Page 80 of Down the Aisle
Nervously, I chewed at my bottom lip a bit as I debated whether to ask the lingering question in my mind. "Uhh I know you're his mother and all, and that you probably don't wantto say anything bad about him, but is there anything about Adam I should be aware of?" Just as my words left my mouth, I backtracked with a quick wave of my hands. "Not that I'm looking for anything bad about Adam and all, and he's been very forthcoming with me about my questions, but I figured since you're his mother, you'd have more knowledge about him."
Dismissing me with a wave and warm chuckle, Maria dried her hands off with a towel before leaning against the kitchen counter with a nostalgic smile. "Oh, Adam, he's a special one. If you haven't figured out by now, then he's very stubborn and assertive." Shaking her head with an amused chuckle, she looked out the patio window at Adam and her husband. "Always getting his way, that one." Sighing, almost sadly so, Maria looked at me with almost a sympathetic smile. "Adam's hard to wrangle with, so he needs a lot of patience and persistence. Once he sets his mind to something, he'll stop at nothing to achieve it. Sometimes such headstrong qualities are good, but at times, it can be very frustrating."
Setting the towel down with another sigh, she came up to me and gave me a side hug, keeping her arm snug around my shoulders in a comforting manner. "Not that he'd do anything bad with you, but I'm just a little afraid that if you don't dig your heels in sometimes with him, then he'll bully you a bit. Adam won't raise a hand or his voice against you or anything like that lest he wants to face my wrath, but with how passive you can sometimes be, I'm just a little afraid of him stepping over your toes sometimes."
Her soft face twisted with slight pensive worry as she looked at me studiously. "He hasn't tried to manipulate you or anything, has he? I would like to believe better in my son, believe that I raised him better than that, but once they are out in the world, there's only so much you can do as a parent, you know?" she worried with a deepening frown, making me panic a littlebecause I had no idea how to respond properly to her. "I won't be upset or anything at you, promise. I just want you to be truthful with me when it comes to Adam."
I slowly reached a tentative hand up and patted hers as it rested on my shoulder. "No, Adam's perfect, honest. He hasn't been mean or pushy or anything of the sort. He has been a saint to me, and sometimes I feel bad that he's wasting his time and energy on someone like me."
Now that last part got Maria whirling around to face me fully with a scolding look, not the bad kind though, kind of like the ones mothers would give their kids to teach some kind of positive lesson. "Now, you listen here, Eliza," she said, holding up a finger at me. "You are not a waste of anything, so quit that about yourself." She started with a huff before grumbling, "I swear, you and Hailee are going to make my head blow up with a headache with your bad self-esteem."
Her chest puffed out with a deep breath that was held for a second. "Nothing of what happened to you makes you any less of a person or any less worthy. As I like to tell my children, we are hidden gardens, and you just have to find or wait for the right person to discover you. The right gardener will appreciate your worth and beauty, and they will tend to you and make you bloom like never before. They will turn you into a wonder of the world for others to marvel upon. Despite all the weeds, overgrowth, thorns, trash, they will put in the effort to clear it all up because they want you."
I couldn't help but notice how Maria looked at her husband with lovestruck eyes. Even after all this time, she looked at him as if it were the first time, and I only hoped that was how Adam and I would look at each other ages from now. "When you find the one." Maria turned her smiling face back at me, patting my arm lovingly. "You just know. It really is a work of wonders thatno one can explain, true love, that is. It is just something that our heart and soul know innately."
Her words pulled a chuckle from me as I shook my head softly. "It's strange, but I know what you mean." Sighing, I looked over at Adam with an unconscious smile. "I thought I found love and knew what it was when my ex charmed me and such, but I never felt such liveliness until Adam. Not a day goes by that I don't feel happy to wake up to his snoring face. Just the mere thought of him being mine makes my whole body light up with this fire that I didn't know was possible."
I probably sounded like some lovestruck idiot, but I didn't care. What I said just now was only a fraction of what I felt with Adam, what his presence in my life has kickstarted.
