“Oh my god, stop.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Great.”
There’s a long pause, long enough for me to cautiously peek back at my phone.
“Why are you so freaked out, sweetheart?” Her soft words cut right to the heart of the problem.
“We were on some of the blogs today.”
“And?”
“I don’t know. It was hard enough when this was just between the two of us, but now that it’s out there...”
Her forehead furrows, and I actually see wrinkles because she is staunchly against Botox. “Are you ashamed of him, Emilia?”
“No! Absolutely not.” I sigh in frustration. “I guess I just don’t like the idea of other people judging my relationship.”
“Honey, whether you were dating Grayson West or some person with a regular job, there still would be people judging your relationship. It’s part of the deal. You’ve known that.”
“How did you and Dad deal with all of this?”
“You get used to it. And when you’ve been together for twenty years, people start to lose interest.”
“Great,” I mumble. “Only nineteen years and eleven months to go.”
“The important thing is that the two of you keep something for yourselves. That you talk to each other when things feel shitty. And that you remember that, when it really comes down to it, it’s about the two of you and no one else’s opinion really matters.”
I wipe my eyes on my sleeve, not fully sure when I started crying, and not wanting to recognize that my tears don’t have much to do with a silly article posted on a blog. “So you’re saying I should give things a shot with Grayson?”
She shrugs and smiles. “I can’t make that decision for you, but what I am saying is that you shouldn’tnotgive things a shot because you’re scared. That’s a cop-out.”
“Gee, thanks, Mom.”
“If your mother can’t be honest with you, then who can?” Her hand floats up, like she can reach through thescreen and wipe my tears. “Don’t deny yourself something beautiful because you’re already thinking about what happens if it goes wrong.”
I nod, taking in the words I knew she was going to say, knowing that I needed to hear them said. “Thanks, Mom.”
“That’s what I’m here for, sweetheart. Now go wash your face and maybe slap on an eye mask for a few minutes before you go get your man. No one should declare love with snot dripping out their nose.”
“You are the worst.”
“I love you, too.” She blows me a kiss and disconnects the call before I can return the sentiment.
Glancing over at the mirror on the back of the trailer door, I groan. Sam is going to have to do some serious work to salvage this face, and I can’t imagine he’ll be happy about it.
I text Liz, asking her to send him my way. Might as well get it over with.
When there’s a light tap on the door, I peek out and, seeing Sam is on his own, I let him in, locking the door behind him.
“What’s with all the secrecy?” He sets his kit down on the small table, and to his credit, only sighs a little when he takes in the damage to my eye makeup.
“Just having a day.” I sit down and close my eyes, determined to be a good little patient.
“I didn’t mean to upset you earlier.”
I open my eyes to find Sam’s face filled with compassion. I reach out and squeeze his hand. “You didn’t. Promise. I just have some things I need to figure out.”
