Chapter 14
Cade
Are you coming home for dinner tomorrow? I’ll make lamb.
I looked at the text from Mom. This was not good. Firstly, because she cooked only on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and secondly because she made lamb on very special occasions.
She wanted to talk. The dreadful kind of talk. Maybe I could get a better idea about her intentions before I went to get butchered there.
Sure, Mom. Is everything okay?
Three small dots appeared on the screen. Then disappeared. I sat with bated breath, bracing for whatever my dearest Mother was re-writing to throw at me.
Yeah, everything is fine. You haven’t been home in a long time. Your father misses you.
Oh no. She was mad. And she was going to kill me with the jagged edge of a lamb shank.
By the time I pulled into their driveway the next day, I had prepared the confrontation speech many times over.
I was ready to face whatever my parents threw at me over the dinner table.
For the first time in my life, things were so crystal clear to me.
I closed my eyes and saw Maple’s beautiful face, the way she had looked at me that night at the ice cream place, the way her eyes had glimmered with surprise when she saw the three books in my car.
Was it hope that I saw in her eyes that night?
That little sliver of positivity that I saw in her that night was enough for me to keep going.
That was all I needed.
Mom opened the door before I could ring the bell.
She was smiling, but her eyes were scanning my face just like she’d do when I would be caught lying as a child.
“Cade.” She hugged me. The hug was warm and robot-like at the same time.
As she pulled back from me, I held out the bouquet of her favorite pink roses I had brought.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Thank you, dear. How have you been?” She took the bouquet and instinctively smelled the flowers. “You don’t come home anymore. I was expecting you after we got back from the trip.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“I heard,” she said. Just that. I heard.
She was great at shooting out carefully selected words that opened up a series of questions in the listener’s mind that wouldn’t be answered right away.
I was about to ask her directly what she had heard, when I saw Dad behind her.
He had a big smile on his face, and had his arms wide open for embrace. I needed that. I really did.
“There he is.” He pulled me into a hug that was less complicated and completely full. He clapped me on the back twice. “Come on, dinner’s ready. I want to hear about everything.”
Everything, I thought. Sure, Dad. Let’s start with the tutu.
The dinner table was set for three in a way that clearly suggested that a private, heated conversation between three people was about to take place.
The three placements were right next to each other, although the table could comfortably seat twelve people.
I was heading to take the corner seat before any of them did.
“Cade,” Mom said. “This one’s for you.” She gestured with a tight smile towards the chair right in the middle.
Oh well, let’s just get it over with.
Our butler Jerry and the rest of the staff quickly appeared with salad and soup and Mom, Dad and I took our seats.
I smiled at Jerry and he returned it with the warmth I had known all my life.
“Let’s start.” Dad said. I was waiting for Dad or Mom to start the conversation and finally address the elephant in the room, but realized he was only talking about starting the first course.
They both deployed lethal ways to keep the suspense hanging.
I tried to smile at him but what materialized on my face instead was a confused, almost constipated look.
I saw Mom noticing that look and quickly corrected myself.
With a straight face, I dug into the Kale and Cranberry salad and the Roasted Pumpkin soup.
Both were absolutely delicious and brought back many happy memories of past fall lunches and dinners with my parents and Kyle’s family. Before Kyle backstabbed me.
We ate silently for a while. The lamb arrived promptly, roasted to a perfect golden, with caramelized potatoes and roasted butternut squash.
I took a bite of it and savored the heartiness of it that my Mom had perfected over the years.
Whenever Mom cooked, she gave it her all, and roasted lamb was one of her specialties.
“This lamb is very good, Mom. As always.” I said as I took another mouthful. “Thanks, Cade.” she said pleasantly. Then she set down her fork. “So, how is your fairy dance going?”
My fork stopped, suspended somewhere between the plate and my mouth.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your dance.” She tilted her head. “In the children’s performance. People have been talking about it.”
“Have they.”
“It’s a small town, Cade.” She picked up her fork again, very calmly. “People talk. And the talk spreads. Especially the kind that involves the heir to Sonnenberg Industries volunteering at a children’s dance school.” She paused. “And being involved with an ex pole dancer.”
