Page 82 of Love and the Laws of Motion
Chapter Thirty-Two
Since Thanksgiving was the next day and Gemma was up to her neck with meal prep, Livie offered to cover her at the bar, as she had in previous years.Ordinarily a Wednesday night would be slow, but the night before Thanksgiving always defied that rule of thumb.Most people were looking at a four-day weekend, which meant Thanksgiving Wednesdays were always fairly crowded and celebratory.
Tonight, all the regulars were there, plus a few old-timers who showed up less frequently.Teresa was there, too, chatting with Livie’s father whenever he had a minute to breathe.He smiled with Teresa—more than Livie had seen him smile in years.There was a...well, a lightness about him that hadn’t been there before.Her own feelings about Teresa were still pretty mixed, but she couldn’t deny Teresa made her father happy.
A bunch of pressed-shirt college guys wandered in and took up residence at one of the tables.Romano’s didn’t see many of their type in the bar, and Livie got the impression that maybe they’d come in to slum it at someplace so obviously uncool.But they weren’t being assholes.They were watching the game on the flat-screen, and occasionally got a little loud, but not enough to drive everyone else away.Her dad was grateful for them, since they were drinking solidly and leaving hefty tips for every refill.
The college boys made things busy enough that Livie texted Jess to see if she could come pitch in, which she did, along with Alex.And when Nick found out Alex was going to be there, he walked over, too.Now the two of them held down one end of the bar, watching the game.
Laura DeSantis’s phone number was burning a hole in her pocket.Every time she thought about it, a knot of anxiety formed in her stomach.She hadn’t been alone with Nick since she’d gotten back from the butcher shop, so there’d been no chance to tell him about the encounter.The truth was, she hadn’t looked very hard for a chance, since she had no idea how to broach the subject.He was going to be angry, she was sure of that.And he’d probably flat-out refuse to contact Laura.What could she possibly say to convince him?Nothing had come to her yet.
She finished refilling the college boys’ pitcher and set it on a tray just as Nick reached for her arm across the bar.
“Hey, gorgeous, two more for me and Alex when you get a chance?”
“As soon as I drop this at their table,” she promised him.
“Thanks, Liv.”As he sat back, he dragged his fingers down the length of her forearm, sending a pleasurable little shiver down her spine.
She was still smiling distractedly as she set the pitcher of beer down in the middle of the rowdy college boys.
At that moment, the front door of the bar opened and Laura DeSantis stepped inside.Livie stopped cold, staring at Laura, who was looking around the bar with painful hopefulness.
“I couldn’t wait,” she said with a shrug.“I wanted to see if he was here—”
Nick’s voice cut through the chatter of the bar.“Mom?”
As he strode across the bar, his eyes were dark with anger.Laura’s face lit up with a tremulous smile.“Nicky,” she breathed.
Nick stopped a few feet short of her.“What are you doing here, Mom?”
Laura flicked a glance at Livie.“Livie said you were staying in the neighborhood.”
Nick crossed his arms over his chest, turning that angry glare on her.“Oh, she did, did she?”
“I ran into your mother at the butcher shop,” Livie explained lamely.More like ran her down and tackled her.“I was going to tell you later.”
“You were going to tell me.”His voice was flat and emotionless, and the look in his eyes scared her.
Everything seemed to slow down around her.Alex had swiveled around to watch as soon as Nick left his stool.Her father and Jess had stopped what they were doing to see what was happening.Dennis and Frank had interrupted their conversation for the drama.Even the table full of college boys seemed to be paying more attention to the standoff than to the game on TV.
“Yes, I—I was going to tell you,” Livie stammered.“But now she’s here, so...”
His gaze swung back to his mother.“Yes, she is.I don’t know why you came here, Mom.”
“I wanted to see you, Nick.”She was twisting her hands together anxiously.“Can we go somewhere and talk?”
A muscle twitched in Nick’s jaw as he stared her down.Livie held her breath, praying he’d give her a chance, and dreading the scene that would erupt if he didn’t.
After a pause that felt like it lasted a year, he exhaled heavily and dragged a hand through his hair.“Outside,” he muttered.
He brushed past Livie without a word as he followed his mother outside.Livie stared at the door after it closed behind him.It felt like the right thing to do at the time, reaching out to Laura DeSantis about her son.At least hehada mother, one who was alive and well and obviously desperate to heal the breach with her son.Yes, she didn’t know what had caused it, but whatever it was, surely some small attempt to repair their relationship wasn’t too out of line?
She hoped Nick eventually felt that way, too, or he might never forgive her for what she’d done.
Outside on the sidewalk, Nick stopped and faced his mother for the first time in eight years.What the fuck was he supposed to say to her?What could she possibly have to say to him?
“There’s a little coffee shop up the street,” she said tentatively, pointing over her shoulder.“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”
