My stomach knots at the sudden, unexpected mention of his name. “No,” I snap, a little too loudly and harshly. A couple at the neighboring table glance over, and Mom raises a disapproving eyebrow.
“I always liked him, that’s all,” she’s saying.
I lean forward in my seat. “It’s not Norman,” I tell her. I ignore the part about her liking him. That’s my fault, really. I never told her how bad things got with him. Because part of me suspected she wouldn’t understand. Or she’d tell me to suck it up and deal with his flaws, because at least he had money, and money kept people safe.
Never mind that he was making me unsafe, monetary support aside. I felt caged with him, resented and controlled at once.
But I never explained all of that to Mom, so how could she know?
“But there is someone,” she replies, her voice dropping to a purr. “I know that look, Cassidy. You get the same doe-eyed expression whenever you’re smitten; you’ve been doing it since preschool.”
I groan and roll my eyes. But I nod, too. “There’s someone. Or, there was. He turned out to… not be such a good idea.”
She frowns, suddenly all sympathy. “Unemployed? Bad prospects?”
I grimace. “No. Not that that should be a reason to break up with someone,” I add.
“Well, I’m not saying you should break up with someone who just lost a great job. But if it’s someone with no ambition, no drive, would you really be happy dating them anyway? I mean, we were just talking about all your career goals… You need someone who’s as driven as you are.”
Or someone with tons of money I can mooch, don’t you mean? I resist the retort. “He wasn’t a good fit,” I tell her. “Because he lied to me. He told me he was divorced, and he wasn’t.” At least, not officially.
“Oh.” Mom sits back in her seat and waves a hand. “Well, relationships can be complicated, sweetie. Sometimes one starts before the previous relationship has quite finished fizzling.”
“Are you seriously telling me you support cheating right now?” I raise an eyebrow. “That’s pretty bad even for you, Mom.”
Her eyebrows draw together in a tight line. “What does that mean? Even for me?”
“I…” Damn. I’d been trying to behave, to be nice to her for once. But the words just slipped out. “I just mean, with your track record.”
“What track record is that, exactly?” Her voice rises.
“You know.” I gesture vaguely in her general direction. “You tend to… well… go through guys a lot. And it seems like you normally only like what they can do for you, rather than who the guys themselves are.”
“I can’t help it if I’m attracted to successful men. Would you rather I pick a bum off the street to date, is that it? Or just say yes to anyone who offers?”
“That’s not what I mean, Mom. But, come on. You seriously think I should date a guy who’s married?”
She crosses her arms on the table and leans toward me. “All I’m saying, Cassidy, is that you can be a bit naive about these things. There’s married and then there’s married, you know?”
I shake my head. I really don’t know.
Mom just shrugs, though, and tugs her napkin off her lap to daub at the corners of her mouth before she folds it on her plate. “Sweetie, I’ll admit, I came here with an ulterior motive.”
My stomach knots all over again. Great. Here it comes. Time for a speech about hard times, about how she’s trying but just can’t find the right situation… And then she’ll ask for money. Like always.
Mom meets my gaze, her own expression deadly serious. “I’m worried about you,” she says.
Whatever I expected, it wasn’t that. I blink, thrown. “About me?”
“What I said earlier—I am proud of you. I’m proud of your career, of your hard work. But, well… it’s not like you’ve been at this for very long. You’re seeing some success now, but what about your future? Have you started saving any money for retirement yet? And have you considered looking into purchasing property instead of renting? If you’re going to continue on through life the way you’ve been going, these are things you’ll need to think about.”
“What do you mean the way I’ve been going?” I protest.
“You know.” She gestures at me, as if that should make it obvious. “If you plan to live your whole adult life a single woman.”
My jaw drops. “So, just because I said I didn’t want to date a married guy, you assume I’m going to, what, grow old alone and die a spinster?”
“Sweetie, at a certain point, you just need to be realistic about where you’re headed.”
“I’m going to date!” I exclaim. “Once I find the right guy.”
“Well, if you wait too long, Mr. Right will already be married and the father of several children by then. You need to start looking now, sweetie, while your prospects are still good. I could set you up if you like; a few of my friends have some very cute sons living nearby. Well, within an hour’s drive, but that’s not too far, for a serious relationship.”