‘At the end of August,’ I say, feeling my anger rise as I think about how little I’ll see my kid with Mia living in Boston. I’ve been trying to be okay with it, knowing it’s just how it has to be, but it’s not right. It’s not what I want. I want to see my child every day, not a few times a year. And I don’t want him or her growing up in a big city in some tiny apartment.
Mia and I need to talk about this. I’ve been going along with whatever she wants, but this is my baby too and I’m going to have a say in how our kid is raised.
Chapter 18
Mia
It’s been three days since my parents arrived and Jason’s still acting distant. He barely talks to me, and when he does, he seems angry. He started acting this way on Sunday after we went to see the house we’ll be living in. He was fine when we were there, but later, when I met up with him at his apartment, he was quiet and withdrawn.
‘You want breakfast?’ I ask, taking a box of cereal from the cupboard.
‘No.’ Jason walks past me to the fridge. ‘I need to get to the school for a meeting. Shit, I forgot to make a lunch.’
‘I could make you a sandwich.’
He shuts the fridge door. ‘I’ll just get something from the vending machine.’ He grabs his keys from the counter. ‘Have a good day.’
‘Jason, wait!’ I race up to him, catching him before he gets to the door. ‘When are we going to talk about this?’
‘About what?’
‘About whatever you’re angry about. You’ve been like this since Sunday when we went to see the house. Did something happen? Did your parents say something after I left that upset you?’
‘Yeah,’ he huffs. ‘They said they’re pissed at me for lying and to end this and tell the truth.’
‘Wait—your parents know we’re not engaged?’
‘Of course they know.’ He throws his hands up. ‘I was dating other girls all last spring. And then one day you show up and we tell them we’re engaged? They’re not stupid. They knew we made it up.’
‘Then why did they go along with it at the restaurant?’
‘Because for a minute we had them convinced it was true. It wasn’t until they left the restaurant that they realized it didn’t make sense.’
‘So you’re angry because of your parents?’
‘I’m angry that I agreed to this. Now, because of this fake engagement, my whole family has to lie. Everyone in town is asking my family about us. For now they’re saying it’s a family matter and not talking about it, but they can’t keep doing that. People are already spreading rumors about us—about me—about how I’ve been cheating on you, going out with girls here while you’re in Madison. They’re saying you never came here because I told you not to, because I didn’t want you running into girls I’d been out with. My whole damn reputation is being ruined because of this.’
‘Jason, I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?’
‘Why? Telling you isn’t going to change anything. This is what you wanted. And I agreed to do it. I just have to deal with the fallout.’
‘Why would people say that about you? You grew up here. These people are your friends. And you said everyone here is nice.’
‘Most people. Not everyone. Some people think my family has too much influence in town. That’s why my dad got off city council. He was sick of hearing that he made all the decisions for the town, which wasn’t even close to being true. The council votes on decisions. It wasn’t my dad deciding. Anyway, those are the people who start rumors about us. My mom usually shuts them down before they can spread, but this time she can’t. She doesn’t know what to say, how to explain this.’
‘Then we need to find a way to make the rumors stop. Maybe when you get home later we could talk about it and figure out what to tell people. I’m sure we could come up with something.’
‘Mia, you’re not getting it.’
‘Getting what?’
‘I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to keep lying to people. The fake engagement was bad enough. I’m not making up even more lies. It’s just going to make things worse.’
‘So what do you want to do?’
‘Nothing. I just have to deal with it and hope people move on to something else soon. Maybe Sawyer will get engaged. That’ll give people something new to talk about.’
‘The rumors are why you’ve been so angry at me? Or is there something else?’
