Why sleep with me when she hates me so much? Why not tell me what I did to her? Why not get her revenge on me?
Why—?
Losing her is unfathomable.
Returning to my desk, I pick up the resignation letter. I can’t accept this. Tucking it in my pocket, I grab my jacket. “I need to get some air.”
He steps back, letting me leave. My keys in my hand, I don’t know where I’m going, but I just know I need to get out of this place.
Of all theplaces I expected to end up, home wasn’t one of them.
My mother is gardening when I pull up to the curb, her slender hands working with the roses. She looks up with a surprised smile. “Ethan!”
Reluctantly, I get out of the car. “Mom.”
She removes her sun hat and waits for me to cover the distance between us before leaning up and kissing my cheek. “Iwas just thinking about you. Come in. Your father went out with Roland. It’s just me at home today. Have lunch with me.”
Her arm wrapped around mine as we walk inside offers a level of comfort I didn’t know I was seeking.
“Let me go wash up and tell Sylvia to put lunch on the table.”
I watch her leave before sitting down at the table, the familiar surroundings bringing a temporary peace to my troubled mind.
By the time she returns, she’s changed into a more comfortable outfit, a flowing floral dress, her makeup refreshed. The table has been set with a light lunch: sandwiches, a crisp salad, and freshly squeezed orange peach juice.
“So.” She sits across from me. “What’s wrong?”
I blink. “Why would you think anything is?—”
Her eyes turn gentle. “Because you came home, sweetheart. When things go wrong, a child will always find their way home. And out of all my children, you are the most independent of them all. You so rarely come to me.”
I pour her a glass of the juice, then one for myself. “Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to come home for lunch.”
She smiles at me, that quiet, inscrutable smile of hers. “Very well. How’s Natalie?”
I take my time in replying. “Fine. She’s fine.”
“I saw the photographs of the two of you. You two make a fine couple. I’m glad you found her.”
“What photographs?” I ask, puzzled.
She studies me for a moment before getting up to retrieve a magazine. “You two attended an event in Chicago. You were photographed on the red carpet.”
I suddenly remember. With everything going on, it slipped my mind. My mother pushes the open magazine before me, and I see Natalie and I standing together, my arm around her waist. She’s facing the camera, her eyes wide as I kiss her cheek. Thenext one is of her with her hands on my chest as she argues with me, but I’m smiling down at her.
I stare at the two of us. “I forgot about these.”
“She must be really special for you to let down your guard around her.”
“She is,” I say quietly after a few moments.
My voice is tired, and my mother covers my hand with hers. “She’s a nice girl, Ethan. You’ve chosen well.”
I look up at her, but whatever I was going to say doesn’t come out. Instead something else slips out.
“She doesn’t want me.”
My mother’s expression doesn’t change. “Why do you think that?”
