Chapter 2 #3
He turned to look for Ainsley, who no longer stood on the porch or near the surfboards. Or anywhere. Where did she go? He turned back to his mother and Thea.
“I should leave you be,” Thea said, but something in the pit of Ryan’s stomach wanted her to stay, so when Cece said, “Nonsense. Let’s have that coffee now,” he agreed.
“Yes, come in and have something to drink. We have a great spot where you two ladies can sit and catch up.”
“I wish I could,” Thea said, squeezing Cece’s hand. “Really, I do.”
She paused, looking at his mother with affection he’d never seen from any of his girlfriends.
In fact, most of his girlfriends had barely tolerated his mother, if not disliked her altogether.
Not that Cece made it easy on them. As a single mother who had been nineteen when he was born, the two had essentially grown up together.
So, once he’d started earning money, he’d taken care of her.
She always lived close enough for him to just run over if she needed help.
Not a lot of women like him breaking dates or canceling plans so that he can fix something at his mother’s place.
It wasn’t until she’d fallen this past spring that he’d known things had to change. No longer could he let his mother live alone, especially since neither one of them had settled down and created another family.
It had always been, and continued to be, just him and his mother.
No Miss Wisconsin would change that.
“There’s no ring on her finger,” Cece said to him as they said goodbye to the shop owner, and he led his mother back into the house.
“What?” he asked, but he knew what was going on in her mind.
“Oh, nothing…” his mother said, walking ahead of him. “Let me get into the kitchen and see what’s in the fridge before your cousins get here.”
He had a fully stocked fridge, knowing that Cece would take charge of the menu. No more smoothies for dinner that left green stringy things between his teeth.
“Tell me you’ll make your ribs,” he said, hoping baby back ribs would be between his teeth tonight.
“Let me see if you have what I need,” Cece said, going up the steps and straight into the house.
When he got inside, Ainsley disappeared out back by the pool.
She didn’t offer to help or even ask what needed to be done before everyone got there.
When he peeked out the window, she was sitting on a lounge chair texting on her phone.
He hoped she’d make more of an effort. He snuck a glance at his mother, who was already in the process of pulling off the membrane from the back of the ribs.
“How long have you two been together?” his mother asked, as if reading his mind.
He tried to think back to the exact date but was a bit foggy on the time frame. Somewhere after the holidays and before his vacation to the Bahamas. “We met on vacation. We sometimes see each other.”
He could see her calculating her next words. “How long is she staying this summer?”
He shrugged. “As long as she wants to, I guess. Just get to know her before you decide that you don’t like her.”
“Alright…”
He let her last bit of the conversation hang in the air. He knew she wanted to give her opinion, but he didn’t want to hear it. He was well aware of what she was going to say. It was written with the scowl across her face.
“I’m not one to interfere,” she said.
“Oh no,” he laughed, waiting to hear her thoughts on his newest girlfriend. Then he changed gears. “So, you really don’t like being on the island?”
He hadn’t thought that at all. He remembered her loving the beauty of the island, telling him that one day he’d buy her a house just like the big ones.
She shrugged. “It’s just hard memories for me. Missing your childhood. You got to have a wonderful summer each year. And we did have nice times, but sticking my head in other people’s toilets for extra money all summer was not a dream come true for me.”
As an English teacher in the city, Cece did her best. She always worked where she could keep Ryan. Daycares, preschools, and the inn, which allowed workers’ children to join summer day camp.
“It was because you played football with Kyle’s father,” she said. “He let you come to the camp because Kyle wanted a friend. So, he connected me with the owner of the inn to clean rooms.”
The backdoor smacked against the frame and they stopped talking as Ainsley passed through the room.
“Need anything?” he asked her as she pushed her sunglasses on top of her head, standing in a visibly see-through bikini.
“I was thinking we could make, like, fun drinks for the afternoon.” Ainsley sipped from the large straw of her water bottle. He wondered if it actually had water inside it.
“I better go potty!” she said, bouncing out of the kitchen on her tiptoes.
“I think you’ll like her,” he said, when the bathroom door slammed closed from the mudroom.
“I think you know better,” Cece said. “I’m just waiting for you to do better.”
And there it was. His mother’s opinion, loud and clear. As always, her complaint about every woman he dated. She wasn’t good enough, because in his mother’s mind, Ryan could always do better.