She sighed. “What happened, Sasha?”
Dropping my bag on the couch, I went to the kitchen to grab some water. “Just a run-in with Beth. It was nothing, just super awkward.”
“That girl. I told you she was trouble. You never—”
Slamming the bottle of water down, I tried to rein in my annoyance. “Stop. Okay? I already had to deal with her, and I’m not going to discuss this with you. Anyway, why’d you call?”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t like hearing you upset.” When it became apparent I wasn’t going to say anything else on the Beth subject, she pressed on. “I wanted to see if you could come to dinneronSunday.”
I swallowed down a sigh. A night with the parents was a necessary evil, one I did not take lightly. “I guess. What’s the occasion?”
“Well, I ran into Janet Donovan, and she said her son Casey split up with his wife and is staying with her. I thought it might be nice for you to catch up. When’s the last time you two saw each other?”
Glaring at the granite countertop, I opened and closed my mouthseveraltimes, unable to come up with the right thing to say. This would be the third man my mother tried to set me up with since I’d turned thirty.All three met Mom’s standards—they were Catholic, employed, and terrified of their mothers.
“High school graduation. I believe he was permanently attached to Marie Lank. You know, his soon-to-be ex-wife.”
“So,you have a lot to talk about!” My mom was unbelievable. The woman was dancing on the grave of their marriage.
“Mom. I’m not doing that. I don’t need a recently separated man crying on my shoulder, trying to cop a feel.”
“Sasha! Casey is a nice boy. He wouldn’t do that.”
“Just like Max was a nice boy? You need to stop trying to fix me up.”
“I had no idea Max was still married! And what do you expect me to do? I want grandbabies, and at the rate you’re going, it’s never going to happen!”
Laughter bubbled from my mouth. This woman was driving me crazy. “Would it make you feel better to know that I’m seeing someone?”
“A man?”
“Yes. A fucking man.”
“Sasha, I—”
“Forget it. I won’t be at dinner. Tell Casey what’s up from me. I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up to mom’s sputtering. She called me three more times before giving up.
For a few hours, all I did was eat potato chips andFrenchonion dip while watching season three of The Office. A knock on the door pulled me from the mindless time suck.
Ashley stood on my doorstep sobbing.
“OhAsh, come here,babe.”
I pulled her into my apartment and sat her on the couch, waiting for her sobs to stop.
Hiccupping, she stared at me withwateryeyes. “B-B-Ben.”
“Calm down, sweetie. Take a breath.”I brushed the tears from her cheeks, trying to calm her.
Ashley wrung her hands, her eyes dropping to her lap. “I confronted him. Instead of being sorry, he just threw a bunch of shit at me about Malcolm and me being too demanding. Then he left.”
Her sobs started up again, and I wrapped her in my arms. “Oh,Ash, I’m so sorry. Fuck,Ben.”
She shook her head against me. “No, he’s not wrong. Malcolm and I are too close. I never realized how much it bothered him.”
I pushed her shoulders back, making her look at me. “No, fuck that. Ben could’ve told you he felt weird about Malcolm, but he didn’t. Instead, he brings it up when he’s caught in a real fucking mess. As far as being demanding, it’s not unreasonable to expect your live-in boyfriend to tell you when he gets fired.”
Wiping her nose on her sleeve, she nodded. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to go back to our apartment.”