"This isn't a public place," Ollie said calmly. "It's a private resort. I wear clothes when I go into town, and also when I greet new guests."
"I see." Mom looked at me. "You are coming home with us, and that's that."
"No, I am not," I told her. "Ollie is a good man, not a pervert, and the fact he prefers to be naked has nothing to do with why you're mad at me. I screwed up again, didn't I? That's what you think. Stupid little Mara made another fuck-up."
She sat up even straighter. "Watch your language, Mara."
"No, I don't think I will." I jumped out of the chair. "And I am not going anywhere. I like Ollie, and I want to stay here with him to find out if we could have something together. He's helped me overcome some of my fears already. I plan to keep on doing that, getting past the things that used to make me a frazzled mess. I'm stronger than you think, Mom, and I don't need you to tell me how to live my life anymore."
Never had I spoken to my mom like that. I'd always cringed at the idea of telling my mom what I really wanted, what I needed. Standing up to her both invigorated and terrified me.
She opened her mouth, about to speak.
I held up a hand. "I'm not done yet."
My mother shut her mouth.
Dad's lips slid into a closed-mouth smile. He winked at me.
I rolled my shoulders back and forged ahead. "Mom, I know you love me. I know you're trying to look out for me, but you tend to forget I'm an adult now. I'm twenty-nine years old, and I can take care of myself. Please trust me to do that."
She wasn't staring at me anymore in that mother-knows-best way. Instead, she looked down at her hands and sighed. "I worry about you, Mara. You're my only child."
"Haven't I proved I can handle things on my own? You gave me an abandoned apartment building, and I made it a success. Doesn't that show I'm capable of running my own life?"
Mom fiddled with the cuff of her shirt, tugging it out from under her jacket sleeve.
Dad got up and hugged me. "Mara, I'm so proud of you."
"For what?" I asked.
"Everything. Standing up to your mother, turning the apartment complex into a real business, making your own decisions." He kissed my forehead. "You're a fine woman. And I already like Ollie Jackson more than I ever liked Nico."
"Really?"
"Yes. I never cared for Nico, actually." He rolled his eyes to indicate my mom. "I let your mother have her way most of the time, and she thought Nico was a catch. He acted like a decent guy, but something about him always bothered me. Maybe I should've spoken up about that. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. I'm the one who married him."
I glanced at Ollie, maybe expecting him to look annoyed or disgusted or something, but he just smiled at me.
Mom cleared her throat. "It's possible I've been wrong about a few things."
"A few?" Dad said with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
"Possibly more than a few." Mom slumped into the sofa. "What do you think we should do, Peter?"
My father stared at my mother blankly for several seconds, then a broad smile broke across his face. "You know, Sher, I think that's the first time you've ever asked me that."
"I always ask for your opinion."
"No, I always give you my opinion. But then we do whatever you want." He settled onto the sofa again, taking Mom's hands in his. "I'm proud of you too. Mara's a grown woman, and we need to stop treating her like she can't do things herself. It's time we show her that we do trust her judgment."
"How do you suggest we do that?"
"It's simple." He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "We stay here with Mara for a while."
"What?" Mom gaped at Dad like he'd suggested she sign up for a nude mud wrestling contest. "You expect me to stay here with all those...nude people?"