“Absolutely not.”
“Are you gonna consider moving here now that Xander’s input doesn’t hold any weight in your decision?”
“I’m so scared, Mom,” I admitted, choking up.
“I’m scared too, Bailey. I’m worried about you being there all alone with no one to depend on but Xander and his family. To be honest, I don’t like the idea of that at all.”
I took a deep breath to try to stop the tears, but it didn’t work. “My job is there.”
“Xander works for the same company.”
“I know, but we don’t see each other at work. He’s on the streets on his bus. I’m downtown in my office.”
“You know that I know the money you’re making at Chicago Transit Works. I raised you girls off that money. It’s a lot of money. It’s hard to walk away from. This is gonna sound so cliché, especially in this current financial climate, but all money ain’t good money.”
“I know,” I said while thinking about the gem that Perkins had dropped on me the other day.
“There are jobs at the lodge. They won’t pay as much, but I promise you won’t need as much money here. If you’re comfortable staying with Perkins and the girls, keep staying there rent free. I know Perkins loves having you there.”
“Yeah. I love being there,” I confessed with a small smile. “I didn’t realize how much I missed her and the girls.”
“Once we get the bed and breakfast open, I know that’s gonna be a money-maker. And Bayliss and I already talked about it. You’re probably gonna have to sell your house in Chicago as partof the divorce. With your half of the proceeds, you could buy it from us.”
My jaw dropped, leaving my mouth gaping open. “Buy it from you? You just bought it. I thought it was your pet project.”
“Girl, I’m a woman. I changed my mind. When I think about it now, it seems like a responsibility I don’t really want.”
“Mom . . .”
“What? I’m being honest.” She looked into my eyes. “Bailey, you know I have the tendency to be impulsive. Bayliss, bless his heart, encourages me to do all the wild and crazy things I think up. And when I change my mind, he just rolls with it.”
“I’m so glad you found him, Mom.”
“Me too. He makes life soft for me. Not to say that he’s doing what those girls on social media talk about their men doing, giving them a soft-girl era. I can’t even define what they’re talking about. What I mean is that my life was hard. It was hard as hell raising four girls alone, showing up to school events, meeting obligations, paying bills, shopping for groceries, being a chauffeur, being a disciplinarian, being a sounding board, being a cook, being an employee among other things. It was just hard. Now, it’s not.”
“I love that for you.”
“I want that for you. For all of my girls. I feel like Collins found it in Beckham. And I feel like Church is in a good, healthy relationship with this little boy she’s seeing. I just have to get you and Perk settled.”
“Good luck with that,” I muttered.
“I don’t need luck. Your guys are out there.”
My mom had just droppedme off at the house when my phone rang. The name flashing across my screen was Xander’s.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“What’s up? What’s up?” he repeated and I could tell he had an attitude. “That’s what you say to your husband after dipping on him for a month?”
“What am I supposed to say?”
“You could tell me where the fuck you’ve been and when you plan on coming back.”
“First of all, don’t cuss at me, Xander. Second of all, you know exactly where I am. Third of all, I don’t owe you any explanations. You asked for a divorce. I don’t know why you’re acting so crazy about me giving you exactly what you said you wanted. You wanted your freedom so you could pursue your healthy family. Go be with your pregnant girl. Stop trying to break into my mama’s house. She has the video of you from the security cameras. Plus, you know Mr. Wallace called and told her that he had to pull his shot gun on you.”
“Fuck that old ass man. He’s lucky I didn’t get active on his old ass.”
“Whatever. Just stay away from my mother’s house. If she catches you over there again, she’s filing a police report on you.”
