I turned to see him crumble to the floor and my mother standing over him with shattered glass all around.
“Well, my Yue Lao vase was good for something. I knew he didn’t want you marrying this abomination of a man.”
I choked back a sob. “Mom!”
“Mikka!” She mimicked my tone with a deadpan face and then stretched her arms out for me to run into them. “I called the cops. They should be here…” She trailed off as the red and blue lights pulled up.
“Are you okay?” I whispered as I hugged her.
“He tied me up in the worst knot known to man. You’d think he would have studied a good one before he tried this kidnapping. But I always knew he was a lazy bum.”
I laughed and then cried in her arms. When I glanced up at her, tears were streaming down her face too.
My mother held me up as the cops asked questions, and we promised we would be going to the station to file a report. They cuffed Dougie and led him away. He had the audacity to apologize.
My mother didn’t give me a chance to respond. “Get help. And don’t come around us again. I pay money to the mob and I’ll pay them to kill you.”
Dougie’s eyes widened, along with the cops’ that were holding his arm.
“What? This is a porn shop. Not a church. Don’t bother us.”
“Ma’am…” The cop hesitated as my mother stared him down, and then he shook his head and led Dougie away.
We stared out at the police car in silence. When I glanced at her, she still had tears in her eyes but they weren’t overflowing anymore.
My mother was strong. Weakness couldn’t find a way in her. And maybe she’d raised me to be the same.