“Mom? What’s wrong?” I push my drink aside.
She says simply and coldly, “Andie is here.”
Danny visibly tenses, but he doesn’t move. Everyone at the table hears her, and no one looks pleased.
“Guys, it’s fine.” His attempt at a smile and casual attitude are hard to watch. “It’ll be nice to catch up and hear how she’s been after all of her traveling.”
None of us moves, not until she finds our table and claps her hands and beams. “What a happy run-in! Danny? Paul? So great to see you. And, Cindy? Wow. I wasn’t expecting to see you too. It’s been so long.”
I catch Paul’s eye, and the anger that radiates from him is powerful. Then, he and my mother exchange looks as she makes a move to get up, and almost imperceptibly, he shakes his head, so she stays in her seat and takes a long drink.
Andie is dressed in what I envision asshole-artist perfection looks like. Her hair in a sloppy yet also perfect bun. Printed wide-leg pants and a sheer, silky top. “I’ve got an art show in Burlington coming up, so I’m in town for some press stuff. Thought I’d stop into Wake. I’ve been curious about how everyone is doing.”
Danny is frozen, and I don’t blame him.
I set a hand on his lower back. “Did you know that she was coming to town?”
“Not a clue.” The beer in his glass is gone within a heartbeat. “But it’s great. I’m happy to see her.” His voice says otherwise, but he plasters on a smile.
She holds out her hands toward her son, and it’s all I can do not to throw myself in front of him and try and shield her from what I now see as a more toxic force than I feared. “How about you buy your mother a drink? We can catch up, and I can tell you about this tour I’m on.”
Slowly, he stands. “Hi, Mom.” The hug they share is horribly awkward.
After they leave, Paul holds up a hand. “No one is to say anything. This isn’t going to end well, and yapping about it now won’t help.” He orders another round of drinks for the table.
As much as we all try not to, we each sneak peeks at the two as they talk at the bar, but Danny’s back is to us, so all we see is his mom’s animated gestures. Andie then starts to make rounds throughout the rest of the room and chats up everyone for a few minutes at a time, seemingly without any clue that she is not welcome. That she is hated, I now see.
It’s about ten minutes after she leaves him at the bar that he walks outside and I follow. I find him just around the corner from the entrance.
“Hey.” Tentatively, I approach him. “You okay? That must have been a surprise to see your mother.”
“Yeah, it was.” It’s a relief when he stretches out an arm and beckons me in, swinging his arm over my shoulders and holding me against his side. “Sounds as though she’s doing well. Her art tour is a big hit. Lots of rave reviews.”
“That’s good.”
But I wait.
I wait for reality to hit. I wait for the pain to hit.
Because she is not the woman he’s made her out to be. Not the mother he’s described or the one he deserves. I’ve heard hints of her neglect, but witnessing her behavior, her words, and the effects of her toxicity tonight are much harder than I could have conceived.
Finally, he lowers his head and lets out a long sigh. “Seeing me was arun-in. Seeing me wasn’t her goal. She was justcurious.”
While I am holding this hurt boy close, raised voices come from nearby, just outside the bar. It’s my mom and Andie.
“Mothers don’t leave! They don’t fucking leave!”
Danny lifts his head. “That’s your mom.”
He’s right. Her voice is probably echoing across this small town, but she doesn’t seem to care.
“And they don’t get to show up after years and act like they’re not the worst piece of shit ever. What you’ve done to that sweet boy is unconscionable.”
“I had a career to pursue. My glassblowing caught the eyes of so many important reviewers so early on, and not everyone gets that. I had success to chase, and it paid off. It’s not like no one was watching out for him.”
“And that’smymom,” he says quietly.
Andie sounds absolutely perplexed by the accusations, the total truths, thrown at her. Zero understanding or responsibility.
