I glance at Trevor, and he looks just as perplexed as I feel watching my parents bicker like this. Mom sneers at our exchange. “Please give us some privacy, Trevor. Your services aren’t needed.”
“Services?” I hiss, seeing red. This is already off to a horrible start. Less than ten minutes, and the rapid cycling through anxiety, anger, and confusion is making me regret meeting up with them.
“Yes.Services.Honestly, Wilhelmina, what made you think you’d need a handler when meeting with us? This is a family matter.”
“Heismy family,” I say cooly, leaning into him. “And it’s called support. The only one who needs handling here is you.”
“You hear that, Robert?” she huffs, hitching her purse higher on her shoulder. “Now we’re not supportive. She’s completely ignoring all of those expensive math and science courses she used us for.” Her cold brown eyes settle on mine. “Seeing as we’re so easily replaced, there’s no need for us to be here.”
“You mean the courses I was forced into? The ones I took to keep you happy? Make you proud for once? I never wanted any of that.”
“Ooh, well excuse me for trying to cultivate your God-given talents. Most people would be thankful they had parents dedicated to their education. But it’s always something with you.”
“Jackie,” Dad warns.
“What isthatsupposed to mean?” The baby kicks at my heightened pitch, and I soothe her with a caress as I adjust in my chair. “What did I ever do that was so wrong?
“You know exactly what it means, Willa. You’ve never needed me the way your sister does.”
The bite in her confession knocks me back with surprise, and my mouth drops. “What child doesn’t need their mother?”
“YOU!” Mom’s chair scrapes across the floor as she stands, pointing a finger in my face. Several eyes around the café dart to our table as Dad reaches for her arm, but she snatches it back. “Since the day you were born, you made it clear I wasn’t enough for you. Never slept for me, never took to my milk, never returned my smiles. You threw horrible tantrums whenever I’d try to play with you. And then you’d hide from me.Hide. Like locking yourself in a dark closet was easier than looking me in the eye.”
I’m speechless. This tirade is the first time she’s ever explained where her issues with me stem from.She actually hates me. Tears well in my eyes, and I glance at Trevor. Eyebrows cinched in concern, he clears his throat. “Did you ever talk to someone about it?”
She slices a glare at him, but her hatred fixes back on me so quickly, it’s clear she truly resents me. “There’s nothing wrong with her,Trevor, except for being contrarian and hardheaded. Everything has to be her way. She’ll cast you aside too, as soon as she gets whatever it is she wants from you.”
“Not Willa,” Trevor says, his calm voice soothing the agitation burning inside me.
I focus on it, let it wash over me as he strokes my knee. In the past, I would have flown off the handle and matched her energy.But now, all I see is a woman who never took the time to understand herself. There’s nothing I could have done—nothing Icando—to get into her good graces. She may hate me, but the issue lies within herself. The realization is freeing.
“I’m asking ifyoutalked to someone for the way you felt back then,” Trevor continues. “That’s a lot of resentment to hold over a child.”
“Don’t you dare patronize me. You think impregnating my daughter out of wedlock gives you the rightto?—”
“You’re making a scene.” Dad yanks on her arm, and the rest of her sentence is swallowed up when she lands in the chair with a thud. “Sit. Down.”
Pursing her lips, she jerks her arm away, glowering at me like I’m the one who forced her to sit. “Just say whatever you have to say so we can leave.”
My eyes lock onto hers, and the smugness pinching her face tempts me to lay into her. But then the baby moves.My daughter. Her kick is the enlightenment I need right now. I don’t want to be anything like the woman crumbling in front of me. Stooping to her level will only validate her, and I need to get my message across clearly: this behavior won’t be allowed around my child.So I breathe deeply, emulating the calm assertiveness radiating from Trevor.
“When this baby is born, she’ll be surrounded by love and genuine support. We won’t hesitate to keep her away from anyone who speaks to her the way you speak to me. Anyone who blames her for things beyond her control. I’m not doing this for me, Mom. I don’t give a damn if you think I’m the devil incarnate, but if you want the chance to know your grandchild, you’ll do the kind of soul-searching you should have done when I was young. Things need to change. Until they do, I’m not comfortable having you around her.”
“Who do youthink you are?” She sneers. “I’ll do whatever I damn well please, including seeing my grandbabywheneverI choose.”
I turn to Trevor, and his eyes are already on mine, offering the protection he always has. The faintest smile quirks his lips, his reassurance washing over me. He squeezes my knee, and I slip my hand over his as I face my mom. “Fucking try me.”
“I don’t have to sit and listen to this.” Mom bolts from her chair, her heels clipping on the dark herringbone flooring all the way to the exit. As soon as she’s gone, I feel as light as a feather. She’s made her choice, and I’ve made mine.
“I have a lot of regrets, Willa.” Dad’s shaky words pull myattention from the door. “You’ve suffered through too much because of my silence, and it’s something I’ll be fixing for a long time. But that’s what I’ll do because I want the chance to know her.” His eyes glisten as he reaches across the table for my hand. “I’d like the chance to know you too, Willabean. As you are.”
I’ve always seen Dad as a silent antagonist, ready to enforce Mom’s bidding. Until today, there’s been no evidence of his backbone. If I hadn’t seen their interaction with my own eyes, I’d never believe it. But the sincerity in his voice and the emotion in his eyes are undeniable. If he’s committed to changing, I stand by what I said. “Let’s take it slow and see how it goes. But I’m serious about Mom. She can’t act that away around the baby, and I won’t let her anywhere near us as long as she does.”
“I agree.” Dad glances out the window at Mom pacing the sidewalk, a chagrined frown on his face. “She needs to come to her senses on her own or face the music. I’ll let her do just that.” As if on cue, thunder rumbles. The slightest smirk settles on his lips as raindrops patter against the roof. He pulls his rental car keys from his shirt pocket and sets them on the table, then lounges back in his chair with his hands settling over his stomach.
“If you have to go rescue her, that’s okay, Dad. I understand,” I say, nodding toward the door.
He gives a mischievous grin. “Like I said, she needs to come to her senses. As for me, I’m long overdue for a coffee with my daughter and her boyfriend.”
