Page 41 of Takedown

“Right, but I meant the entire—” She pretends to search for the word. She looks to Jason for help, but he shakes his head at her. “The interracial aspect. Your mother is fine with that?”

“Why wouldn’t she be?” I put my hand on Mel’s shoulder and gently massage the stress away.

“It’s just that some people object to that kind of thing, right?”

“The only thing my mother cares about is that I’m happy. What kind of mother would object to their child finding love and getting married?” I stare right into her eyes, daring her to say anything else.

“And what happened to your father?” Diane asks, quickly changing the subject about my mother. The entire table goes silent while they wait for my response.

“He’s dead,” is all I say.

“I didn’t know that,” Mel says. “I thought you guys were only estranged.” She rubs my thigh underneath the table, puts her chin on my shoulder, and whispers, “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t know your husband’s father is dead?” The accusatory tone in Diane’s voice isn’t lost on anyone. She tosses her fork on her plate as if she’s disgusted.

“So, Adam,” Alex says quickly, “I have a favor to ask you. Will you help get me back in shape after the baby is born?”

“Just knock on my door when you’re ready to get started. I’ll design a workout routine for you,” I tell her. She smiles at me, and Jason mouths thank you. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve agreed to help his wife or if it’s because I ignored his mother’s last bitchy comment.

“You’ll look gorgeous in your bridesmaid dress,” Mel says after taking a deep breath. You could hear a pin drop after that statement. Jason looks at me and arches his eyebrow.

“Oh? Who is getting married? A friend from work?” her mother asks.

“No, Mother. I am. Well, we’re already married, but we are having a small wedding in August. Jason, I want you to be my best person. Even though I rocked that tuxedo when I was best person at your wedding, I won’t make you wear a dress for mine.”

“That would be fun to see,” I snicker.

“You can borrow one of mine,” Alex says, laughing loudly.

Jason opens his mouth to speak, but his mother talks first. “You’re having an actual wedding?” She drops her fork again, and it clangs loudly against her plate. “This farce has gone far enough, don’t you think, Melanie? Nobody here buys this marriage of convenience. So convenient that you only announced it when I come to town. You’re acting out like a child. Didn’t I pay enough attention to you when you were growing up? Why do you have to do this?”

“Mom, enough,” Jason warns.

“My marriage is not about you, Mother.” Melanie throws her napkin on her plate. Addy must think it’s a game because she tosses hers on the floor.

“Yes, I believe it is.” Her mother juts out her chin at her statement.

“For the record, you paid plenty of attention to me as a child, all of which was negative. Do you think I enjoyed being belittled or made to feel like an afterthought or unwanted?”

“I never—”

“You did! But whatever. I spent years being angry and hurtful towards Jason because of the way you treated us. You treated him like a prince, but I was the stupid, red-headed stepchild. Always. That’s your perception of me, so fine. I know who I am, and I don’t live my life for your approval. I left New Jersey to get away from you, yet here you are!” Mellie yells while gesturing towards her mother with both hands. “Yes, I married Adam. Is it so crazy that a man would want to marry me? And yes, we’re having a wedding. That is all you need to know. Your presence is not required.” She leaves the table, and I get up and follow, but not before giving her mother a scathing look.

“You guys, please don’t leave,” Alex says, but Mellie is already yanking the door open. I run behind her as she takes the steps two at a time. She opens the door and throws her purse on the floor. There’s no couch anymore, so she runs to the bedroom, and I follow behind her. She starts to pace, and when she turns to face me, I stand in front of her and open my arms. She walks right in, and I tighten my arms around her. She puts her face in my chest and lets out a muffled scream. I rub her back and tell her everything is going to be okay.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” I tell her. “Has it always been like that between the two of you?”

“Since I was about thirteen. We were never very close. She’s always preferred Jason, but things really went bad between us when I didn’t score high enough to get into the same high school as him. It was really competitive and—”

“You don’t ever have to explain that, Mel. It’s okay,” I say, finally understanding the reason for the rift between my wife and her mother. Mellie committed the horrible sin of not being as academically gifted as her brother, and her mother has never forgiven her for it. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. We wouldn’t have gotten as far into the meal as we did if you hadn’t been there. She was on her best behavior. I’m over it, Adam. Why did she have to come here? To the one place I ran to get away from her. And why does she have to tear down everything that I do? Yeah, our relationship is unconventional, but she doesn’t know that. She just has to dig and dig until she finds something to beat me over the head with. The thing is, if Jason had flown to Vegas and gotten married, there would be no third degree, but I can’t so much as sneeze without her accusing me of doing it on purpose to get attention. As if I wouldeverwant any kind of attention from her. Her of all people. Are you fucking kidding me?” She pushes out of my arms and walks out of the bedroom. She paces around the empty apartment before she walks to the kitchen and kicks the cabinet underneath the sink.

I grab her hand and bring her to the table, where I place her on my lap with my arm wrapped tightly around her.

“Hurting your foot won’t help anything.”

“Nothing will,” she says. I can feel the strain in her voice. The anger’s gone now, but the sadness and resignation are much, much worse. “I need a shower.” She tries to jump off my lap, but my arm is wrapped too tight around her.

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