“She what?” I prompted, my hackles rising.
“She says she’s his mother.”
My mind raced. I thought about calling Jason. Admittedly, that would have been the best thing to do.
“Have you tried to call Jason?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s unavailable.”
I knew that even if he was in a meeting, he might pick up if I called him, but I was sure that if Jason knew she was here, he would only send her away.
I decided to talk to her.
“Why don’t you take me to her, Vince?”
I followed him down to reception. There was a small waiting area partially closed off from the main entrance with a couple of seats and low tables, almost like a hotel lobby. On one of the seats, a dark-haired woman was waiting.
I approached her, not quite sure what I was going to say. She’d cruelly abandoned the man I loved, and she’d broken his heart when he went to find her. I wanted her to explain how she could bear to treat her son like that.
I reached her seat, and she looked me up and down.
“You’re not Jason,” she said. She had a lilting voice and a beautiful face that middle age hadn’t affected. Jason looked a lot like his father, but he had her gray eyes.
“He’s not here,” I informed her. “He had to go to work.”
“Mhmm.” She pursed her lips. “And you’re the girlfriend?”
I folded my arms, suddenly feeling defensive. “What do you want?”
“I want to talk to my son.’
“Why now?” I challenged. “You sent him away when he wanted to talk to you.”
She raised her eyebrow in a way that reminded me so much of Jason, I was momentarily taken aback. “He told you that? Grant is right, then—things are serious between you two.”
I was confused. “You talked to Grant?”
She waved a hand. “He sends me an email about once a month, ever since Jason graduated college. He keeps me updated, in the loop, at least until…at least for now.”
“Jason doesn’t know that,” I said, fairly sure I was correct. It must have meant she still cared—maybe not enough to stay, but enough to want to know what was going on in his life. I lowered myself into the seat opposite her. “Why are you here now, after all this time?”
She sighed tiredly. “You know, just before I got here, I got lost for a little bit. I forgot why I came all this way. I just wandered around until I remembered again.” She chuckled, leaving me wondering what was so funny about getting lost. “I need to talk to Jason,” she said again. “And you too.”
I was getting more confused. “About what?”
“About something you both need to know.” She paused. “Do you plan to have children?”
I let out a confused chuckle. “Look, I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”
“You wouldn’t, would you?” She smiled. “Oh well, I might as well tell you.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, though I was sure whatever it was, I didn’t want to hear it.
“That you should leave him now while you still can,” she said in a low voice, “because I’m going to kill him, and he’s going to break your heart and kill any children you’ll ever have.”