My jaw clenched. “Because you did.”
“You’re twisting my words. I was only pointing out that those sorts of events can be overwhelming for someone who isn’t used to them,” she insisted.
Now that Callie had opened my eyes to my mother’s manipulations, I couldn’t unsee them. Her little digs disguised as concern but were truly meant to chip away at my wife.
“Stop pretending that you weren’t being cruel.”
Silence stretched between us, then she laughed, but the sound held disbelief instead of humor. “Ethan, you’re being dramatic. I was only trying to help. Callie is sensitive. She always has been. You know that. It’s not my fault she takes everything so personally.”
None of what she was saying was new. I just wasn’t deceived by the false concern any longer.
“That’s enough, Mother. You don’t get to talk about her like that.”
There was a sharp inhale on the other end of the line. “Excuse me?”
“I’m serious,” I continued. “No more belittling Callie or dismissing her feelings. She’s my wife, and I won’t let you treat her like she’s an inconvenience.”
“Perhaps you should consider that she’s the problem. I was only trying to?—”
“I’m not having this conversation,” I cut in, refusing to listen to her justifications. “You crossed a line, and I should have stopped it sooner.”
“You’re choosing her over your own mother?”
Even now, she minimized Callie by not using her name or calling her my wife. “I’m choosing my marriage, and I should have done it sooner. If you can’t respect that, then we need some space.”
Her breath hitched. “You don’t mean that.”
“I need time. I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk.”
Before she could respond, I ended the call. Then I did something I never considered before—I blocked her number. Not forever, but long enough to breathe without her voice in my ear.
I needed to focus on my marriage, and my mother blowing up my phone was an unnecessary distraction. Limiting my contact with her was the right decision, even though I felt like I was letting my dad down by doing it. But he’d put his wife first, so I had to hope that he would’ve understood why I was finally doing the same.
Opening my text thread with Callie, I stared at the blinking cursor. I’d sent a ridiculous number of messages over the past twelve hours, and I couldn’t come up with the right words to make everything up to her. I didn’t think they even existed. But I had to try anyway.
I hated knowing my wife was out there hurting because of me. This was all my fault. Not due to just one mistake, but a thousand small ones. Letting my mother undermine her because it was easier than pushing back. Putting work first because it always had before I met Callie.
Me
I’m not going to pretend I understand what you’re feeling right now, but I do know that somewhere along the way, I stopped showing up for you the way I promised I would.
I reread what I’d sent, then kept going.
Me
I let my job and my mother come before you. I see that now. And I’m sorry it took losing you for me to finally understand how much that hurt you.
That still wasn’t enough.
Me
You deserved better from me. You still do.
I swallowed hard.
Me
I don’t expect you to respond until you’re ready. I won’t push you. I just needed you to know that I’m taking responsibility for what I failed to do.
