Chapter Ten #3
More cars swoosh by, people honking, the usual street sounds of Seattle, but my world just narrowed.
“I care about her,” I say honestly. “She’s… she’s strong. And smart. And braver than she should have to be. And funny in a very subtle way that sneaks up on you. And when she dances, it’s like—”
Nope… abort mission. Backpedal as fast as you can. This is getting too deep.
“I had no idea you were even seeing anyone. And now you’re married, and I wasn’t there…”
“I know. I’m sorry. I promise it was a last-minute thing. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Heat shoots up my neck. I didn't mean to hurt my mother. That’s not what this was about.
“I hear her take a long breath, and then she clears her throat. “You know… I don’t believe I ever told you this story, but do you know how your father and I got married?” she asks.
I think for a second. I know they met in college, but I don’t think I ever heard anything more than that, probably because I never asked.
“No… I don’t.”
She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth as if I should settle in for a long story.
“Well, we met when we were both in college. We went to the University of Las Vegas. I met him on the first day as I was trying to find my dorm. I got the building wrong and wandered up to his dorm room. I knocked, and he opened the door. We both laughed about it, and then he helped me find my building. It turned out that he had the same dorm number as me, two buildings away. The next day, I saw him in my first class, then my second… it also turned out that our schedules were almost the same.”
“And you had never met before.” Now part of the story is coming together. I do remember parts of this.
“Yep. So finally he came to sit next to me in our third class. As it happened, he grew up in one town over our entire lives. We had barely been missing each other all this time. He was the quarterback for our rival team, and I was a cheerleader for the other. We had passed by each other probably a dozen times in our lives but had never met.”
“That’s right… I think some of this is coming together.”
“He asked me on a date a few days later, and it went so well that he teased me about getting married by Elvis, and I said yes. We were married after a week of knowing each other.”
“And Grandma was furious when she found out.” That was always the part of the story I remembered.
“She was. I had married a boy that I had known for a week, and we hadn’t given either set of parents a chance to be there. We did make it up to them later and had a big wedding.”
“I’m not sure if that’s going to happen for us, Ma, but I’ll talk to her about it,” I say, hoping that maybe she’s about to let me off the hook. “So you’re not mad?”
“I’m disappointed I missed my first son’s wedding…
yes,” she fires back quickly. “But I can’t throw stones.
Your father and I believed that fate had been trying to get us together for years, and we just didn’t have our eyes open.
If you love this woman, then I understand why you couldn’t let her leave. ”
“So I have your blessing?” I ask.
I can hear the hesitation in her voice. “Bring her to your cousin's wedding so I can meet my new daughter-in-law, and I might forgive you.”
“I recorded the wedding ceremony for you. I’ll send it tonight, okay?”
“Thank you. I would love to see it.”
Before I can dig myself any deeper, she switches gears.
“There is another reason I called. Your father’s physical therapist pulled me aside yesterday,” she says softly. “He wanted us to know there’s… something new.”
Everything in me goes still.
“What happened?” I ask.
“It’s a clinical trial,” she says. “Regenerative nerve work. Very advanced. It’s still very early, but they are seeing huge benefits.
Some people are regaining mobility—some even walking again.
It’s overseas, and it’s… well, it’s really expensive, Scottie.
More than we could ever afford. And the waiting list could be ten years. ”
I stop walking completely.
“Ten years?” I echo.
“Yes,” she says, voice trembling. “And your father already said no. We’d have to borrow against the house to even come close. He’s refusing now that the house is almost paid off. He doesn’t want to leave me in debt if something happens to him, just for a small chance to walk again, but…”
My throat tightens. Hard.
“Ma,” I say. “If there’s even a chance he could walk again, I’ll pay of it—”
“We can’t ask you to—”
“You’re not asking,” I cut in. “I’m telling you. I’ll handle the cost. Whatever it is. We’re applying.”
“Scottie—”
“No,” I say firmly. “I don’t care if the list is ten years long. I don’t care what it costs. If there’s even a sliver of hope that he could get better, then we’re trying. End of discussion.”
She sniffles softly. The sound hits me straight in the gut.
“You’re a good son,” she says, her voice cracking, trying to keep the emotions together.
“I had good teachers,” I say quietly.
And seeing how Katerina was raised, I realize even more how good I had it being raised by my parents. If I can give anything back to them, I’m happy to do it.
There’s a beat of silence where I can almost feel her smiling at that.
“Just… call me next time?” she whispers. “I want to know the girl who made my son get married without warning. I am a matchmaker after all. Whatever skills she has, I would love to borrow them to get some of these men from dragging their feet to the altar.”
I let out a laugh. If your client has a brother, teach him how to shoot pool. It worked for Luka, I want to say, but I don’t.
“Yeah,” I breathe. “You’ll meet her soon, and you can get all her tips.”
We say our goodbyes, and I pocket the phone. Relief floods that at least my mother won’t hate me forever, but the thing that’s sticking with me now is my dad’s health.
I need to find a way to get him into that trial. But not in ten years… I need to get him in now.
The Commons rises in front of me, glass windows catching the fading afternoon light.
The building looks familiar and strange at the same time—like it used to be just an apartment complex, but now it’s also the place where my wife is waiting upstairs with chamomile tea and tired feet and a text from her father that terrified her.
No matter how hard I try to play it cool, this thing, this marriage, this woman… has already crawled under my skin.
And I’m not sure I want her to leave.