Chapter 14
LIZZY
Lizzy gripped the phone tighter. As she counted her breaths, she pulled away from Victor.
“I have to take this call,” she mouthed.
He gestured for her to have her privacy and got up to go into the kitchen, leaving her alone with her mother’s disappointment. A familiar feeling.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I told you that boy was nothing but trouble. Lazy good-for-nothing from the start. Maybe now you can get your life on track. It’s never too late to go back to school. That’s what I did after I left Frank Jr.”
Just hearing her father’s name was like having a knife twisted in her gut. She hadn’t told her mom that he’d died. She couldn’t keep dragging this out forever.
“I know, Mom,” she replied.
“You say that, but then you keep choosing these losers. I tried introducing you to Brenda’s son, the lawyer. He was nice. If you have to date, might as well be someone making good money.”
He was also a raging narcissist and told Lizzy to her face that she was too fat and too old to be worth his time. But she wasn’t going to say that.
“We didn’t gel,” she said instead.
“Well, you’re worth more than losers like Steven.”
“Yep.” Lizzy felt the numbness rising, the desire to retreat coming up to choke her. She couldn’t let it though.
She switched the phone from ear to ear as her mother kept on about all her past mistakes. “I told you it wasn’t worth giving up your dreams for him. I told you that now is the time to come back home. Go to school, get your degree. I’ll support you. Like I’ve been begging you to do all along.”
“There’s something else I haven’t told you yet,” she said, the words bursting from her.
Her mom sighed heavily. “Goddess preserve me. Don’t tell me you’re pregnant!”
“Goddess, no.” Lizzy chuckled slightly. She religiously took birth control. She couldn’t bring a child into her tumultuous life.
“Then, what? Spit it out. You’re always beating around the bush, just say it.”
Lizzy braced against the words. She never felt like she measured up to her mother’s expectations.
Who, after getting a divorce, had never dated again, gotten a degree, and maintained an active social life.
She often lectured Lizzy on her wasted potential, on spending time on men and dating.
Lizzy disagreed. She’d become addicted to the rush of falling in love—the sweep of emotions, the passion, all of it.
Until the relationship inevitably fell apart.
Like it would with Victor in the end… The signs were already there. Lizzy pushed the thought aside for now.
“Mom, listen.” She exhaled. “Frank Jr. passed.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. For a moment, she thought they’d gotten disconnected. “Mom, you there?”
“Oh,” her mom said. Lizzy might have imagined it, but there seemed to be a tinge of sadness in her tone.
Another long pause. She wished they were face-to-face so she could read her mother’s feelings and better address her mood. Was she sad? Angry? Remorseful?
Her mother made a choked sound. “I—” She took a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry to hear that. How did—how did he die?”
Lizzy bit her lower lip and fought back the tears that threatened to spill. “Heart attack. I came back to Pumpkin Hollow to handle his estate—the house and diner.”
“I see.”
They both fell silent again.
Lizzy didn’t know what to say. Her mother was rarely sad, but then again, she was rarely face-to-face with her mother. Much like her father had done with her, she’d put distance between them, using boyfriends and out-of-state jobs to separate her from the ups and downs of her mother’s emotions.
“I’m so sorry,” her mother breathed. “I know things didn’t end well between Frank—your father and me, but I loved him once. And I know he loved you.”
It was perhaps the most genuine thing she’d heard from her mother in as long as she could remember.
“I wish you were here,” Lizzy confessed.
“Me too. I should have been there with you to deal with it all.”
“It’s fine. Victor handled most everything.”
“Victor?” Her tone rose with accusation and curiosity.
“Dad’s business partner. He owns half of the diner. Long story.”
“Oh. Well, seems everything is under control. I guess you’re grown and don’t need your mom to run your life anymore, do you?”
There was a protest on Lizzy’s lips. She wanted to tell her mom that of course she needed her.
But she was over forty now. Well past the age where her mother should be determining her life’s trajectory.
She’d wanted a fresh start, but returning to her mother’s home would be starting back at the beginning.
The same habits, a different day. It wasn’t a solution, just the same problem reimagined.
“Yeah, I’ve got it under control.”
“Apparently.” There was a slight tinge of humor in her mom’s tone. “Is that why you ended things with Steven?”
“No. He cheated. But it was a long time coming. And when Victor called and told me Frank Jr. had passed, I kind of dropped everything and came back home.”
“That isn’t your home. Your home is here with me.” Her mother sounded affronted.
“Pumpkin Hollow was once.” She turned to see Victor hovering in the doorway to the kitchen with an encouraging smile. She gave him a half-hearted smile back and drifted out of the living room and into the privacy of the primary bedroom.
“You were miserable in Pumpkin Hollow, remember? You got bullied in school, you hardly had friends. You were so much happier once we got out of that town.”
As if by magic, her mother’s words evoked those same memories in her.
Her unhappy youth. The days of isolation and anger, the hours spent in the library lost in books because books didn’t overwhelm her with emotions and it was an escape from her volatile home life.
It wasn’t Pumpkin Hollow she’d been mad at, but Frank Jr. For not fighting to keep her.
For standing there watching her drive away with her mom.
She never could disagree with her mother verbally.
But it had been an eye-opening moment. It was the first time she’d chosen someone else’s wants over her own.
Her mother had asked, and she’d followed.
If Frank had asked her to stay, how much differently would her life look?
She didn’t want to consider it now. Because her mom was peppering her with more questions and a single thought came to the forefront of Lizzy’s mind.
“How did you find out about me and Steven?”
“He called me, the worm. Said you wouldn’t answer his calls, and he was trying to get a hold of you. I finally got it out of him that you’d broken up.”
