Chapter 26 #2
“All right, let’s go get that lunch I promised you. We’ll be wild and have a glass of wine with our salads and pretend we’re
more sophisticated than we are.”
“You’ve always been sophisticated, Ava. You can’t help it. But I’ll pretend I’m just like you because that always makes me
feel better.”
“We’ll go golfing next weekend,” Victoria said as she and her father walked around the high school track. “I’m trying to be careful so I don’t have to go crawling back to Dr. Chi and say I messed up. But wow, walking the track is boring, for which I apologize.”
“Being with you is never boring, baby girl. I want to spend time with you. I don’t care what we do.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
She knew he was telling the truth—he always did. The morning was clear and sunny with the promise of a warm afternoon. She
took a deep breath, grateful to be outside. For the past week she’d been holed up with her screenplay, trying to figure out
how to make the changes the story obviously needed.
“Margarite is pregnant,” she said. “It’s such a pain in my ass.”
“That’s going to change the trajectory of the story. Are you happy or pissed about the revelation?”
“I’m disappointed in her lack of sexual responsibility, and I’m not excited about all the extra work, but it feels right.
I took the new outline to my critique group. They were enthused and supportive.”
“I’m glad. I look forward to reading the new draft.”
She winced. “Do we have to say draft? That implies forty-seven more iterations. I don’t think I have that in me.”
He chuckled. “It won’t be forty-seven, but you’ll be fine with whatever it is you have to do.”
“You don’t know that.”
He glanced at her. “I do, in fact. You forget I was there for a lot of your training, first in gymnastics and then in cheer.
You were always the first one on the floor and the last one to walk away from practice. You have flaws, daughter of mine,
but not doing the work isn’t one of them.”
The compliment warmed her. “How can you say I have flaws? I’m practically perfect.”
“You’re okay.”
She grinned. “Wow. I’m basking in the praise.” She thought about her last conversation with Shannon. “I will admit it’s possible I’m emotionally stunted.”
Milton stopped and stared at her. “That’s harsh. Why would you say that?”
“I dumped Javiar.” She paused. “Actually I think he dumped me, but I sort of pushed him to do it. He wanted to date, and I
was only interested in . . .” Had she been talking to her mother, she would have been comfortable saying I only wanted sex, but somehow with her dad, she felt the need to be a little more delicate. “I didn’t want things to get serious.”
“Because you don’t want to get hurt again. Were you in love with Prescott?”
“Dad! How do you know that’s who I was involved with on the shoot?”
He smiled. “I’m not an idiot. The other male stars were either married or not your type, so that left Prescott.”
“Maybe it was a grip or a stuntman named Danny.”
“The dumping had all the earmarks of a famous guy being a dick. Hence Prescott.”
“You impress me.”
“Thank you. Were you in love with him?”
“I thought I was.” She sighed. “I knew it was a long location shoot and not the real world, so I was careful. We started hanging
out as friends, so when things got serious, I believed the things he said. But the whole time he was playing me.”
“That’s on him, not on you.”
“Maybe, but I’m the one who was hurt.”
Her father gave her a quick side hug as they continued walking. “And because of how busy you were with sports in high school,
you never developed the romantic relationship skills you needed to handle the breakup. You deliberately avoided emotional
relationships until you found yourself already in one. Then you couldn’t cope, so now you’re avoiding taking another chance.”
She stopped in the middle of the track and put her hands on her hips. “I’m not emotionally stunted,” she said loudly, even
though she’d already admitted she was. “Or broken.”
“You’re many things, Victoria, but broken isn’t one of them. You’re wonderful and, in almost all things, one of the strongest women I know, but when it comes to matters
of the heart, you lack courage.”
“Ouch.”
“I say that with love.”
“It still hurts.”
“I’m sorry.”
She glared at him. “You’re sorry I’m hurt, but you’re not sorry you said it,” she clarified.
“That’s correct.”
They started walking again. “If this is part of growing up, I don’t like it.”
“No one does, but the hard lessons have the biggest reward. I gave your mother your screenplay.”
She spun to face him. “You did what?” she shouted. “That was private.”
He actually rolled his eyes at her. “Is it private, or do you want to sell it? Because if you’re just writing to work through
some issues, you’re going to need a little more in your life.”
