Chapter 7
7
G loria watched Sean as he spoke to her. He seemed sincere. Her heart twisted as he told her how he was thinking of her. He wanted her to shine, he said.
They'd both been so stupid. She'd let her feelings get hurt along with her broken heart, rather than asking for more information from him.
When he told her he was breaking up with her, she didn't even ask why. She just got mad. She flew into a rage, actually. How could he do this? She'd been there with him for three years. Three years she knew he was the one. She believed with her whole heart they'd marry.
She'd gone to every gig with him. She did his college homework with hers. They were inseparable. They ate together. They made love all the time. And her heart was broken.
She knew in her heart he was the one. And he had treated her as if she didn't matter anymore. She felt like a piece of garbage he was finished using and tossed away.
Those green eyes when he stared at her. Gah! She remembered all those years ago looking into them. How she loved staring at him. He was so incredibly handsome. He was everything any girl could ever want.
She'd always been so proud when she watched him play and the other girls were swooning over the members of the band. And she knew. She knew he was coming home with her.
And she knew what his hands felt like on her body.
And she knew what his kisses were like. How soft, how sensual. Oh, he was the best kisser.
She'd never kissed a man who kissed her like he had all those years ago. She longed for his lips on hers for years.
And then she'd get mad at herself all over again for even holding a place in her heart for him. And then Mina would need something. And she'd look at Mina, her beautiful daughter, and remember Sean all over again.
It was such a bitter, vicious cycle that she'd lived for the last twenty-five years. Wanting him, hating him, wanting him, loving him, hating him. It went on and on and on.
The only thing she could do was make herself hate him to get over the hurt. To deny getting in touch with him, even for Mina. And she'd worked her ass off finding people to substitute for Sean.
For years, her father was there. When he passed away, she found friends whose daughters were similar in age to Mina, and they would step in for whatever was needed. Sometimes it was just a softball game, or teaching her how to play soccer, or any of the other benefits that a male influence in her life would help.
Gloria had a good friend, Brody, who was also her producer at the time. And there was Frank Washington, who taught Mina how to drive, because Gloria didn't have the patience for that. It was too scary. Her guts twisted when they were driving down the road and Mina almost made a wrong turn. Brody took Mina to a father-daughter dance. He even coached her softball team so he could be there for her. He'd stepped up so many ways. He still had dinner with them a couple times a month.
And it worked out beautifully. She reassured herself, "I'm doing the right thing. I'm doing the right thing."
And now she looked at Sean with his heart broken because of her.
In the past she would have thought, Good. Let it break. He broke mine. But then he told her his heart broke, and he did it for her. Now she just wanted to cry.
Then he said, "I think we need to bring Mina in and have a chat with her." And fear flooded her.
Her stomach twisted. She thought she'd lose her lunch.
She sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few moments. Then she swallowed multiple times to try and keep everything down.
She simply nodded and walked toward the door. She couldn't say anything else. And she was so worried.
Mina was angry with her. Sean was angry with her. Having them both in the same room with her felt like she was going to be standing before the firing squad.
Was that melodramatic? Of course it was. She was an entertainer. She was in the entertainment industry. Of course, she was melodramatic.
This heavy situation needed some melodrama. It was a story people read about and shook their heads. How could anyone do that to two people you loved?
Opening the door to the sitting room, she saw Mina standing in front of it, waiting.
"He wants to talk to you."
Mina moved instantly toward the door. She reached out her arms to hug Mina to her but was brushed away as Mina hurried to the living room and Sean.
Blowing out a breath, Gloria followed behind Mina and waited near the sofa as her beautiful daughter approached Sean. He smiled at her and Gloria's breath caught in her throat. How was it he still looked like he did twenty-some-odd years ago? How she loved his smile. He held his arms open and Mina stepped into them and hugged him as hard as he hugged her. They wavered in front of her as her eyes filled with tears that threatened to overflow. Her nose began running, and she turned to search for a tissue box. She found one on the coffee table and pulled a tissue from the box. She swiped at her nose while Sean and Mina largely ignored her.
Stepping around the sofa, Gloria decided to step out of the room and let them chat together. She needed to go over her questions now, because obviously, there were things she needed to phrase differently. Do you have children? That answer was yes. He had a daughter.
Her daughter. Their daughter.