Page 66 of So Much More
“Did you want to kiss him?”
“No! But did you want to kiss Tammy?”
“No.”
“See?”
Randall shakes his head. “It’s not the same. You didn’t follow through. I did.”
“I still feel bad.”
“You shouldn’t. You did nothing wrong. Please don’t stress about this or compare it to what I did.” He squeezes my hand. “Promise me you won’t.”
“I can’t promise, but I’ll try.”
“Try your hardest.” He looks at his watch. “Do you need to get home? It’s getting late.”
“Soon,” I say, “but I want to hear about dinner with your mom before we go.”
His grip tightens on my hand, and I watch the rest of his body visibly tense.
“What?” I ask. “What happened?”
“She’s leaving my dad.”
My jaw drops. “No way.”
He nods. “I’m pretty sure we convinced her to do it.”
“We’ll unpack that statement in a minute, but tell me why you’re stressed.”
“Because it’s going to get ugly. Dad’s going to try to destroy her.”
“He won’t succeed.” I shake my head.
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, I’ve only met your mom briefly one time, but from what I experienced that night and from what you and Ash and Leslie have said about her, I know she’s strong enough to make it through anything your dad throws at her. And to be fair, I think he’s been trying to destroy her for a long time, but she hasn’t let him.”
He nods and some of the tension leaves his body. “You might be right.”
I caress his knuckles with my thumb. “I’m sure I’m right. Now tell me about you and Ash convincing her to do it.”
He tells me about their conversation and his and Ash’s vow to support their mom and sisters in every way necessary. By the time he’s finished, tears are streaming down my face. He pulls a napkin out of the dispenser and attempts to dry my cheeks, but he’s so bad at it with his left hand, I end up laughing and pushing his hand away.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“These are happy tears,” I explain as I finish cleaning my face up. “I’ve always known you and Ash are good men, but this is another level of good. I’m in awe of you both and am so proud of you.” I’m so proud my heart hurts.
Randall blushes. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure I should tell you everything, because I didn’t want to sound like I was bragging. To be honest, I’m nervous about the financial side, if they do end up needing that kind of help. I’ll give them everything I have if it comes to that, but I’m more of a spender than a saver. Ash probably has ten times the amount of savings I do.”
“You know Ash won’t care if he gives them more than you can.”
“Hewon’t care, but I will.”
“I know.” I take his other hand again. “But you don’t know if that will happen. It might all seem overwhelming now, but there’s no point in stressing about it. Focus that mental energy on supporting your mom and sisters practically and emotionally. That’s what they need the most right now.”
twenty-nine
