Chapter 12 Stone
TWELVE
STONE
Do I feel bad for cornering her in the airplane bathroom? No. Not even if it dampened her mood like the Seattle weather because this woman lives on either end of the emotional spectrum; pissed or elated. And unfortunately, she leans heavily to the left when I’m around.
So, I figured no matter what I do, she’ll still be the same grumpy girl. Now, just a little less tightly wound.
Pulling up to my mother’s brick Tudor home near Portage Bay Reach, I break some news to Vanna that I know she’s going to hate.
“My mom’s house only has three bedrooms. Obviously, she’ll be sleeping in hers with her husband. Jace and Daphne can take the room down the hall, which leaves the basement bedroom.”
“So, you’ll be sleeping on the couch?” Vanna quips.
“Nah. I’ll take the room, but you’re more than welcome to join me.”
The slam of the front door cuts off any further argument, and my mother comes jogging down the steps of the porch.
Before I can fully extract myself from the car, she yanks me to her, pulling me into her embrace. She squeezes and shakes me like I’m the most exciting part of her year. Now holding me at arm's length, she surveys me, studying me from head to toe to spot the changes.
“No new piercings, that neck tattoo is new, you’ve gained a few pounds. Boy you’ve grown some muscles on you finally.”
“Jesus, mom.”
“Oh my God! What the hell did you do to your teeth?!”
She gasps, pulling my face down to her level and shoves her fingers in my mouth. I have to firmly remove her from my space and remind her about boundaries.
“You change every time I see you, Stone. Forgive me for being surprised. It’s not like you call me enough.”
I don’t, but anyone can see why. She’s a lot.
“Look at yourself. Your hair is… different.”
She rolls her eyes, “You’d think he barely knows me. Yes, honey. Darrin likes it shorter and said it would look just as good if I let my greys take over. It’s in that awkward phase. I haven’t grown all the blond out.”
That awkward phase makes her look older and more tired than she acts, but obviously I keep that to myself. Instead, I bend down and kiss her cheek.
“Speaking of, where is Darrin?”
“Work trip, but he’s cutting it short to make sure he makes it for the hike on Saturday.”
Turning to Jace, she gives him the same treatment.
“Hey, Mrs. Belmont. Thanks for having us.” He greets her by her new married name. “This is Daphne and that’s her best friend Vanna.”
She turns to the two and offers them warm smiles and motherly hugs.
“Come inside! Let’s get you all settled.”
We trail behind her with our luggage. As we shuck our shoes off in the foyer, she begins taking note of who is going where.
“I assume girls upstairs, boys downstairs?”
“Mom, I’m nearly thirty. Plus, Daph and Jace are having a baby.”
“What? WHAT?” From the ecstatic squeal that emits from her, you’d think she just won the lottery.
Her eyes are wider than saucer plates and the way her hands cup her own face is comical. I can’t remember the last time she was that happy about anything. Between having a dead daughter and a son who’s borderline manic, there’s not much to celebrate.
Jace smiles broadly and Daphne’s face flushes a brilliant red, but they both look content in this moment. His hand slips into hers, and they study each other as if to silently say you’re my person now.
I’m not jealous, but there’s a pit in the base of my stomach and a pinch in my chest when I watch this scene unfold. I imagine it was me coming home to tell her the news with someone I loved. Would she be just as happy?
She hugs them both again, caressing their faces and cooing over Daphne’s stomach.
“Mom. Jeez, boundaries.”
She dismisses me with a wave but still takes a step back to let them breathe again.
“Well, then the two of you can have the upstairs room. It has the adjoining en-suite.” When she turns to Vanna and I standing there awkwardly, she frowns. “Stone, honey, I can pull the air mattress out and you can sleep in our room.”
The moment this offer escapes from her lips I immediately want to hole up and die. I don’t even have to look at Vanna to know she has the most triumphant smile slapped across her face.
“Jesus, I’m a grown man. I can handle sleeping with my fiancé.”