Giving out a bell-toting laugh, Maria hugged me again, this time tighter. "Just don't let my boy get too stubborn and step on your toes too much, and if you need some help, then please let me know because I am not the type of mother to coddle her children or stand behind them when they are in the wrong."
Returning her affection with a hug of my own and a tearful smile, I nodded. "Thank you."
Patting my back, we remained in each other's arms for a moment before she pulled away with a light chuckle. "Go grab our men for lunch while I set the table. Then, we can make them set up for the party after the meal while we 'go pick up the cake' and last-minute supplies." AKA, we girls would be grabbing coffee and treats and spoiling ourselves for a few hours before the kids' birthday party would start later that evening.
"I can't believe you actually got them dogs. Hailee's going to kill you." Unless I killed him first.
Rubbing my temples, I leaned against the wall. "I know we talked about a dog or two, but today? Really?" I slightly glared at Adam tiredly out of the corners of my eyes.
Chuckling dismissively, Adam snaked his arm around my waist, pulling me close for a kiss on the temple. "Well, Asher really liked Bodie when we went to the shelter the other day, and you gotta admit, he's a cute dog," Adam started, grinning at our newest addition, rolling around on the floor with the children. "And besides, I already told you I'll take care of Bodie."
Before I could hold my eyes down, I felt them roll around very dramatically. "That's what they all say before a week later I'm the one picking up his poop, walking him three times a day, letting him out in the middle of the night and whatnot, feeding him, bathing him, and basically doing everything." Pretty sure that line was akin to a tale as old as time.
Snuggling his face up to mine, Adam grinned rather confidently. "Then you can either kick my ass for not keeping my word or tattle on me to my Mamma so she can do it for you."
Words failed to leave my open mouth as I was too busy staring down at the blue nose pit bull fawning at my feet. I had to admit, he was cute and charming in his own special way. Bodie's little white mitts on all four of his paws didn't help either because I found them adorable.
I wasn't against us having a dog or any kind of pet; I was against me having to take care of the pet once everyone would get bored of it. I already had to take care of Asher and worry about Adam and myself, so adding—basically—another child on top of everything was a bit of a headache to think about, let alone live.
Reaching down, I petted Bodie's head and scratched his ear, giggling a little when his hind leg started twitching and thumping against the floor in response. I really had no qualms with Bodie. Well, maybe I was still a little surprised by his sizebecause I thought Adam would bring home some puppy or a medium-sized dog, not some eighty-pound pit bull.
"Bohwdie!" Asher's excitement was cut short by his grunt when he tackled himself into Bodie.
I also couldn't complain because Asher really adored Bodie, and Bodie was more than patient so far from what I've seen with Asher. He was pretty good with all the little kids who'd been climbing all over him, tugging at his ears and tail; the tough fellow just sat there and took it all with no problem. A real gentle giant.
The birthday party for Adelaide and Asher was a little bigger than I expected. It was mostly family and close friends, but Adam and Hailee had quite a bit of family around who came down for the little celebration. Some of their friends came too, and most of them had children of their own.
I was the only odd one out, having no one. No contact with my parents, and even if I did, it wasn't like I could call them down—too risky. Eve was in Idaho, but she sent her wishes.
Sighing heavily, I shrugged Adam's arm off and stepped away from him. "I'm going to step outside for a second. Just need some fresh air before cake and craziness." I watched as Adam's lips tightened into a firm line as if he wanted to fight me a little, but he relented with an understanding nod.
"Thank you." Leaning up to my tippy toes, I kissed his cheek before stepping out onto the patio, shivering a bit at the chilly ocean breeze raking against my bare arms. It was more than warm enough inside the house not to wear a long sleeve.
Soft creaks echoed through the eerily still night as my slow steps worked their way to the railing of the wooden patio. Leaning against it with a deep sigh, I stared out at the private beach backyard, watching the waves go in and out in a steady rhythm like the constant beats of my heart.
This was all so nice, so perfect.
So, why did it feel so wrong?
