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“You’re so beautiful. Such a good mother to my grandson.”
“And you look so beautiful. Look at you! A new liver looks good on you,” Ana said.
“My eyes are white again. It’s so nice not to look like I’m dying.”
“Oh, you never looked like that. I always thought you were so pretty, even in high school.”
“Ugh, I don’t even remember Tyler’s high school years. What a terrible mother I was.”
“No! You weren’t terrible! Stop it. You were struggling, battling, warring inside your head,” Ana said.
“How long do you think they’re going to ramble at one another?” my father asked.
“I don’t know. How long does it take for that pain medication to wear off?” I asked.
“Can I have a popsicle?” Brody asked.
“You look so beautiful!” my mother exclaimed.
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” I sighed.
“Should I break it up, or should you?” my father asked.
“Go spend some time with your grandson. I’ve got this.”
I walked over to the two women and cradled them next to me. They were crying and doting on one another as their words became muddled. I held back my laughter as I set them both on the couch, watching as Ana ran her fingers through my mother’s hair and my mother petted her face.
“I hope my hair looks this good white one day,” Ana said.
“You have so many curves! I never had curves! My boobs barely exist!” my mother said.
“And that’s my cue to leave. Are you guys thirsty, or—?”
“Water,” they said in unison.
“Coming right up,” I said.
I laughed with my father in the kitchen as Brody ate his popsicle at the kitchen table. The entire day was spent with two drugged-up women dozing off and waking up on the couch together. I’d never heard my mother compliment someone so much in my life, and every time she squealed at something Ana did, it caused me to chuckle.
Maybe this was the start of them mending their relationship.
“Hey, Brody,” my father said.
“Yeah, Grandpa?”
“Want to go help me scout some dinner? I figured we could bring something back to the house and eat it while we watch another movie.”
“All right! What are we going to eat?”
“Anything you want,” I said.
“Oh, oh, oh. Can we have cheeseburgers?” Brody asked.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get,” my father said.
“I’ll stay here with Thelma and Louise while you pick up food,” I said.
“Record it for me?” my father asked.
I nodded my head and laughed as he took Brody’s hand and headed for the door. Watching my father walk away with my son brought a warmth to my heart that I couldn’t explain. But when they left, my ears filled with the sounds of my mother and Ana talking.
And I couldn’t believe what they were talking about.
“I didn’t do it to hurt him, or you guys. I did it because I just knew Tyler would give up Harvard if he knew I was pregnant. I couldn’t let him do that,” Ana said.
“I know you couldn’t. I know you thought you were doing the right thing. No one can fault you for that, sweetheart,” my mother said.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you guys. I didn’t mean to hurt your son. I love your son, Mrs. Browning. I love him so much.”
My mother took Ana in her arms as she cried into my mother’s neck. And as my mother comforted Ana, I knew then and there what I had to do. Ana was made for this family. And I knew I was made for hers. Despite every obstacle and every deceit and every lie and every uncertainty, I knew she was the woman I was destined to be with, spend my life with, create a family with.
I wanted her in my life for the rest of my days.
“Do you think he loves me?” Ana asked.
My mother pressed a silent kiss to the top of Ana’s head.
“I don’t think he’s ever loved anyone else,” my mother said.
And she was right. I hadn’t. I had loved no other woman but Ana, and that would never change.
Not even if the world was on fire.
Ana
Six Weeks Later
“Did you tell Brody another bedtime story?” I asked.
“I did,” Tyler said.
“Which one did you tell him this time?”
“I made up one on the spot. It was about a little girl and a little boy who grew up next to one another.”
“What happened to them in the story?”
“They grew up and fell in love.”
“Sounds familiar,” I said, grinning.
“I was hoping it would,” he said.
“Did your mom get off to rehab okay?”
“She did. My father called after he dropped her off a while ago.”
“You know you didn’t have to go with me to my appointment, right? You could’ve been with your mother.”
“Trust me, she understood. They both did. Though I think she wants you to stop by once she’s allowed to have visitors.”