“What? WHAT?! Stone! Stoney! Don’t you mess with me!” She slaps my chest then looks to Vanna for confirmation.
That shit eating grin she was wearing moments ago is now replaced with pure shock and bafflement.
“Mrs. Belmont, I’m so sorry-”
“Vanna and I weren’t going to tell you this weekend because of Ella’s anniversary, but since we’re sharing news...” I shrug.
I avoid looking at Jace because I can feel his judgmental glare burning a hole in my head.
Tears prickle my mother’s eyes and guilt starts to snowball inside my chest. I don’t know why I lied. I’m an adult, I don’t need her permission to sleep with anyone, so why did I make up this excuse?
Vanna’s mouth is pinched shut as if she’s afraid to ruin a moment that someone she doesn’t even know has been waiting for her whole life.
Entire scenarios pass through my mother's mind, one after another. I can tell she’s trying to keep her shit together but, in her head, she’s already creating a list of wedding guests and vendors in the area… whether or not she’ll allow my dad to come… babies.
And honestly, I’m right there with her, dreaming of all the possibilities and lives we can live if my lie were true. Maybe this is manifestation at its core and after this trip everything will point in that direction anyway.
“Um, Stone and I have to unpack. We’ll be right back up.”
My mother wipes tears from her eyes and kisses us both like we were already leaving her.
When the basement door shuts behind us, Vanna storms down each step and spins at the bottom. With a grip on my shirt, she yanks me from the stairs and backs me into the wall.
“Hot.” I wink.
I wince as she punches my shoulder, hard enough to cause me to groan. Rubbing it, I watch her pace back and forth before me.
Finally, she stops with a finger pointed at my face.
“You are evil.”
Okay, not what I expected.
“How could you use me to give your mom a false sense of happiness? Especially when she’s already dealing with so much?”
I shrug, “Look, the way I see it, she’ll be happy for the weekend while we’re here. It will distract her from Ella’s death and after we leave, we can break the news that we ended it.”
She stares at me incredulously.
“That is horrible, Stone. Not to mention, now I’m caught up in the lie. If you don’t tell her the truth, I’ll have to.”
“I mean, good luck with that. You’ve never seen my mother disappointed before. I have. Many times-”
“Clearly,” Vanna gestures to me.
“-and it’s not fun.”
“This wasn’t supposed to be a fun trip! We were here to support your mom through a tough weekend.”
“Exactly. What better way to do that than to distract her, but if you want to break the woman’s heart, then that’s on you.”
Now, I know putting Vanna in this predicament doesn’t earn me any points. In fact, I’ve probably racked up so much likability debt that I’ll have to die eight times over for her to merely even consider us friends.
But the more I’m trying to convince her about why I did what I did, the more I start to believe it myself.
She screams with her jaw clenched shut, expelling the overwhelming frustration I’ve caused.
“Come on, it could be fun to pretend.” I coax.
She starts pacing again, which tells me she’s considering it.
“Fine. But you’re calling her to tell her we broke up the minute we land.”
I raise my hands in surrender, “Fine.”
“Fine.”
Just as we come to an agreement, the basement door opens and shuts. Jace and Daphne meet us at the bottom of the stairs with wide, accusatory eyes.
“What the fuck, man?” Jace asks, exasperated.
“You have to tell her the truth.” Daphne scolds me, then brings her gaze to Vanna. “No way. You are so not going along with this, are you?”
How she can tell with just one look is impressive.
“I can’t break her heart.” She whispers back.
“This is so messed up.” Jace groans.
“Dude, I’ve got it under control. Don’t worry about it.”
I squeeze Jace’s shoulder and give him a reassuring smile that he angrily dismisses.
“You’re a mess, bro. And that’s coming from me.”
Good thing for everyone here that I never claimed to have it all together.
“I need a fucking drink.” Vanna grumbles.
I wave everyone up the stairs, herding them like slow, fat cattle. For a group of friends who just shared life changing news, there lacks even a modicum of enthusiasm.
“Lighten up guys. Seriously.” I warn before we rejoin my mother in the kitchen.