“Good luck doing that on a teacher’s salary.”
“At least I have a respectable career to fall back on. I’m sure you think it’s better for me to just not work, mooching off strange men like you did. Thank goodness my father was one of the good ones. But I can assure you, I will never put Bea through the kind of childhood I had, with men coming and going.”
“You act like you were abused. Your childhood wasn’t that bad.”
“You wouldn’t know. You were absent for most of it.”
“Did you really invite me here to fight, Amelia?”
“I need to sleep. You’re leaving tomorrow. Let’s stop fighting. Do you mind staying up with Bea so I can get a few hours in?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
I figured I might as well take advantage of her last night here. She probably wouldn’t come back after this tumultuous experience.
A few hours later, something disrupted my sleep. It was well past midnight. The faint sound of people talking downstairs seemed to register. My mother was supposed to be watching Bea, so who the hell was in my house?
Panic struck, and I crept down the stairs, stopping midway when I realized the other voice was Justin’s.
He’d come back?
The conversation that ensued between him and my mother completely blew me away as I hid in the stairwell listening to them.
“What are you doing here?”
“This is my house,” Justin said.
“Which is a joke, by the way. This house should have been left to me.”
“Did you come here on your own, or did your daughter invite you?”
“Amelia asked me to come.” She paused then said, “God, you turned out to be fucking hot,” my mother said.
“Excuse me?”
“You’re like a better looking version of your father. I wish I were fifteen years younger. Unless you like older women…”
“Are you fucking serious right now, Patricia? Haven’t you done enough damage to our lives? Amelia invited you here to help with the baby, and I find Bea by herself in the living room while you’re smoking on the fucking deck. Now, you’re trying to pick me up?”
“Calm down. I was just kidding.”
“I really wish I believed you were. Do you have any idea what Amelia’s been through these past few months? She’s doing the best she can. She doesn’t deserve this shit. You should have been offering to help from day one, but honestly, she’s better off without it.”
I’d had enough. I made my way down the stairs and said, “Mom, I think it’s best if you leave tonight.”
“Tonight? I was planning to leave in the morning anyway.”
“Yes. But that was before I knew Justin would be back. This is his house, and you’re upsetting both of us. And why were you out on the deck when you were supposed to be watching the baby?”
“She was sleeping. It’s no big deal.”
“Nothing is ever a big deal to you!”
“You’re seriously asking me to leave right now in the middle of the night?”
“No. I’m telling you to leave. Please. You’re my mother and I love you, but you’re fucked up, and you’ll never change.”
“I can’t believe this,” my mother huffed before quietly heading upstairs to pack her things.
When she returned, she lifted Bea out of the carrier she was sleeping in, intentionally waking her up to kiss her. Bea started crying as my mother handed her to me before walking out the door without saying anything further.
When the door shut, I closed my eyes feeling like I was going to cry right along with the baby. Then, I felt Justin’s arms wrap around me.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I wasn’t sure if you were coming back.”
He took Bea from my arms. As expected, she immediately calmed down. But something unexpected also happened, something that she’d never done before. Her little mouth spread into a wide toothless smile as she looked up at him.
“Oh my God, Justin. She’s smiling at you!”
“Has she never smiled before?”
“There have been times I thought maybe was smiling but wasn’t sure if it was just gas. But there is no doubt about this one. That is most definitely a smile!”
He seemed to be in awe as she continued to grin at him. “Maybe she didn’t think I was coming back.”
She wouldn’t be the only one.
“We’re both happy you’re back.”
***
The next morning when I came downstairs carrying Bea, Justin had already made coffee. The smell of the freshly-ground beans mixed with his musky scent was a great way to start the day. I noticed that there was also a new Keurig machine set up on the counter.
“Where did that come from?”
“I brought it back from my apartment in the city. That way I can make coffee fusion for myself and half-caf in the coffee maker for you.”
“That was very thoughtful.”
When he handed me my steaming mug, something dawned on me. “What did you use in this? We were out of cream. I haven’t had a chance to go to the market.”
“I used milk instead.”
“We didn’t have milk.”