“No.” Evie shook her head. “He won’t be there because we broke up.”
The silence that stretched around the room was soprofound—so intense—Evie could practically feel it on her skin.
“What did you say?” her mother asked.
Evie pushed out a deep breath. “Cameron and I broke up,” she repeated. “He moved out of the house, and I left Maple Street Animal Clinic. So, if you hear of any veterinary practices hiring, point them my way.”
To her surprise—not—her joke fell flat.
“Evelina!” Her mother raised her voice, something she rarely did. “What are you saying? How could you do this?”
“Ididn’t do this. Cameron did—”
“Four years,” her mother said, cutting her off. “You were engaged for four years, after being together for ten. Is that why he left you? Because you wouldn’t set a date for a wedding? I warned you that Cameron would not wait forever for you, didn’t I?”
“First of all, we haven’t been together for ten years,” Evie corrected her. “You’re forgetting about the three separations. And our long engagement had nothing to do with the breakup.”
“Well, then, what did? Why did you break up?”
“Thewhydoesn’t matter,” Evie said. “What matters is that Cameron and I are no longer together. It was my decision to make, and you need to respect that.”
“I willnotrespect this decision, because it is a horrible one,” her mother said. “Being in a relationship with Cameron Broussard is the one good thing you had going for you.”
Evie’s head jerked back. A slap across the face would not have stung as much as the words her mother had just hurled at her.
“Did you really just say that to me?” Evie asked.
“I apologize.” Constance had the graciousness to look contrite. “That was unfair and untrue. But, really, Evelina. You could have discussed this with your family before doing something so rash.”
“So my relationship choices are done by committee now?”
“You know what I mean,” her mother said.
Yes, she did. And therein lay the problem.
The last time she and Cameron broke up, Evie had decided she was finally done. It wasn’t until her mother got into her head, bombarding her with all the ways she and Cam were a perfect match, that Evie had caved and taken him back.
She and Cameron were a perfect match in the ways that were important to her parents. They looked good on society blog posts and write-ups in the local paper following a charity gala. He was the consummate son-in-law for her parents, but they would have to accept that Cameron would not be her husband.
“I’m sorry if you don’t agree with my choice, but I’ve made it,” Evie said. “I am capable of deciding what is best for my own life.”
“And just what do you plan todowith your life, Evelina? You left your fiancé and his vet practice. What will you do now? Go back to rescuing every stray you find on the street?”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Evie said. “I may not be a heart surgeon, but my work still matters.”
Constance threw her hands up. “I’m not having this conversation with you again.” She went back to her desk and sat. Not two seconds later, she popped back up. “You wanted to be a vet and we let you become a vet—”
“You did notletme become a vet. I chose to become one,” Evie said.
Yes, they’d paid for her education, and saved her from a mountain of school debt, but it didn’t give them the right to control her life.
“You’re making a mistake,” her mother said. “Cameron is a good man. He comes from a good family.”
He was not a good man, and he came from a rich, well-connected family. But Evie knew if she said those words to her mother, it would only extend this argument. She was over it.
“I’m sorry you don’t approve,” Evie said. “But the decision to leave Cameron is mine, and mine alone. And I’ve made it.”
She stopped herself before she could tack onDeal with it. She was only willing to go so far with the disrespect, and telling her own mother to deal with it crossed the line.
