“Nothing, let’s go.”
“Don’t bullshit me, El. What the fuck happened?” My anxiety spikes and I have to remind myself to stay calm.
“I’ll tell you; can we please get in the car though?”
“Of course,” I respond and kiss her lips. She leans into me, sighing heavily. As we pull away, I walk her to the passenger side of the car and look into her office. Whoever she was talking to is still staring at us. I give him a death glare. The kind that says, I will rip your fucking head off without blinking. He walks away; maybe my tactic worked. I close the passenger door and then walk to my side of the car. She seems a bit calmed down and is wiping her eyes clean.
“You okay?” I ask.
She nods her head. “That was my ex,” she says calmly.
Really? Does she work with him? I guess I should’ve asked a little bit more about her past.
“Why is he at your work?”
“He’s dating one of the girls there. That’s why we broke up. I caught him cheating on me with her.”
“Fucking asshole,” I blurt out. She gives a shaky smile at my outburst.
“What did he say today?”
She turns away. “He wants to know who you are. He saw us kissing the other night out here.”
“Did you tell him that it’s none of his business?”
“I did, but he’s a lunatic.”
“Sounds like it. Do you want me to talk to him?”
“No, at this rate, I just need to find a new real estate office to work at, or branch out on my own.”
“I’ll support any of that. It sounds like getting far away from this asshole is what would be best. He’s your ex for a reason and should leave you the fuck alone.”
“Thanks,” she says and grabs my hand. “Now, let’s go see your mom. I’ve already made us late.”
Happily, I start the car, loving the way her strength shines through. “Try not to stress about anything,” I tell her, pulling onto the main road. “We will figure all of this out together.”
She squeezes my hand and we drive in silence. I love having her with me, more so than I ever knew was possible. She’s such a positive light and makes me forget about all of the bad. Even when she’s going through some shit, she perseveres. After we grab lunch, we make the short trip to the facility where my mom lives.
“Should I call her Barb or Barbara or something else?” Elania asks me.
“Barb, and she might call you El – that’s what I always call you when I’m talking to her about you.”
“So you’ve talked to her about me?” she asks.
I open the back door to my car, grabbing our lunch. “Of course I have. I told you, since day one, I’ve had it bad for you.”
She smiles at me and wraps her arm around my waist. We walk inside the cedar, ranch-style building and are greeted right away. Then I head straight for my mom’s room, feeling proud to be introducing Elania to her. “You okay?” I ask, sensing she is still a little upset from what happened at her office.
She looks down at our hands that are now intertwined and says, “I am because of this. You calm me and make everything better. Thank you for that.”
I lift our hands, bringing hers to my lips. “You do the same for me. Thank you, El.”
We walk into my mom’s room and there she is. She’s out of bed and one of the nurses is combing her hair. She is in her wheelchair, but not in a nightgown. She got ready to meet Elania, which makes me so proud.
“Hey, Ma,” I say watching the way her face changes when our eyes connect.
“Hi, baby,” she says, looking briefly at me and then locking eyes on El.
I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Ma, this is my girlfriend, Elania. Elania, this is my mom, Barb.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Barb,” she says and shakes her hand.
My mom looks happy today. She lifts her shaky arm for a hug and I watch the two embrace. “No, Elania, it’s my pleasure.”
The two separate and the nurse pushes my mom to the large round table that sits by the window of her room. Elania and I pull up some chairs, and I notice my mom staring at her.
“How are you feeling today?” I ask, hoping it will distract her.
“Really good. I’m not in bed, which is a good thing.”
“That makes me happy. We brought Thai, your favorite.”
Elania spreads everything out on the table and I can tell that she doesn’t know what to say.
“So what are you two up to today?” my mom asks, seeming to have pulled herself out of the daze that she’d been in from staring at El.
I look to Elania, letting her answer. “I’m not sure. I think I’m done with work for the day, but no big plans.”
I nod my head agreeing, but there’s worry in the back of my mind; I think she’s done with work today because of what happened. She doesn’t want to go back and deal with things and I can’t blame her.
“I’m off today, saw Roger this morning, and don’t have any more plans.”
“That’s nice. When do you close on your house?”
“In about three weeks.”