26. Mary
Twenty-Six
Mary
By the time I get home, I'm exhausted.
Not just physically.
Emotionally.
It's been one strange day after another, and all I really want is a cup of tea, my pajamas, and maybe a phone call from Kai.
Mom's already put dinner on the table.
Chicken cutlets.
Roasted potatoes.
Green beans.
Simple comfort food.
Exactly what I need.
And honestly? Looking at her sitting there waiting for me, I have to smile.
Because my mother is basically me in thirty years.
Same red hair, though now it’s liberally threaded with gray.
Same green eyes.
Same curves.
Same stubborn streak.
Just with a few laugh lines and decades of wisdom I clearly haven't earned yet.
“So,” Mom says casually as she spears a potato.
I narrow my eyes.
“So?”
“How's Kai? He, uh, does know about the female orgasm, right, Honey?”
I nearly choke on my green beans.
“Mom!”
“What? I'm old, not dead. And you sleep home way too often for a woman whose man knows where the clitoris is, that’s all I’m saying!”
“OH MY GOD! Mom, stop, please just stop! I am not talking about S-E-X with you!”
She laughs.
“Oh Mary, how did I raise such a prude?”
Then I laugh.
“I don’t know. Just lucky, I guess! Seriously though, Mom, I just didn’t want you to think I was rushing into anything. And I guess with your history with Dad, I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
She sighs.
“Oh, Honey, please tell me you’re not using my failed relationship with your father as some standard for your own happiness? No, no, no. I don’t want you to do that,” she says and clasps my hand on top of the table.
“Dad and I made a commitment, and he broke it. He left us, but I moved on with my life. And you need to do that too. I know love is scary, falling always is. But if he’s right for you, then it’s worth it. I promise.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, and feel tears pricking my eyes. “But, Mom, we haven’t talked about love or anything like that… Um, are you sure don’t you mind? About me and Kai?”
She looks genuinely surprised.
“Mind?”
“Yeah.”
“No, Honey! Of course not!” She sets down her fork. “If anything, I’m rooting for you. I mean, Mary, that man is hot as Hades.”
I burst out laughing.
“Mom!”
“What? It's true!”
“You cannot say things like that!”
“Why not? Your father was handsome, and I appreciated him properly for the time we were married. Look, Honey, I haven’t wanted to bring this up yet, but actually, Mary, I’m seeing someone.”
“What?”
“Some of those group trips? Well, they aren’t exactly group getaways. More like couples’ trips,” she confesses.
I’m shocked.
Mom is dating someone? How didn’t I know this?
“Mom, is it, I mean is he nice?”
She blushes.
“Oh, yes. He’s a real silver fox, too, and he knows how to, um, treat a lady,” she blurts and covers her eyes.
Oh my God.
I think my mom is having sex with someone.
I gasp, then I laugh so hard tears sting my eyes.
Then she reaches across the table and squeezes my hand.
“Mary.”
The teasing disappears.
“Is Kai honest?”
I nod immediately.
“Yes.”
“Does he treat you well?”
“Yes.”
“Does he make you feel good?”
“Mom…”
“Answer me.”
“Yes.”
I know I’m blushing.
“And does he make you happy?”
I smile before I can stop myself.
“Yes.”
Mom smiles too.
“Well then, what's the problem?”
“Oh, I don't know. I mean it’s too soon to talk about love yet. And I don't want to mess this up.”
Her eyes soften.
“Honey, love doesn’t come in at anyone’s preconceived notion of a schedule. But look, all I can tell you is I love you, and I am so proud of you.”
My throat tightens.
“And I never, ever want you settling for anything less than you deserve.”
I blink rapidly.
“Mom…”
“If you care about him, Mary, and he makes you happy…”
She shrugs.
“I say go for it.”
“But what about you?”
She laughs.
“Me? I’ll be fine. Maybe it’s time I brought Arnold home to meet you and Kai. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Then she grins.
“That would be great, Mom.”
By the time dinner is over, my heart feels lighter.
Maybe because she's right.
Maybe because hearing her approval means more to me than I realized.
Maybe because I love her.
Probably all three.
An hour later, I'm showered and wrapped in my favorite pajamas.
And that's dangerous.
Because lying in bed alone with nothing but my thoughts means one thing.
Kai.
Always Kai.
Images of him flash through my mind.
His smile.
His laugh.
The way he calls me Firecracker.
The way he holds me afterward.
The way he looks at me like I'm precious.
Like I mean something to him.
I hate nights when we're apart.
I miss him.
And maybe that's silly.
Maybe I'm fooling myself.
Maybe this whole thing is moving too fast.
But I’m worried because usually by now he's already texted me goodnight.
And it's getting late.
I know he's working.
Bodyguard things.
Mysterious dangerous things.
I should be patient.
My phone buzzes.
My entire face lights up.
Then I see the sender.
Sabrina.
Not Kai.
I open the text.
And immediately groan.
Sabrina
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Followed by…
Sabrina
Father Peter says cream or ivory gown, and do we want strawberries in the cake?
“That brat,” I mutter.
Another text arrives.
Sabrina
Should I start planning your shower now or wait until after Bingo?
I throw my pillow at the wall.
Then immediately pick it back up because I actually like that pillow.
I stare at my phone.
Because now I have to text Kai.
I have to somehow explain that the rumor mill at Our Lady of Grace Academy has apparently skipped straight past dating and arrived at holy matrimony.
Oh Lord.
I just hope he doesn't think I started any of this.