That momma-bear growl is back.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“I’d say you don’t have to thank me, baby, but you do. Details. Remember? And no worming your way out of it. I want to know how he finally confronted his feelings for you.”
“You’re making it sound like an episode ofDays of our Lives!” I wail.
“This isbetter.” She hoots. “Damn, I can’t wait for Christmas. You’re still coming down, right?”
“Yep. Sure am.”
“Good.”
“You’re going to be okay on your own at Thanksgiving, Mom, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. I haveplentyto keep me busy.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not,” she says with a full-bodied laugh that makes me scrunch up my nose. “Now, leave this with me.”
“Will do, Mom.”
“Oh, and Denny?”
“Yeah?”
“That Dyers sounds like a nasty piece of work. I understand that it’s in your nature to get into people’s faces, but this boy… if what you tell me’s true, then he’s not your run-of-the-mill student. He’s a predator. Stay with Zach or Pecan or this Callan boy you told me about?—”
“Mom, he isn’t going to hurt me,” I say dryly. “I’m not exactly his type.”
“Domination has nothing to do with attraction. Neither does revenge. Please, do as I say, baby. The last thing I want is for you to be a statistic too.”
The nerves she dispelled return to the fore. “Why would the school let him back in, Mom? If he sexually assaulted someone?”
“You know why as well as I do. Power and money talk in this world.” She harrumphs. “I could drag you out of there, but what would be the use? Where there’s a dick, there’s danger!”
“Well, that’s cheerful.”
“If I haven’t given you enough horror stories, I can always tell you about what happened to?—”
“It’s fine.”
“Want to transfer to an all-women’s college?”
“No!”
“Your father was pushing for you to pledge, but it’s why I wanted you to join Pi Beta Epsilon. There’s safety among your sisters.” She tuts. “You don’t have much faith in men and I can’t blame you, honey.”
“Or relationships.” And I’m back to digging my heels in the soil.
“I’m sorry if I contributed to that, Denny. I-I know you know how things ended between me and Rod. It was wrong and I regret how you kids became entangled in the divorce.”
The silence that lingers between us isn’t from anger on my part, just discomfort.
That she stays on the line tells me she’s worried I’m judging her so Ishare, “I told Zach that I won’t talk to him ever again if he cheats on me.”
“Good. He should know your boundaries.”
