Page 10 of Unsaid Things
Once back at the house, Lance’s mom met Abby in the driveway. Driving to lunch, she insisted that Abby call her Elizabeth. “Mrs. Kane is my mother-in-law. I know my children are pretty much grown, but I’m not as old as Mrs. Kane.” She treated Abby to lunch at a local coffee shop that served delicious panini along with coffee to die for. Conversation flowed, and Abby found herself comfortable enough to share details about her life that she usually kept to herself. She told Elizabeth all about her mom’s debilitating mental illnesses, how her brother had left a few years ago,and how the burden of caring for their mom had fallen solely to her.
Elizabeth’s brows drew closer and closer together as Abby spoke, and when Abby told her how Megan and Chris were checking on her mom while she was out of town, Elizabeth reached out and patted Abby’s hand. “Oh, bless your heart. You poor dear. That’s so much for anyone to handle, but especially a young woman who should be carefree and enjoying herself in college. I’m glad to know my son has been helping you with everything.”
Abby nodded. “He’s been great, from the very beginning. The first time he went with me to help her was after I’d turned him down for another date. She’d texted me that she needed me right away, but wouldn’t say why, which had me worried. My car wouldn’t start, and I was freaking out. It turned out that she just needed groceries, which was important because she didn’t have any food in the house, but it wasn’t a medical emergency. Anyway, I called Lance because my roommate wasn’t picking up her phone, and he was the only one I could think to call. He left work early and drove me all the way to my mom’s house, waited for me to figure everything out, then went with me to get her groceries. I’d never had anyone help me out like that without expecting anything in return, especially after I’d refused to go out with him again.”
Elizabeth smiled, but pulled her brows together again. “That sounds like my son. But why didn’t you want to go out with him?”
Abby dropped her eyes and picked at her sandwich. “Oh, well. He’d already told me he was leaving at the end of the summer. And we’d already spent most of the weekend together before that. It didn’t seem like a good idea to get involved with someone who wouldn’t stick around, you know?” She left out the fact that Lance had a bit of a reputation for sleeping around. She didn’t think his mom needed to know about that. And it wasn’t true anymore, anyway.
“So what happened? You obviously changed your mind.”
Abby smiled. “He’s persistent when he wants to be. He took me out to dinner that night, and we spent the night together.” Her cheeks grew hot. “Just sleeping. We didn’t um, well, you know … And I made him take me home early in the morning so I wouldn’t have to face his roommates or mine.” Elizabeth chuckled, but didn’t interrupt. “He came over the next day and figured out what was wrong with my car and fixed it that weekend. I insisted on buying the parts, but he saved me a bundle on towing and labor by fixing it for me. The alternator and battery needed to be replaced.”
“He would do that. I’m surprised he let you buy the parts, even.”
“I wouldn’t let him.”
“Hmm. And after that you were together?”
Reaching for her drink, Abby nodded. “Yeah. I still knew he was supposed to leave. I didn’t ever ask him to stay. I knew the deal going in. But I couldn’t stay away from him. Not when he treated me as well as he did.” She looked away, watching the busboy clear a table. “I like to keep my distance from people, but he’s never let that stop him. He knows me better than pretty much anyone, and puts up with me and my quirks. The only thing that really bothers him is that I won’t just let him pay for everything.”
“He’s mentioned that. Why is that?” Elizabeth sounded genuinely curious, not judgmental.
Abby took a deep breath. “I—well, it’s a little hard to explain. I guess I’m just so used to being on my own and taking care of everything that it’s hard for me to rely on someone else. And part of me—“ She paused, her hand coming up to tug at her lower lip, but she forced herself to stop. “This sounds horrible, and this is by no means a reflection of Lance’s character, but some part of me is still worried that he’ll leave.” She shrugged. “Everyone else has, so … yeah. If I pay for my own stuff, I can convince myself that it won’t destroy me if he leaves.” She shook her head. “Don’t say any of that to him, please. It’s not—it’s not about him at all. It’s just me and my own issues. I know that. But we’re not married, we’re not even engaged. And even though we’re living together, and I love him and I know he loves me, it just doesn’t feel right to me to let him pay for everything.”
Elizabeth took a drink of her coffee, her face thoughtful. “So if you were engaged you might feel differently?”
Would she? Yeah, she would. An engagement seemed more stable than just living together. Taking a bite of her panini, Abby nodded, swallowing before she spoke. “Yeah. I think so. I mean, that would be a more serious commitment it seems like.”
“Mm. Yeah. I’d say living together is pretty committed too, though.”
Abby tilted her head to one side. “Yeah. I mean, more so than just dating. But it’s easy to break a lease or find a new roommate.”
“It’s easy to give back a ring and cancel wedding plans, too.”
Abby swallowed, her mouth dry. “I guess so.”
“Abby, it’s always easy to break a commitment if you really want to. I’ve watched the way Lance is with you. He’s not going to just wake up one day and decide to leave you. I raised him better than that. And if he’s committed enough to want to live with you, he’s in this for the long haul.”
Sucking in a breath, Abby tried to come up with a response, but couldn’t think what to say.
Elizabeth finished off her coffee, smiling brightly. “Now. Enough talk. Let’s go to the mall.”
