Page 79 of Just Forever

I’m calling it now.

They lasted longer than I predicted.

“How… are you?” I venture after another second.

“I’m so glad you asked. I have the most exciting news.” The flippancy is replaced with so much brightness I get whiplash.

“Oh?” I pull the zipper of my jacket higher. My nose is freezing. I really should have waited until I was somewhere warmer to do this.

“I’m getting married!”

Uh. Called it? Five seconds ago, so I’m not sure it counts.

“To… Glen?”

“What?” Another trill of light laughter. “No. Honey, Glen is yesterday’s news. We’re getting a divorce. I haven’t been happy for a long time with him, and I finally realized I have to put myself first. It’s the only way to be happy.”

“Sure?” I say slowly. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name is Jason, and he is”—she lets out a happy sigh—“oh, honey, he’s perfect. So attentive and attuned to my needs. He puts me first at all times, and we’ve been having such a great time. He’s taken me out on his yacht. We’ve gone to Haiti and Japan and Sumatra on vacations, and now he’s making one more of my dreams come true.”

There’s another pause, and this time, I don’t bother to fill it.

“Well, Jason’s a producer, and…” She draws in an excited breath before she blurts, “I’ve been offered a part in his new movie!”

I’m actually speechless for a little bit.

“Wow,” I say, and sensing that I’m probably not being supportive enough, I add, “That’s cool.”

“I know. It’s an amazing opportunity. You know I’ve always wanted to act, and it’s such a blessing to finally get the chance. And it’s not even some sad little production. It’s an actual movie they’re going to release on Netflix. Isn’t it perfect?”

“So perfect,” I echo. “What’s the part? What’s the movie about?”

“I’m playing the lead character’s best friend. I know, I know. It’s not a lead part, but it’s still a prominent role. It’s the funniest story. They already had an actress hired, but call it feminine intuition, I just knew she wasn’t right for the part. Now, I debated for a long time whether I should say anything because it just wasn’t my place, and I’m no expert, but then I did becauseI knew Jason would value my opinion, and I’d already become so invested in the project, and guess what? Jason completely agreed with me. And then this is where it gets really crazy. He was trying to recast, and it wasn’t going well because it’s a challenging role. Maybe even more challenging than the actual lead, Jason says. Anyway, he was trying to recast and getting a bit frustrated already, so I was joking around one day and was all, ‘Darling, I’ll do it myself just to get you to smile again.’ I said it just for laughs, but then he looked deep into my eyes and said, ‘Why don’t you?’ Now, at first I, of course, thought he was joking, but turns out he meant it. And now I’m in a movie. We start shooting in April.”

I have no idea what to say to all of that, so I finally settle on “Congrats?”

“Oh, honey. Do you realize this also means I’m coming back to the states? I’ll be in LA soon, and that’s just a short flight away. You can come to the set and see me work.”

This all sounds fishy as hell, but I don’t think it’s my place to voice those thoughts.

Instead, I go with “I’m happy for you.” I really mean it. I’m skeptical as hell about everything she just told me, but if my mother is known for anything, it’s landing on her feet.

“Thank you, hon,” she says warmly, and then she starts to laugh again. “To think I wanted to deck Scott in the face the first time he called me after all these years.”

I was about done with this call, and frankly, I didn’t even remember I wanted to ask her about Scott after everything she just laid on me.

I remember now, though.

“Scott called you?” I ask. “Out of the blue?”

“Ihardly had a reason to look him up, darling. You know that,” Mom says. “Not after how he ruined everything for the two of us.”

I’m not going to touch that statement with a ten-foot pole and a hazmat suit.

“The past is the past, though. We all make mistakes, and you have to be able to forgive yourself. Besides, without Scott I’d never have met Jason.”

“How come? Is he a friend of his?” I ask.

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