“You too, Bastion.” His eyes fall down my body, but I can’t tell if he finds me lacking. “I apologize if I appear surprised. It’s just that Hattie didn’t tell us she’d have someone with her. Nor did she see fit to tell us she was seeing anyone.” He eyes her over my shoulder.
When I glance at Hattie, her cheeks are red, and she’s staring at the floor.
“I’m afraid I insisted on coming with her. She was upset after your phone call, and I wanted to make sure she got here okay and be by her side to support her. As for me being a mystery, we only recently made things official. I’m sure she planned to tell you the first opportunity she had.”
Hattie steps to my side and wraps her arms around my bicep, squeezing, and Robert’s gaze clocks the gesture.
“Yes, well, I’m sorry to drag you away from Seattle, but we wanted to have this conversation in person,” he says. “You two made good time.”
“We weren’t in Seattle. We were at my home on Avalon Pointe, so we took a ferry to Milwaukee and drove in from there,” I answer.
Robert’s head rocks back. He’s clearly heard of the island and understands the meaning of me having a home there—I’m rich. I’m not a nobody.
“Well, let me go get your mother. She’s just lying down. Sweet pea, why don’t you offer your friend here a drink?” He heads down the hall, leaving us alone.
Robert’s slight dig—referring to me as Hattie’s friend and not her boyfriend—doesn’t get missed. It might take some time to win Robert over. More importantly, the time I’ve dreamed and dreaded for more than two decades is about to come. My body is about to go into fight-or-flight mode, so I anchor myself to Hattie.
Her face is lined with tension, so I grab her hand, tugging her toward me and wrapping my other hand around her waist. She melts into my embrace.
“How are you?” I ask.
She shakes her head in the crook of my neck. “I just want to know what they have to tell me.”
I nod, understanding. She and I both. I’m about to come face-to-face with the woman I’ve despised my entire life.
“Let’s go out on the patio. It’s a nice evening.”
I follow her through the small kitchen with cluttered countertops and out a set of sliding doors, much like the ones I used to break into her apartment not far from here. Thebackyard is well kept, with flowerbeds lining the fencing, and an above-ground pool sits in the center of the yard.
Hattie and I make mundane conversation while we wait for her parents to appear. The reality of seeing Carla feels like an oppressive weight on my shoulders that’s getting heavier with every second that passes.
The screen door opens behind me. Hattie stands, so I follow suit, turning and seeing my mother face-to-face for the first time in more than twenty-five years.
My breathing becomes shallow, and all I hear is my heart thudding. The noise of their voices greeting each other sounds as if they’re underwater and I can’t make out what they’re saying. A cold sweat breaks out across my neck, and my knees weaken as if they’re about to give out. All the memories from my childhood rush to the surface. All the shitty things I intentionally blocked out. Things I never want to remember again.
Bile rushes up my throat, and nausea swirls in my stomach.
All three of them turn in my direction. My eyes go to Hattie first, to calm me, or at least, I hope. She’s smiling at me. That sweet, sweet smile centers me slightly. I’m not sure what was said, but I assume it was an introduction, so I step forward on shaky legs, hand extended.
“Good to meet you.”
Carla slides her hand in mine, smiling. I meet her gaze, and when her eyes don’t waver, I tip my head down. How stupid am I? We share the same eye color, a detail I’d forgotten over the years.
Panic flares inside me that it’s over. She recognizes me. “Good to meet you, Bastion. I’m glad you’re here.”
She squeezes my hand, and I glance down at our joined hands. Hers are the same ones that held me as a baby and changed my diapers. They’re also the same hands that held the needle she’d put in her arm or the bottle of booze she’d bring to her lips.
I drop her hand and give her a tight smile.
“Why don’t we all go take a seat?” She gestures to the table behind us.
I turn to sit down and catch Hattie giving me a questioning glance. I’m sucking at hiding my reaction. I’m not sure how I thought I could. I should have had Hattie come alone, but at some point, if she’s my future, we’d be here.
We all sit, and I use the moment to study Carla. Her gray bob swings as she sits, Robert helping her. She’s got bags under her eyes, and the walk over to the table seems to have winded her. Something in my gut says whatever they have to tell Hattie, it has to do with Carla.
“I’m sorry we had to call you home like this, Hattie.” Her mom gives her a weak smile.
Hattie takes her mom’s hand between both of hers. “Mom, what’s going on?”
