Page 47 of Enough
I smile at her confidence and allow her words to sink in. They apply on so many levels. It appears my little girl is more self-assured and mature than her mother. “No, he doesn’t!” Istate assuredly. Her responding gaze lifts my heart. “Have I told you lately how absolutely brilliant you are?” I ask her.
She smiles. “You think I’m brilliant?”
“Yes, darling. You’re so much smarter than I am. Don’t ever forget that anyone should feel privileged to have your love. If they don’t want it, then you don’t want them.”
She frowns briefly. “You aren’tin lovewith Daddy, are you?”
I shake my head.
She nods. “Is Krista in love with Daddy?”
My heart jolts. “I don’t know.”
“Okay,” she quickly responds, losing interest. She jumps off my lap and skips into the family room, turning on the TV. Within a few minutes, she’s fully engrossed in an old rerun of “Full House” and is laughing hysterically to herself.
I stare after her, wishing my impending conversation with Kale would go as well. As I think about the whole thing with Krista, I get angry that Mike didn’t discuss introducing her with me. I grab a hidden bag of chocolate chips from the cabinet and shove a handful or two into my mouth before I slowly trudge up the stairs and knock on his door.
“Go away!” he shouts.
“Kale, we need to talk this out. Can I please come in?”
“Whatever.”
He’s sitting in the closet. His collar is in his mouth, and I see he’s shredded yet another shirt. I glance down at what used to be my nails and I’m reminded me of how alike we are.
I crawl into the closet and he moves slightly to accommodate me. “I used to love to sit in my closet,” I tell him. “There was this one time that Grandma and Grandpa London punished me for sneaking over to my friend Jill’s house after dark toplay Monopoly. I didn’t understand why they were mad at me, so I decided I was going to go into my closet and run away. I brought cookies, milk, books, and a flashlight.”
Kale glances toward me and his lip curls upward slightly. “Did they think you ran away?”
“They never even knew. I stayed in there for three hours until I had to pee so bad I thought I’d explode. When I finally left the dark of my closet, I wasn’t as mad anymore. My parents explained that sometimes they had to do things that I didn’t understand. But that they did these things because they wanted me to learn right from wrong.”
Kale sighs. “Did you tell me that story because you wanted me to learn something out of it?”
“Am I that obvious?” I snicker, nudging his shoulder with mine.
“So you broke up with Dad because you wanted me to learn right from wrong?”
“Kind of.” I purse my lips together. “I’ve seen both sides of marriage. I saw my parents’ marriage and then I experienced your dad’s and mine. Your dad and I didn’t have a marriage like my parents had, and as much as I tried to make it better, or like theirs, I just couldn’t. Your dad and I just didn’t get along like married people are supposed to, and neither one of us was happy. I hate that you and Marlow had to see us that way. I want you to grow up understanding that sometimes people fight, but that most times they love each other and get along. Your dad and I were always fighting. I want you to know that’s not what love is supposed to be.”
“I’m not dumb, Mom. I know you and Dad hate each other.”
“I don’t hate your dad, Kale. We’re better friends nowthan we were when we were pretending to be happy.”
“You don’t seem happier.”
“I’m getting there.” I snicker. “I know I don’t seem better, but I’m really trying. I’m sorry all of this has been so hard on you and your sister.”
Kale shrugs.
“I love you both more than anything in the world.”
He nods shyly.
“If you ever want to talk about this or anything that bothers you, I want you to know I’m always here for you. I’ll always try to understand.”
“I want to talk about Krista.”
My stomach twists and I wish I had brought the bag of chocolate chips with me. “Okay,” I say positively with a nod of my head.