Lizzy’s stomach dropped. “Did he say what he wanted?”
“I think he said something about a check?”
Her final check from her job, likely her meager severance. As much as she wished she were above collecting it, she needed the money. She realized she was back to that same crossroads as in high school. Mom or Dad. College or the diner. Which did she choose?
“I’ll reach out to him,” Lizzy assured her mother.
“Don’t let him weasel his way back in,” her mother warned.
“Believe me, I won’t.”
They wrapped up their conversation after that, and Lizzy sat on the bed. She scrolled to Steven’s contact and unblocked his number. A series of texts came through in quick succession.
You can’t just leave like this.
What am I supposed to do? Rent is due.
They said they’re going to turn off the electricity.
Hey, I know I messed up. Can we at least talk about it?
I got a job lined up, I’ll cover the bills for this month. But will you please just answer me?
I’m sorry, ok? Is that what you want to hear?
A letter came from Answering America, I opened it. It’s your last paycheck. Can I meet you so I can give you the check? I’m afraid to mail it.
She shot a quick text back to him.
Meet me here.
She sent him a map link to Enchantresso and set her phone down on the bed, then put her head in her hands.
Her wallowing was interrupted by a knock at the door. She stood up and opened the door to find Victor.
“Everything alright?” he asked.
She nodded, arms crossed over her chest. “Yeah, I told my mom about Frank Jr.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Want to finish the movie?”
“I hate to do this, but I think I’m gonna go to bed. I’ve got a bit of a headache.” She braced herself for the arguments, the guilt trips. But none came.
“Let me get you some medicine.”
“No, it’s fine.” She waved, but he had disappeared into the bathroom and was pulling a pill bottle from the cabinet, then pouring her a glass of water.
She followed him, helpless, as he did it all, and she tried to protest, but he wouldn’t hear it.
He dropped a couple aspirin into her palm, handed her a glass of water, and watched her as she drank it down.
Her entire body tensed as he did so. He was trying to coerce her into something more. He’d taken care of her, and now he’d expect to be taken care of next. She just knew it.
“Thanks.” She turned to go back to the room.
“Wait,” Victor called.
And her shoulders snapped together. Here it was, any second now he was going to pitch that they bang.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“If you’re not feeling better tomorrow, let me know. I’ll find someone to cover your shift.”
“Oh. Thanks,” she replied.
“No problem…”
She lingered another moment, confused, frustrated, and guilty. She should tell him about Steven coming to town, but she and Victor were just casual, and if she chose to leave in a little over a week, they would be nothing at all. She had to remember that.
It felt dishonest, waiting for Victor to leave for the day, pretending to be sick, and rebuffing his offers of medicine or soup before leaving her room.
Lizzy’s body was tense walking into Enchantresso.
She’d chosen it as a sort of neutral ground for the meeting with Steven.
They’d been together long enough that she knew what to expect from him.
He’d try and downplay what he’d done, and he’d beg her to come back.
If Vivianne or someone else mentioned her being part owner of the diner and house, he’d try harder to cling to her and the money he’d see in those resources.
And if she were honest, she didn’t want Victor and Steven to meet.
She arrived before Steven and ordered a coffee from the friendly redheaded owner, Goldie, who was bickering with Lucian, the local handyman.
Lizzy sat down at one of the tables, staring into the foam of her latte.
She tried not to look at her watch too much.
But as the minutes ticked by, she got more and more antsy.
It was just like Steven to leave her waiting for ages.
An hour after their agreed-meeting time, he finally came slinking in.
She crossed her arms and didn’t get up to greet him, even when he moved in for a hug.
“Thanks for meeting me. I’ve missed you,” he said as he pulled back and took a seat across from her.
“You’ve got my check?” she asked. She felt his annoyance rolling off him in waves.
“Can’t we talk? We spent years of our lives together, and you up and left like it was nothing.”
“You cheated on me. What am I supposed to do? Welcome her in as our third?” She raised a brow at him.
“Would you?” She felt a flare of hope in him, which only repulsed her more.
She scowled in response.
Steven looked down at the table as he said, “Look, I don’t want to argue.”
“I’m not arguing. I’m just stating facts.”
He glanced away from her and then to the counter. “I’m a little short on cash. Can you spot me?”
She laughed.
And he blinked back at her.
How had she ever found this man attractive?
“Just give me my check, Steven. And let’s end this.”
He sighed and pulled an envelope out of his pocket, and slid it across to her. “That’s not the only reason I came here.”
She arched a brow.
“You left this.” He held out his hand, and when she didn’t immediately open her palm to accept whatever was in his greasy grip, he shook his fist. Reluctantly, she opened her hand, and he dropped a single black hair tie. She blinked at it dumbly.
“You came all the way here to give me a used hair tie?”
“I thought it might be important to you,” he said lamely.
She could see it all clearly now. Steven, as predicted, was using this lame excuse to make himself her hero.
He’d attempt to use this “thoughtful” gesture to smooth over their relationship.
He’d done it hundreds of times before. He’d mess up, make the barest effort, and she’d fold because she’d thought she loved him.
She’d thought he’d get better with time, but he never had.
And for the first time in years of knowing him, she saw through it.
Without feeling sympathy and without caring.
He hadn’t even worn a clean shirt to meet her. Those same stains were ones she’d tried getting out for him to better his odds of finding the job he never got.
“Thanks.” She started to get up, but his hand reached out to grab her wrist.
“Lizzy, I love you. Let’s get married.”
She was too stunned to speak, and she looked around the crowded café as if she were on the set of a reality TV show. This had to be a prank. Then her eyes locked with Victor’s.