Laney
I POUND ONmy mother’s hotel room door.
I kept it together the whole way here, but as soon as she answers and I see her confused face, I break down in tears.
“Oh, honey. What happened?” she asks as I fall into her arms.
“Kam and his big fat hickey happened,” I blubber. My mother walks me inside the suite and places me down on the living room sofa. The room is modern and spacious and full of natural light from the large windows, but all I see is gray. She hands me a wad of tissues and places a glass of water on the table as I cry it all out. I feel so . . . stupid. And betrayed and let down. I always believed in Kam, even when we weren’t together, but if this is what life is going to be like. If his highs and lows spin him out of control and he makes destructive decisions like this, our future is over before it even began. I wipe my wet face with the tissues and take a big gulp of water.
“Can you tell me what happened now?” My mother sits next to me. Her hair is in a bun, she has no makeup on, and she’s still in sweats. It’s a form you very rarely see my mother in. Usually she’s all class all the time.
“Kam cheated on me in front of the whole world.” I’m completely humiliated.
She gives me a strange look. “Kam cheated?”
“Yes.” I sniff. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“Because it’s Kam.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Honey.” My mother shifts me so we are face to face. I can barely look at her. “I have known a lot of men in my life. Good ones, great ones, terrible ones, and I can tell you Kam is one of the best. He’s head over heels in love with you. I can’t believe he cheated on you.”
“You’re taking his side?” I ask, aghast.
“No. I’m not taking anyone’s side. I just find it very hard to believe.”
“He has a hickey the size of Jupiter on his neck. Evidence.”
“Well, that I can’t explain. But did you at least hear what he had to say? Did he admit to cheating on you?”
“It was splashed all over TV.” I erupt. “What more proof do I need?”
“Did you hear him out, or did you just react?”
“I reacted,” I admit. But I saw it with my own eyes. He was at a strip club, leaving with girls. His eyes were bloodshot, and the hickey. “You have no idea what it’s like to love a celebrity.” Living with constant ridicule, under a microscope. You sneeze, and someone tweets about it. It’s pressure all the damn time.
“I don’t?” She snorts. “Cold-hearted business bitch leaves lovable Chef Riley,” she quotes. “Your father and I were over long before he became a household name, but I still caught the heat when we divorced. I understand, baby. I do.”
I forgot my parents were still sort of together when my dad’s career started to really take off. Technically, they were still married, but my mom traveled so much it was like they were living apart.
I drop my head in my hands at a loss.
My phone rings in my pocket, again. It’s been doing that a lot. It’s Kam. I’ve ignored every call. Pulling the phone out, I hand it to my mother. “Can you flush this down the toilet?” She straightens, taking the phone robotically. She ignores the call and then stands. “I have a much better idea.” I watch as she walks in and then out of the bathroom, before shutting the door. “I didn’t flush it, but I did hide it,” she informs me as she opens the mini fridge and pulls out a bottle of champagne and a small container of orange juice. “Mimosas make everything better.” She pops the champagne cork. The mouth of the bottle smokes a bit. My mother mixes two drinks, both heavy on the bubbly, then plops down beside me. I take the glass more than willingly.
For the next several hours, we binge watch bad TV, eat all the bad things, and polish off two more bottles of champagne.
I’m still completely miserable, but being with my mom somehow makes the pain bearable.
“Mom,” I mutter against her shoulder.
“Mmm?”
“Thanks.”
She kisses my head. “It’s what I’m here for.”
“I sort of wish you were here all the time.” I know I shouldn’t have said that, but it’s the truth. Spending these last few weeks with my mom, basically having her on demand, has made me realize how much I love having her in my life.
