“Really good,” she replied. “I gotAs in all three classes.”
“That’s great! Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” she said quietly. “Are you still coming to my graduation?”
“Absolutely,” I confirmed. “Is it okay if I bring my boyfriend?”
There was a beat of silence before she answered. “You have a boyfriend?”
“Yeah. It’s pretty new. I’ve known him for a couple of years, but we just started dating in March.” I decided she didn’t need to know about the whole friends-with-benefits thing.
“What’s he like?” she asked cautiously. “Is he good to you?”
I knew why she was asking. She remembered Randy. She knew I’d thrown away my college scholarship and future career to appease him. “He’s amazing,” I said. “He supports my dreams and encourages me all the time. He’s so good about respecting my boundaries.”
“Oh, Greg,” she said, her voice full of emotion. “That’s wonderful to hear. What’s his name?”
“Tony D’Angelo. He owns a security company here in the City. I met him through Jeremy Fitzgerald, the pianist I told you about.”
“The famous one you’re taking lessons from?”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “That’s the one. He’s known Tony for almost ten years.”
“That’s good to know.” She let out a soft sigh. “I know I sound like a mother hen, even though I’m younger than you. But I don’twant you to get hurt again. We both lost so much trusting the wrong people.”
“Yes, we did,” I acknowledged. “It’s not like we had a very good example to learn from.”
“Definitely not,” she agreed. “Speaking of Mom, have you heard from her lately?”
“Not since last month when she asked for money for her rent,” I replied. “She got mad when I told her I would send it directly to the landlord instead of giving it to her.”
“What a surprise,” she said dryly. “Why haven’t you blocked her yet?”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s that leftover feeling of responsibility. I was the one she relied on when we were kids. It’s hard to shake that.”
“Maybe a therapist could help?” she asked tentatively.
“Probably. It’s been a few years since I’ve been. I keep meaning to look for one here in the City, but then I get busy and forget.”
“Or you use being busy as an excuse to forget,” she shot back.
“Hey, when did you get so smart?” I teased.
She chuckled. “I just know it’s helped me. It’s why I ended up blocking Mom. She kept trying to make me feel guilty for making a life for myself. It’s like she doesn’t want us to be successful because she gave up her own dreams.”
“You may be right about that,” I replied thoughtfully. I didn’t know why that never occurred to me. “I’m so glad you got to fulfill your own dreams. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks,” she replied. I could hear the smile in her voice. After a moment’s pause, she added, “Ethan might be coming to the graduation too.”
Shock briefly stole my voice. “I thought he didn’t want to have anything to do with us. Isn’t he out in Washington or Oregon or something?”
“Oregon,” she said. “Portland, to be specific. I only just heard from him two weeks ago. It’s kind of what made me call you. We had a long talk about how he and I blamed you for shit that was really Mom’s fault.”
I sank down on my sofa. “Wow. I had no idea. I haven’t seen him since he graduated from high school. He changed his phone number and didn’t tell me where he was going to college.”
“Yeah, he feels bad about that. He said he’d rather talk to you in person than on the phone. He’s planning to come down the day before graduation so we can spend some time together before all the craziness.”
“We can probably swing that,” I said. “I just have to ask Tony.”