“Dad!”
“If you mean to be a screenwriter, then you need to get used to the idea of people reading and critiquing your work. Your
mother has a very good eye for talent. She used to look over every screenplay I was thinking of buying. Besides, the second
you gave it to me, you knew I’d eventually pass it on to her.”
He kind of had a point about all of it, she thought grudgingly.
“I’ve made a lot of changes since that first version. Right now I’m ripping the whole thing apart, and I’m not sure how it’s
going to go back together.”
“You can tell her that when you two talk about her notes.”
Notes from her mother? She could only imagine.
“I can’t believe you went behind my back and did that.”
“No, what you can’t believe is it took me so long to give it to her.”
She held in a smile. “Does it bother you to be so predictable?”
“Not when it comes to the women I love. Stability is important in a relationship.”
“Nothing rattles you, does it?”
He winked at her. “I have my moments, but this isn’t one of them.”
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too.”
They walked for another half lap, then she asked, “Do you think I need therapy?”
“Sweetie, we all need therapy. But in your case, if you have an issue, I suggest that you write about it. For you, that’s
always going to be the right answer.”
Shannon’s first clue that her mom was back from her mystery trip was the sight of her car in the office parking lot. Her stomach
immediately flipped, making her regret the oatmeal she’d had for breakfast. Over the past week and a half, she’d texted her
mother nearly a half dozen times. Cindy had answered the last one, saying she was fine and would be back in the office by
the end of the week. And here she was.
“You can do this,” she told herself as she parked and grabbed her bag. She’d spent a lot of time thinking about what she wanted
to say. Hopefully her mom would be open to listening.
She went into her office to check her email. When she saw there wasn’t anything urgent, she walked to her mother’s office
and knocked on the open door.
“Welcome back,” she said as she stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her.
“Thanks,” Cindy said with a smile that wasn’t quite as broad and welcoming as usual. “We were in Las Vegas.”
“Fun.” Shannon sat in the visitor’s chair. “Mom, I’m sorry.”
Cindy looked away. “We don’t have to talk about this. I’m fine.”
“Please, I need to say this. I’m sorry for keeping my engagement from you. I was completely wrong. I hurt you, I disrespected
you, and while I’m guessing at some point you’ll forgive me, you’re going to remember what I did forever. It’s all on me.
I should have told you as soon as Aaron proposed. I should have let you share in the moment. You were right in everything
you said before. We’re supposed to be there for each other and be able to trust each other. I messed up in every way there
is, and I’m deeply sorry for what I did.”
Cindy blinked several times as if holding in tears. “I appreciate that you said that, but I can’t figure out why you didn’t
tell me. What did I do to make you think that was okay?”
The words hurt, but she figured she deserved them. “It wasn’t okay. I was wrong.”
Her mom brushed that aside. “Fine, you were wrong, but why did you want to keep your engagement a secret from me when you
told other people?”
Shannon pressed her lips together. “I didn’t tell other people. With Ava, it just slipped out. Aaron’s family didn’t know
either. We were just . . .”
Be honest, she told herself. It was past time for her to stand up for herself and say what she wanted.
“Mom, I love you so much. You’ve always been there for me. You’ve helped me and guided me and been my biggest cheerleader.
You sacrificed so much for me, and I appreciate all of it. But it has to stop. I need to grow up, and the only way for that
to happen is for me to stand on my own.”
“What does that have to do with you not telling me about your engagement?”
“I don’t want a double wedding. Actually I don’t want a wedding at all, but that’s not the real issue.”
Her mother stared at her. “A double wedding? What are you talking about? I don’t want that either.”
“Really? Because you’ve mentioned it about five times. You still want us to dress alike. We celebrate our birthdays together.
I love that we’re close, but in some ways, we’re too close. You’re the voice in my head and the person I always run to. I
need to stand on my own. It was never about the wedding, and it was never about you. It was about me being afraid to say what
I want.”
Cindy shook her head. “You’re saying I’m a bad mother?”
And this was why she’d always kept her mouth shut, Shannon thought in frustration. “I’m saying it’s time I started acting
like an adult. Please help me with that. Please accept that I need to be my own person, and doing that isn’t about rejecting
you.”
Cindy seemed to shrink a little. “I was only kidding about the double wedding.”
