“But you’re my daughter and I want to know that you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, mom.” I sigh in defeat. “It was just an awful fight.”
This is not the place to get into the details.
“And you’re sure you’re all right? What’s with all the it’s complicated mess.”
“We had an argument, and perhaps the outcome felt a little complicated for him. For me, it’s a little clearer. We’re at different places in our lives.”
My mom grabs my hand and holds it gently in her palm.
“Adrienne, did I ever tell you that your dad I had a huge argument before we were married? We broke up for twenty-three days.”
I hear music playing. They’re playing bridal shower games. I don’t want to talk about this.
“Mom, we’re missing all the fun.”
She doesn’t care.
“I consider my marriage and what happened within the confines of it sacred, but I’m telling you this so that you understand challenges are a part of any relationship worth its salt.”
“I hear what you’re saying but with all the respect in the world to you, Aunt Lorraine and Cecily, my relationship and how I choose to handle it is my business. I’m telling you I’m okay, that I forgot the damn wedding shower theme was blush pink, and that I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
My mother’s eyes widen at my tone and language. Out of respect for my elders, I never use foul language around them and certainly not at them, but she’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to my happiness and I slipped up. It’s infuriating that for some reason she thinks Troy is the only thing that can make me happy. Maybe it’s because she only saw what I thought I saw, neither of us realizing that it was all a facade and my Mr. Perfect was just a mirage.
“You’re upset.”
“I’m sorry, mom. I shouldn’t talk that way to you.”
My mom’s twin, Aunt Lorraine, dips her head into the room.
“Would you two come on? You’re missing all the good door prizes. One of them is a Coach bag!”
“We’re coming right now, Lo.”
After she leaves, my mom says one more thing.
“Adrienne, I’m so proud of you and your accomplishments. You’ve done everything you’ve ever set your mind to, but don’t let your ambition impede what really matters. At the end of this life, all you have left are the people who will carry on your legacy. You are my legacy. I know that your father and I will never be forgotten because of you. Family is what matters, whoever you decide to build it with.”
* * *
A group of my cousins are wrapping Cecily in toilet paper and a group of her sorority sisters are wrapping a woman I don’t know the same way. If I ever end up getting married, I promise I won’t require any of my guests to take part in these asinine games. It’s always been this way between Cecily and I, though. She loved the cartoons I thought were stupid. I loved books she thought were boring. We are polar opposites.
To pass the time, I get up and go to the buffet table to make a plate. I start off adding a few cucumbers, carrot sticks and a yogurt-based dipping sauce but then deviate from the “healthy” selections and into the more decadent options of fried chicken wings and Swedish meatballs.
Meat.
I crave it now.
I spear a meatball with one of Cecily’s custom ordered blush pink colored toothpicks and devour it with gusto.
Welcome to my tummy, dear friends. It’s been a long time.
Something about the consistency of the meat and the sauce remind me of the veal piccata I had on my date with Jason and it brings a smile not only to my face but to my entire body. I can’t get that man out of my mind. He’s both fantastic and frustrating all at the same time.
He’s a flirt by nature, so I know that most of the things that he says to me are just a part of his playboy schtick. That’s the frustrating part. But he makes me laugh and for a moment in time makes me forget about all the drama of the last few weeks. That’s the fantastic part.
We discussed over homemade cannolis and freshly brewed espresso how we were both cleverly roped into our dates but decided that since it was ultimately to help out our mutual friends that we’d go on a second date per agency rules, of course. We also agreed to exchange cell phone numbers only in case of a last-minute cancellation or something like that, but as I get to know Jason better, I realize he isn’t much of a rule follower.
