“Mom,” I said in a warning tone, “how many times do I have to tell you not to worry about me? I’m fine. I just need to know how you are.”
“Justin, it’s always a mother’s job to worry, and don’t try to stop me from doing it.” She poked her finger into my chest before scooting around and opening the pantry to take out the flour and sugar canisters. “I’m doing okay.” She blew out a deep breath, and bent down, pulling out a hand mixer and a large bowl.
“Okay? Like when you didn’t even hear me come in? You seemed to be somewhere else.”
She gave me a tight smile. “It seems like I have those moments often, honey. Not a big deal, just memories everywhere I turn in this house. That plate brought up a good one. That was the one and only plate remaining from the dinner set your grandparents bought your father and me when we first got married.” Her face brightened, and I was glad she looked happier than she did the past couple of weeks. I didn’t like to talk about my dad, but for my mom it seemed like a good thing, so I guess I could deal with it.
“I was remembering how we lost all of them but one over the years. Some were broken by you kids, I think a couple might have possibly been thrown out by your dad because he didn’t want to take the time to scrub something that had been sitting there for too long. I believe I even tossed one at your father’s head.”
I snorted loudly as she handed me a beater covered with batter, and then I began to lick it off as if I were a child again. I would never be too old to do it though. Cookie batter was the shit and thankfully, my mom was never worried about that raw egg non-sense. “Yeah right, Mom. I believe all the rest, but you actually throwing a plate at dad’s head?”
My parents rarely ever fought that I could remember. A lot of my friends were jealous over the years because while all of their parents were getting divorced, my parents were happily married; sometimes how happy they were together was almost too much.
“I swear.” She held up one hand while placing a baking sheet in the oven. “It was long before you kids were around, and I don’t even remember why I felt the urge to throw it at his head, but luckily, I missed. And we had a good time making up afterward.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I covered my mouth to stop the gagging sensation that seemed to be bubbling up in the back of my throat.
“Oh, Justin. Stop acting like a baby. Do you know how many stories I’ve heard about you and your brothers’ sex lives that I wish could be scalded from my brain? Speaking of sex lives….”
She dropped down to the seat next to me, brushing her hands off on her apron, before grabbing both of mine. I knew what was coming before the words even left her mouth, and it made me feel all cold and sweaty at the same time, if that were even possible. I was hoping she would just let it go, forget it had ever happened, but I shouldn’t have been that stupid. My mother never let anything go.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Della that day?” I was glad that she at least didn’t mention the funeral because I probably would have just gotten up and left, making me look like an even bigger jackass than I already did.
“Mom, there’s nothing to tell. I was surprised when she showed up, and honestly, a little pissed off. She wasn’t there before, probably busy with her new boyfriend, and I didn’t need her there. Simple as that.”
“New boyfriend?” she repeated back to me, her mouth turning into a slight frown. “I didn’t realize she was seeing someone.”
I wasn’t going to mention her current…condition. I probably couldn’t even get that damn word out of my mouth because just thinking it made me sick to my stomach and white-hot anger bubble up in my chest like I was a ticking time bomb ready to explode, all at the same time. A freaking fantastic combination.
“Yup,” I replied with a pop. “So, I don’t really want to talk about Della. There’s nothing between us anymore.”
“Well, you never know, honey.” She patted my hand before standing back up. “Della is such a sweet girl, and she seemed to be pretty perfect for my baby.”
I didn’t respond but the word “baby” made my whole body cringe. If my mom only knew, but no, if she thought Della was so perfect, I would let her think that. I knew the truth, no one was perfect, and even though Della had been in my eyes, she never really was either. I knew I messed up at the start of our relationship by not telling her the truth from the get-go, but she kept things from me, too. Yeah, I guess they didn’t affect our relationship as much, but still.
So, now I was moving on. Della was doing that with her life, obviously, and I needed to do the same. Yeah, it sounded a whole hell of a lot easier in my head than I think it would actually be.
“I STILL CAN’T believe you got busted by the cops, and of course Justin had to be one of them.” Callie looked at me sideways as we walked across campus, and I rolled my eyes.