her.”
“Then show it, because it doesn’t quite seem like you are.”
“I'm not talking to you about this, Mom.”
She looked over toward the child who was settled into the couch, laughing at the show on TV, totally oblivious to anything around her.
“You need to find a woman, Troy. A true partner. You need to settle down, if not for yourself, for her,” she said, angling her head toward the couch. “Stella needs that. She needs that stability in her life. As a mother, I know that more than anyone else.”
“I don’t have to get married to get my daughter stability, Mother.”
“Maybe, but you don’t know what it means to a young girl that –”
“Mom, please,” I interrupted. “My kid is fine. I’m fine. We’re fine the way we are,” I said, looking from my mother to my daughter and then back at Mom. “I’m not going to let anyone decide for me how to live my life. I know you love me but please. It’s not happening.”
I glanced at Bing. “We’re done talking about this. I need to wash up,” he said as I stepped away.
“Is there a chance he’s going to change his mind?” I heard Bing ask as I walked up the stairs.
“Not on his own,” my mom softly replied.
I rolled my shoulders, trying to release the tension.
