“Mom.”
I poured my coffee into the travel mug.“Since you’re up, Iwant the floors vacuumed before I get home.”
“You can’t walk away from this,” Liam told me as I grabbedthe keys from the counter and my purse, then I moved to the grocery list andripped off the top sheet that had my and Liam’sscratchingson it.
I then leveled my eyes on my boy.
“My son lied to me.His father lied to me.For years.I’msorry, Liam, but you have no choice.You’re going to have to give me sometime.”
“And Dad?”
“As angry as I am about how it happened and how long it wenton, I’m delighted you have a relationship with your father,” I admitted.
“No.I mean and Dad, you, me,us,our family.We can be that now.For real.”
“I love you, Liam, but you’re old enough to understand itisn’t your business as to how it came about when I say that ship has sailed.”
He got visibly angry.
He was just going to have to get over it.
Actions had consequences.
He was going to have to learn that.
Starting now.
The cars lining the street in front of my house toldme I wasn’t going to get to put the groceries away, throw together some peachsalsa to put on top of the grilled shrimp tacos I was going to make later andput my feet up for a lazy Saturday with a book.
Even so, I pulled the car into the garage, went to thetrunk, grabbed some bags and headed in.
Liam was standing at the island with his grandad.Hisgrandma, one of them, was seated at a stool with my sister.Hisothergrandma, who’d never stepped foot in my house in my life, looked like she wasmaking cookies.
Gah!
I dumped the bags on the island and said to Liam, “There’smore in the trunk.”
Liam glanced at his grandfather, got a nod, then took off tothe garage.
I started to pull out groceries.
“Darlin’, we gotta talk,” Dad announced.
Feeling a lot, too much, having just struggled all the wayto the grocery store, and all the way home with not pointing my car in thedirection of the hospital so I could check on Darius, managing to best thatherculean task, I’d had enough.
And for some reason, I aimed my ire at the person who I feltbetrayed me the most.
Darius’s mother.
“I didn’t expect this from you,” I stated.
She stared right into my eyes, and sweet, quiet MissDorothea didn’t back down.“I didn’t expect it from you either.”
“I was doing what your son wanted.”
“You got a mind of your own, child,” she retorted.
“So you thought the last sixteen years has been easy?Allthe decisions that needed to be made a breeze?”