Shannon offered a faint smile. “For real? Because it felt like more.”
Her mom shifted a little. “I might have thought about how fun it would be, but not seriously.” She drew in a breath. “I thought
you liked us celebrating our birthdays together.”
“I do, but maybe not every year. Wouldn’t you like Luis to take you away sometime?”
Cindy’s eyes filled with tears. “What else don’t you like about me?”
“Mom, don’t, please. It has to be okay that we’re different people. You like ketchup on your hamburgers, and I prefer mustard.
Can’t this just be that?”
“I don’t feel rejected when you don’t like ketchup.” She wiped her face. “I thought you liked us wearing the same clothes
and having a joint birthday party.”
“Sometimes, but not all the time. I need to figure out how to be a little more independent. To that end, I’ve applied to technical college.” She smiled. “It’s one of the ones you mentioned a while ago. I’m going to study environmental horticulture. I’ll be starting this fall.”
“Really? Oh, darling, that’s wonderful. Do you have to write an essay or send them transcripts? Can I contact your high school
for you, or Cal State San Diego? I could . . .” She inhaled sharply. “That was probably an example of me doing what you said
I do.”
“A little, yes.”
“It’s only because I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, Mom. You’re an amazing woman and so supportive. But for the next little bit, why don’t you let me handle
things on my own? If I need help, I’ll ask.”
“That’s going to be hard for me.”
“Same here. I’m used to you always stepping in to fix things. Imagine my shock when I have to figure out a solution on my
own.”
Cindy nodded, then sighed. “I don’t want to let go. I don’t want you to grow up and not need me.”
“I’ll always need you. You’ll always be my mom.”
“Will you be going to school full-time?”
“I will, so I guess I’m giving notice. Four months’ worth, but still.”
“What about a part-time job?” Cindy asked. “We could figure something out here and—” She pressed a hand to her chest. “My
God, it’s a disease.” She smiled. “Shannon, will you be working part-time while you go to school?”
Shannon grinned. “Yes, Mom. I’ll be working with Aaron.”
“How nice for the two of you.”
They both laughed. Cindy leaned forward. “Show me the ring.”
Shannon held out her hand. Her mother sighed.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, but yours is bigger,” Shannon teased.
Cindy admired her own ring. “Yes, it is, and I like that. Now, did you actually say you don’t want a wedding, or did I hear that wrong?”
“I don’t want much of a wedding.”
“But Shannon, you have to. Every little girl dreams of her wedding day. I’d hate for you to regret not having the memories.”
“Mom, it’s what we want. Neither of us want to deal with a wedding. We’re thinking a park and then the reception at his folks’
house or your house.”
“But you could . . .” Cindy groaned. “I mean—” She made a strangled sound. “I’m disappointed by your decision, but if it’s
what you and Aaron want, then it’s what you should do. Except I always thought I’d be a part of your wedding. You know, all
the Mother of the Bride things that happen.”
“I promise when we start having kids, you can do all the grandma stuff you want. But we’re going to get married in a park
some afternoon. Nothing formal. No guests, just family. Immediate family.”
“Will you at least let me buy you that princess dress?”
“I found one I like on .”
Her mother winced. “They sell wedding gowns?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But . . .” Cindy shook her head. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
Her mom was trying so hard, she thought, appreciating the effort. She wished there was some way to make her feel better about
the situation. While she didn’t want the big, fancy wedding for herself, she could understand how Cindy wanted it for her.
“What if we got married the day before your wedding?” she said without thinking. “You picked a Sunday afternoon and evening.
Aaron and I could get married the day before. It’s just a park wedding, so there’s not much planning. It’s not exactly a double
wedding, but it’s close.”
Her mother’s eyes filled with tears again, but this time, happy ones. She rushed around the desk. Shannon stood, and they hugged each other.
“I love that idea, but only if you’re sure.”
“I am.” Aaron would be fine with them doing that, and it would go a long way to mending fences with her mom. “What if I make
us each a bouquet that’s exactly the same? I’ll carry mine Saturday, and you’ll carry yours on Sunday.”
“That’s perfect.” Her mother beamed at her. “Thank you so much.”
They hugged again.
“Now, is there any way I can talk you into the princess dress?”
“No, but you can buy me a latte.”
“Done.”