Mom will call me screaming tomorrow. That’s what. I hope she cancels the lunch tomorrow because I just want a full day to myself. Maybe I can meet Laina for breakfast and we can have a normal conversation as opposed to what I had with my mother.
Laina might be the calm in the storm for me through this adventure I now called my life.
I dress for dinner in a simple black suit and white shirt, choosing a plain copper tie. It would bring out my eyes, not that I want that, but Mom programs me on what to wear, just like everything else in my life.
I drive my new car to the restaurant and park, taking a moment to breathe slowly in and out a few times. When I step out and go into the restaurant, I glance around to see a woman with red hair smiling at me.
“Tara?” I ask as she rushes forward to greet me.
“Kyle. It’s so good to meet you. My mom told me you were handsome, but you’re better in real life.” She’s pretty as well, but nothing jumps out at me that’s special about her.
“Thanks. You’re lovely as well. Shall we get our table?” I ask and walk to the hostess without looking back.
Once they seat us, I order a whiskey, and Tara orders a glass of their best wine.
Of course she does.
We make our selections from the menu, and I ask what she does for a living just to be polite. We can’t sit here in silence all evening.
“I’m just out of college and taking a break. My major was business, but I haven’t looked for jobs yet.” Tara offers me what she likely thinks is a seductive smile. “I hear that you’re the CEO of C&K marketing. That’s impressive at your age.”
“It’s a family business, and I was in line to take over. It’s a labor of love.” I know that’s why she’s here with me. Tara likely won’t look for a job and wants someone to support her. If I look more into her family, it might be that way with her mom.
Fuck me. It was going to be a long night.
I make it through dinner and decline Tara’s invitation for drinks at her place with the excuse that I have an early morning. I could tell throughout dinner that would be her end goal and while I have slept with some women, I didn’t take every invitation offered to me. Not now, especially when Mom sets me up with any single socialite she knows.
I kiss her on the cheek near her brand-new BMW and thank her for the evening before fighting the urge to run to my car.
Nothing stands out about any of these women to me. I can’t imagine a second date with them, much less a fucking marriage that’s supposed to last forever. How is a person supposed to stay in a marriage that has no real foundation and not question their life?
My parents married in college, and I always assumed they fell in love and started their life. What if it was a setup too, and they never told me? I knew they weren’t a lovey dovey couple, but that seems to be rare these days.
Perhaps my mom has turned into a Stepford wife after all this wealth and spending time with women that act the same way. She’s brainwashed into thinking this is a good idea and for whatever reason, it will make me look like a better man.
All an awful marriage will make me do is work a hell of a lot more and avoid home. That’s not what I want in life, and I need to put a stop to this somehow.
I go home and relax with a beer on my couch as I think about the lunch I’m not going to tomorrow. I don’t care if it’s canceled or not. I’m just not going.
I think I’ll get up, go get coffee, and hope that Laina is there. I need the calm she provides me and the words that Mom said about her play through my mind. She has no idea how good Laina and her family were for me as a kid. They were there, which is more than I can say for my parents and their friends with their own kids, that they tried to shove down my throat.
I remember now how much moving affected me. I begged my father not to make me go after being at the same schools since kindergarten with Laina, but he just told me it was for a good job. We were already wealthy but moving ended up getting him the CEO position within a couple of years and near complete control of the company.
Now it was mine.
Did I even want it anymore?
I go to bed early for a Saturday night given I cut the date short. I feel wiped from the week and need some rest, but I also intend to go for coffee in the morning. That’s my escape and seeing Laina there helps me.
When I walk through the doors of the coffee shop the next morning, I see Laina on a plush purple couch with a coffee and pastry on the table beside her and a book in her hand. Smiling, I go to order my breakfast with a mental note to get here early and pay for hers before she notices me.
“Good morning,” I greet her as I approach the couch, seeing her look up. “May I?”
“Of course. You do like it here, don’t you?” she asks as she smiles at me.
“It’s peaceful, and most people don’t come here. I just need some quiet in my week.” I sip my coffee and sigh happily. “The coffee is excellent, too.”
“It really is.” Laina looks pretty this morning in leggings and a sweater with her hair in a high ponytail. She keeps her look mostly natural, but with her eyes, she doesn’t need a lot of makeup. She’s stunning. “Is it far away from your place?”