Page 85 of When Stars Collide
“I can’t recall the last time I ordered a meal designated with a number,” Mom scoffed, ordering the number two. “Hey, when in Rome, right?”
“Your bravery knows no bounds.” To my surprise, I thought I heard Melissa snickering softly next to me.
“You know, it would be nice if you could break away from your book job to come visit more often, especially since Melissa has stepped away from the symphony. She and Brett have decided to expand their family.”
“Oh.” I turned to Melissa. “Is that what you want?”
She looked at me, stunned, like no one had ever bothered to ask her that question before.
“What do you mean by that?” Mom asked. “Of course that’s what she wants. Brett has a good job, and it only makes sense for Melissa to stay home to raise their family.”
“You’re right. How silly of me to forget this was 1950 and not 2020.” I turned to Melissa. She’d always been the quiet one in the family, but today she seemed a little too quiet. “Congratulations. I’m sure you and Brett will be excellent parents when the time comes.”
“Thank you,” she offered with a small smile.
“I was beginning to get worried I would be too old to enjoy my grandchildren there for a minute.”
Here we go.
“Yes, because I’m a ripe old age of thirty-three with no marriage prospects and on a two-year hold before I can even think about procreation. My God,” I feigned a gasp, “by then I’ll be thirty-five. An old maid. I may as well just hang it up now and prepare to die.”
“Are you done?” Mom asked, annoyed.
“I suppose I could be.”
“What do you mean you’re on a two-year hold?”
“I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, Mom. My oncologist wants me to be cautious for the next two years, because that’s when I’m most likely to have a recurrence.”
“Oh please, I think they’re going a little overboard.”
“And from where did you obtain your medical degree, again? A pregnant woman’s skin changes, and a skin change is exactly what I’m trying to avoid right now, not to mention the type of cancer I had can be transferred to a fetus in utero. Not that I really need to worry about that. It’s not like I’m getting laid.”
“Shh,” Mom shushed me. “Not so loud.”
“Two years is really just a drop in the bucket, if you think about it,” Melissa chimed in.
“Exactly,” I responded, agreeing with Melissa for what was probably the first time in, well, ever.
Mom sighed. “I guess. At least it will give you time to find a suitable husband. Look on the bright side, right?”
“Oh? Do tell, Mom. Who is your idea of a suitable husband?” I took a sip of iced tea, adding sugar to it after finding it more bitter than I would have liked.
“At this point, anyone but that Peter guy you were dating.”
My mom had come close to reaching my final straw before. Many times, actually. Somehow, she’d just barely missed it each time. It was like she possessed some sixth sense when it came to knowing when to reign it in. This time, her sense had failed her.
“Mother,” Melissa muttered under her breath.
“You barely knew Peter. What could possibly have been wrong with him?”
“He just didn’t seem right for you.”
I began to seethe from the inside, and willed myself not to show it. Sometimes I felt like that was her goal, to get me upset, when in reality, it probably wasn’t. “How so. Please, expand on that.”
“Peter didn’t seem to have a whole lot of ambition. He works in a factory, and probably always will because he doesn’t have a proper formal education.” As she was speaking, my mother was ticking the points she was making away on her fingers to really drive her point home. I’d always thought this to be one of her more condescending traits. “He has a son from another woman he never bothered to marry, and—”
“I’m going to stop you there.” I held up my hand, wishing it were a shield that could magically block the bullshit that was spewing from her mouth from reaching my ears. It was bad enough she was bringing up Peter, but to include Jackson in all the reasons why she was happy he was no longer a part of my life was the final straw. “You’re right. Peter didn’t finish college, but do you know why he didn’t finish college? He didn’t finish college because he knew he needed to step up and provide for Jackson. Yes, he and Amanda were never married, but that doesn’t mean he was some deadbeat. People have children out of wedlock every day. His life just skewed from the path he was on, and the fact that he could roll with it and rearrange his entire existence to make Jackson a priority makes him a much better man than most of the ones I’ve met.”
