She knows the one I mean.
“In pink,” I add, my voice coming out really high.
Mom smiles big, pressing her palm against her chest.
“I was such a bitch,” I whisper. “I was a bitch about all of it. Because I don’t know how to process any of it.”
“You want to come out back and have a cup of tea with me?” Mom asks.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Thank fuck you’re moving out soon,” Dad mutters. “Gonna miss you, little girl, but will not miss having six hundred thousand books puttin’ all that pressure on the floor joists. Now it’ll be his problem. Good thing he knows how to repair cracked foundations.”
“I do not have six hundred thousand books,” I defend.
“Close to it,” Dad mutters, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Oh! You got a new TV,” I remark. “The same as your other one?”
“Jase bought it for me,” Dad says. “Got delivered today.”
“Why’d he do that?”
Well, Jase certainly had a busy day. Buying the gift card. Pink reading chair. Getting Dad a new TV delivered. I guess he had some free time in the tattoo artist’s chair. The tattoo didn’t even look brand-new and swollen. Because he probably shifted a few times to get it to heal.
“Guessin’ he heard me break mine,” Dad says with a shrug.
It’s the first time in days I’ve seen him look remotely casual.
“He sent me an email with a spa gift certificate, too,” Mom adds. “He sure put out a whack of money today.”
“Well…” I start to say, but it’s an extra-long pause. Finally, I break it by saying, “I think we should nix the tea. Caffeine won’t cut it. What kind of wine have you got?”
***
I’m on my third glass and I’m slurring just a little, but I’ve told Mom all about the puppy yelping and what the lady said on the airplane. She’s mortified for me. Worried about me. She asked to see the baby booties, and I rejected that request because I can’t face them, though I’ll have to whenever I get around to unpacking my carry-on bag. And when I verbalize my regret about causing her any stress or being bitchy, especially with all she’s dealing with, she tells me off, because there’s a whole lot of emphasis put on what alphas go through around a complicated mating but not enough on what the female deals with.
“I love that you are destined to spend your life with someone you’ve longed for. I longed for a man like your father before I met him, too. I didn’t know what type of man would fit my wish list. Turns out it was a very supernatural one. He had to be strong, with strong character, and I wanted a romance novel love story. To live in a sweet little Hallmark style close-knit community. To have a family. I got all of it. And I’m thrilled to bits that you’ll have it, too.”
“I don’t know, though, Mom,” I say. “So much went wrong. I can’t just pretend none of it happened. And someone Jase definitely hooked up with interrupted our meal and laughed when Jase called me his fiancée.”
“Did you punch her?”
“No,” I mutter.
“Did you rip her hair out?”
“I’m see I’m developing a reputation.”
She laughs. “Who cares about girls he dated before he realized you’re the one? I know from personal experience that it’s not a bad thing for the man to be more experienced than the woman. I knew next to nothing about sex when I met your father but he sure knew what he was doing.” Her eyebrows wiggle.
I don’t know whether to laugh or be grossed out. I’m just glad Mom is joking, smiling.
Dad’s voice interrupts us. “Girls?”
He’s standing with Mimi Young, who is trailed by Vivi and Dani.
“Oh, thank goodness!” Mom breathes out and bursts into tears.