I put my fork down and looked at her. This was the moment I had prepared for.
I knew what I was going to say. I had rehearsed it in the car, on the drive over, and in the parking lot.
I knew how I wanted to say it, and how I was not going to let her framing of the situation become my framing of the situation.
“I am not involved with an ex pole dancer, Mom,” I said.
“I am in love with her. I want to spend my entire life with her. And if anyone has a problem with that, then that’s a problem I’m willing to have.
” What followed was complete, deafening silence.
Mom looked at me. “Cade, you have your whole life in front of you. You can have anyone you want.”
“I don’t want anyone,” I said. “I want her.” I kept my voice even.
“I know I will probably never have your approval on this. So I’ve decided I’m going to make this choice for myself.
I want to spend the rest of my life with Maple.
I want to be there for her brother River.
” I looked at her directly. “And Mom — if you could put down all of the labels and the judgements for one minute, just one minute, and look at what I’m telling you — I think you’d understand why.
Because I love you. And I want you in my life, always.
But your opinions about who I should be with don’t serve me. And they won’t make me happy.”
She looked directly at me for a second, and then looked over to Dad, expecting him to take over the conversation. My father cleared his throat. “Does she love you too?” he asked.
I opened my mouth.
And stopped.
I didn’t know. I genuinely, honestly did not know. I had spent six weeks showing up at her studio and sweeping her floors, and I still did not know if Maple Brooks was going to let me back into her and River’s life.
I had been so ready to stand in front of my parents and declare my feelings. But I had not fully accounted for the part where I had no idea if my feelings would be returned by Maple anymore.
“I did something I am ashamed of,” I said.
“I said some terrible things about her at a time when I was being an absolute idiot and didn’t even understand what she meant to me yet.
” I looked at my father. “And the truth is — I don’t know if she’ll ever fully take me back.
I don’t know if she loves me anymore. But I’ll keep showing up for her, and her brother River. Even if it takes me my entire life.”
My father looked at me for a moment. Then he smiled. “Edward told me,” he said. “About what happened at your office. With Kyle.” I blinked. “He told you?”
“He told me everything.” Dad set down his glass.
“That you stood in front of your entire board and told them the truth about Kyle, even knowing what it might cost you.” He paused.
“I have to be honest with you, Cade. That surprised me. Kyle is someone you grew up with. Someone you’ve defended and supported for years.
” He looked at me steadily. “And you walked away from all of that to do the right thing.”
I said nothing.
“I’m proud of you,” he said. “For everything you’ve done to make this right. For showing up for that woman. For showing up for her brother.” He looked at Mom. Then back at me.
“I never told you to choose money over love, son.” He said it simply. “Your mother and I chose each other first. The money, the company, all of it — that came after. That has always come after.”
He looked at my mother.
My mother, who had been very quiet for the last two minutes, smiled. She looked at him, and something passed between them. An understanding, a joint realization, maybe.
She put her hand over mine on the table.
“When your father told me about Kyle,” she said quietly, “I was not surprised. I always knew that boy had a self-serving streak.” She paused.
“What surprised me was you. Standing in front of your board and saying what you said.” She looked at my hand under hers.
“I have always known you would do what was right. That is who you are.” She looked up. “That is who we raised you to be.”
I looked at her.
“Does she make you happy?” she asked, her voice softer.
“She completes my life,” I said. “Her and River both.”
My mother picked up her wine glass. “Then invite them to Christmas dinner,” she said.
I stared at her. Then I got up from my chair and hugged her.
I didn’t know if Maple would accept me back into her life.
I didn’t know if she’d even see me again after the Fall Festival the next day.
Bringing her to Christmas dinner to meet my parents was completely out of the picture at that point.
I couldn’t even ask her about it. But Mom had invited her, she wanted to meet Maple.
That was more than what I had expected to come out of the dinner.
“I cannot promise, Mom. I’ll let you know.”
After I found out for myself.
***