“Look at me, Heaven.” She looks up and locks our gazes. “Do you trust me?” She nods. “I’ll take care of it. Haven’t I delivered on my promises in the past?”
“Yes.”
“Then all I need you to do is get dressed, enjoy the day, and let me be a sugar daddy.”
* * *
I showerin time to see Heaven off then follow my nose to the kitchen. I know exactly what my mom is doing. She’s making my favorite breakfast from childhood. In other words, she’s making her ‘I-fucked-up’ meal. My dad is off to the side looking at his sports app with his cup of coffee. His greeting is much too chipper when he sees me.
I stop in a spot that allows me to see both of them simultaneously. Folding my arms, I study these pod people who claim to be my parents. My mom smiles at me.
“That’s your signature ‘I’m upset’ look. You’ve been doing that since you found out kindergarten was daily.”
I’m not impressed by her trip down memory lane. In fact, my scowl deepens.
“Explain yourselves, now.”
“Don’t you want to eat?” she hedges.
“No. What’s your issue with my girl? It better not be a race thing.”
My dad’s “No” merges with my mom’s “Not at all.”
“Then what the hell is it?”
They look at each other for a second, then my mom breaks first.
“Well. We were over the top but we were only concerned about your well being.”
“Meaning?”
“Your taste in women has sucked so far,” My dad gets to the point.
“Janet is still in the tabloids lying about you.”
“Let me get this straight. You two are punishing Heaven for Janet’s tweaked out ass?”
“Okay. It sounds crazy when you say it like that but look at it from our point of view. You were in love with a user. You were set on fixing her and her problems and how did she repay you? Now, you have some other random woman come out of nowhere practically living with you.”
I rub a hand over my face to scrub away the irritation. Parents—they always take a few details and run with them, filling the blanks in with assumptions.
“First, I was never in love with Janet. Yes, I stayed with her longer than necessary due to her being unstable. I was hopeful that she’d change, but it wasn’t so we could be together. I just didn’t want her suicide on my conscience.”
I take a seat across the bar but ignore the plate my mom pushes in front of me.
“Second, Heaven didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s not your place to know her before I decide to introduce you. She’s in my home because having my girlfriend in a hotel is stupid. Unlike Janet, Heaven has loving parents and is self-sufficient. You’d know that if you weren’t being jerks to her. Third, I’m not the only person in history to have a bad relationship. I stand by my decisions and trust my instincts. You’re supposed to do the same.”
“We know,” my dad says.
“You two didn’t act like you know. You were being extremely disrespectful.”
“We talked about it this morning. We’re sorry for overstepping.” My mom’s face flushes red with her apology.
“Yeah? Well who do you think needs an apology more?”
“Where is she?” My dad’s head swivels to look for Heaven.
“I sent her away for the day. I had no idea what kind of crap you two were going to try next.” Both of my parents’ faces are tinted with embarrassment. “Another thing, Allie isneverhappening. I’m not saying that again. I understand your concern, but what you two did yesterday didn’t feel like support. It was embarrassing.”
