Page 189 of As They Are
Is this what you want?
I knew that no matter my answer, he would help me through it. If I wanted to run, he’d drive the getaway car. If I wanted to stay, he would do that too.
“I think dinner is fine,” I said. “There’s a diner around here.”
“I’ll come too,” Henry offered.
“But I haven’t had one-on-one girl time in so long. Can we all talk later? I’ve wasted so much time here. I just want her all to myself for a few hours!”
She wantedmeall to herself?
“Are you sure?” I asked.
She nodded. “Totally sure.”
“Okay, then.” I turned to Henry. “I guess I’ll meet you at the house.”
Henry’s entire body was a rigid line, and I knew he needed to be home. He needed to recover from the surprise and anger he’d been feeling. I doubted he would admit it. He probably hadn’t even realized what had happened yet. He would likely be devastated when he did.
“I’ll ask one more time. Are you sure?”
Mom tried to cut in. “Of course she’s?—”
“I’d like to hear it from her.”
Despite everything, my cheeks warmed. “I’m sure. Thank you for looking out for me.”
“No problem, Wren.” He placed a kiss on my cheek and then he was gone.
“So, the diner?” Mom asked.
I nodded and led her toward it.
“This is a quaint little town,” she said.
“I like it.” I tried to tamp down the instinctual feeling to defend myself. I hadn’t known it would be there, but old habits died hard. Even when they were over a decade old.
“I’m sure you do.” Mom opened the door to the diner. “The people seem to like you. They’ve been watching.”
I wondered if Tammy had seen us walk in. Would she approve of this? She hated Mom.
I didn’t get my answer right away. Tammy wasn’t even at the front.
“Slow service,” Mom muttered after we waited for a few minutes.
“I think we can just seat ourselves. Tammy’s always busy.”
I walked to a table before she could say anything else. I’d told Henry I would be fine, but every part of me screamed that I’d done something wrong.
Maybe Tammy would come out soon. She would know what to do.
“You know, I’ve followed the show since the beginning,” Mom said.
“You have?”
“The second I saw the name, I knew I’d be watching.” She smiled, but it didn’t fill me with joy. Only fear. “Why did you not let them do something with ... this?”
She gestured to all of me. Every single inch. I looked down. I was in work pants and my green T-shirt. It wasn’t elegant, but it was me. “I didn’t want them to.”
