"We care about each other," I said.
I shied away from using the word love at the moment. I don't know why. If anything, my daughter had shown me there was no timeframe around falling in love. Not when you met your person. But I think much of my hesitation came from fear. I wasn't quite ready to say I loved Jamison yet.
"Good enough. You deserve someone who makes you happy, and you deserve a life outside of being my mom."
I shook my head in disbelief. "Such wise words. I guess I didn't do too badly raising you. You had me worried for a while, though, when you accepted a piece of paper as an engagement ring."
She grinned. "Come on. You know it was symbolic."
I grunted. "Symbolic of lack of preparation."
She rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter now, does it? I have a ring." She held up her hand so I could see. "And I'm getting married in two weeks."
"Yay!"
"Yay!" Blossom threw up her hands in joyous abandonment.
I couldn't be happier for her.
Chapter 28
Tallulah
"Ilike edgy comedy, but the second guy was too much," Jamison said as we walked up the steps of my front porch. "He wasn't edgy. He was being offensive for the shock value."
We had just returned from dinner and a comedy show. I wore a light sweater over my blouse to guard against the cool night air. "Some of the jokes landed. The bit about his cousins was funny."
"The first part,maybe. But then he kept going on and on and crossed the line, in my opinion."
I enjoyed our back-and-forth, disagreeing without being argumentative. Quite a difference from the first time we met.
"What did you think about the opening act? She was hilarious," I said. "When she talked about explaining cryptocurrency to her grandfather, I almost passed out from laughing."
"She was genuinely funny," Jamison conceded, his mouth quirking into the smile I'd come to adore. "When her grandfather scolded her about imaginary money..."
We broke into laughter, the sound floating on the air into the night.
It was after eleven, later than we had planned to stay out, but the show had started late, and after a standing ovation, the third comedian did an encore we didn't want to miss.
Jamison moved closer, his hand finding the small of my back. "Going to the show was a good idea."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, even with the offensive comedian."
"He gave us something to argue about on the drive here."
His head dipped to mine, and I placed my hands on his shoulders, lifting onto my toes to meet him halfway. Our kiss was soft and unhurried, suggesting we had all the time in the world. When he slipped a hand up my spine and into my loose hair, I tightened my arms around his neck and leaned into him.
The headlights of a vehicle swept over us, and we pulled apart, turning our attention to the driveway where a black sedan was rolling to a stop. Blossom climbed out. I immediately smiled, but when she stepped into the porch light, I saw her face, and the smile died on my lips.
Her cheeks were tear-stained, and her eyes were red and swollen.
"Blossom?" I asked sharply, confused and worried by her appearance.
She glanced at me and Jamison, and her face crumpled, fresh tears spilling from her eyes.
"Blossom, what's wrong?" I moved toward her, my heart racing with the horror of knowing my child was hurting. I was ready to do battle with whomever or whatever was making her cry.
But she just shook her head and pushed past us. Fumbling with her keys at the front door, her hands shook so badly that she dropped them on the porch.
