Chapter 48
Shay
What was going on? A stranger—David, apparently—was standing tall in Mima’s dining room and claiming to be my mother’s fiancé.
I cocked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?”
“He’s my fiancé,” Mom said, confident as ever.
As if she didn’t hear how ludicrous the words leaving her mouth were.
My mother didn’t have a fiancé. Heck, my mother didn’t even have a boyfriend.
My mother was the freaking CEO of WWLTHMC—Women Who Love to Hate Men Club.
She didn’t date men; she passionately hated them.
I could thank my dear, disgusting father for that fact.
David walked over to Mom and wrapped his arms around her. She held him back, too. Yup. That was right. My mother’s body was pressed against a man.
Again—what in the world was going on?
“Uh, I can tell that this seems like a private matter, so perhaps I should get going,” Landon said, standing from his seat.
“Probably a good idea,” Mima agreed.
“Of course,” Landon agreed. Landon said his goodbyes to everyone and hurried away, leaving the four of us to talk.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know Landon was going to be here,” Mom commented. “If I did, we would’ve brought more wine.”
“What do you mean you’re engaged?!” Mima shouted, ignoring Mom’s words.
Mom’s face turned a nice shade of red as David took her hand into his. “I didn’t know how to tell you guys, but we’ve been dating for a while.”
“How long is a while?” I asked.
“Three months,” Mom replied.
“Three months?!” I gasped. “And you didn’t even tell us you were dating someone?!”
“How did you two meet?” Mima asked, taking a seat at the table. She gestured for the two to do the same, and they did. There was a sparkle in Mima’s eyes as if she was excited about this ridiculous engagement. It was apparent that she and I had differing opinions on the matter.
Mom began to explain, “Well, when I went to pick up Bella three months ago, there seemed to be some confusion on the paperwork. It seemed that David was also promised my sweet Bella. He showed up at the same time as I did, and of course, I was furious. I mean, you know how much I loved Bella the minute I saw her. Well, David was just as passionate about the situation. So we came to an agreement that we would co-parent Bella.”
Oh, for the love of God. Is this real life?
David smiled. “And one night, when it was my turn to drop Bella off, I realized Camila had a terrible cold. I’m a doctor and—”
“A doctor?!” Mima beamed, her eyes growing wider with joy. “Go on!”
David bashfully continued, “Yes, well, I’m a doctor, and I was trying to help prescribe her something to make her feel better.
But you know Camila. She’s hard to give advice to.
Especially when said advice is coming from a man.
But I insisted. We bickered back and forth for a while, and she finally told me that she was a nurse and she could take care of herself.
I told her that just because she could take care of herself, that didn’t mean she had to.
Long story short, it turned out we worked at the same hospital, we fell in love over debates and bad coffee from vending machines, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, and here we are!
Meeting the family!” He turned to me with the biggest smile.
“By the way, Shay, hi. It’s so nice to meet you.
Camila has gone on and on about how amazing you are. ”
I gave him the blankest of stares.
“Well, this is so exciting! Let’s open up the wine to celebrate!” Mima said as if she didn’t just hear the most horrifying story of her life.
“Wait, no. You two aren’t really engaged. Mom, you wouldn’t just marry someone you don’t know.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t,” she said. “But I do know David. I feel like I’ve known him all my life.”
“That’s ridiculous and childish,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, but I’m not going to play along with this.”
“Shannon Sofia, watch your tone,” Mima ordered.
“I’m sorry, Mima, but this is insane. You’re making a mistake, Mom. A massive mistake. It’s clear that he’s trying to get something from you. He wouldn’t just want to marry you.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I tasted the bitterness of them.
Mom’s eyes watered over. “And why’s that, Shay? Because I’m not good enough?” she asked.
“No. Stop. That came out wrong. What I meant was, no one should get engaged that soon. You need more time to see how he’ll let you down.”
“Shay.” Mima sighed. “Not every man is the devil.”
“Yes, but they can all hurt you the same way the devil can.”
“When did you become this way, Shay? When did you become so cold?” Mom asked, leaving me baffled.
“Are you kidding, Mom? Everything I’ve learned about hating men, I’ve learned from you. Just look at how your previous husband turned out to be. I can’t really trust that you know how to pick men.”
“Shannon Sofia,” Mima scolded. “That’s enough.”
The tears sitting at the back of Mom’s eyes began rolling down her cheeks, and David was quick to soothe her. Mima was staring at me with shock in her eyes.
“Shannon Sofia, maybe you should go if you are going to have that attitude. This is a joyous occasion, and I won’t let you ruin this for your mother.”
Mima was right. I should’ve left, because nothing about me was feeling joyful in that moment. I felt confused. Betrayed. Mom spent years expressing how men were evil. How could she just up and change her mind one day and act as if it was normal?
I gathered my things and murmured an apology on my way out.
“Shay, wait!” a voice called after me as I was walking down the hallway.
I turned to see David chasing after me. A knot formed in my stomach as he approached me, and I pulled my purse closer to my chest.
“Yes?”
He rubbed his hand against his full salt-and-pepper beard and sighed.
“I know you don’t trust me. You have every reason to be wary.
You don’t know me from Dick or Jane, but I promise on everything that I am that I love your mother.
I love her so much in ways that I didn’t know love could exist, and I will spend forever proving to both her and you that my love is true. ”
“I’m sorry, this is just too much for me. You have no clue what my family has been through.”
“I know. I only know the things Camila has shared with me about your father, and your grandfather, and I know that there is a lot of trauma. I want you to know that I’m OK with you not trusting me right off the bat. Trust is earned, not given. Take as much time as you need.”
I left my grandmother’s with heavy guilt sitting on my chest for making my mother cry. I ended up at Landon’s place.
I wasn’t even sure why. I should’ve gone home.
When Landon let me into his place, his eyes locked with mine. His stare looked heavy like my own. I wondered if he looked broken because he knew I was broken. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my body.
That night I broke my own set of rules . . . I stayed the night at his place.
I cried in his arms. He let me fall apart.
I should’ve gone home, I thought to myself again.
Oddly enough, as my heart shattered in his arms, as I fell asleep with his arms wrapped around me, I felt as if I was already there.
I felt as if I was already home.
That petrified me.