“You what?” I couldn’t believe she had the nerve to tell me what to do. She had never been a mother to me my whole life, being permissive, letting me get away with shit I should never have done, like drinking parties and smoking a little weed. Now she wanted to be a mom?
“You heard me. I forbid this relationship. It is utter nonsense. You are 14 years younger than that horrible man. He will do unspeakable things to you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I laughed so hard I doubled over. Mom scream-growled and stomped her foot. And I tried to sober a little for her sake, but it was truly hilarious that she thought she could tell me what to do.
“What are you going to do? Ground me?” I sighed, clearing away the final traces of laughter from my voice. “Mom, I love you, and I respect you, but I can’t obey that order. I’m an adult now, and I make my own choices. I will date Victor if I please.”
Mom’s Uber pulled up and stopped, rolling down the window. They called her name, and she shook her head one last time. I was waiting for the last little bit of a lecture, but she didn’t say another word. She reeled around on her heel and stormed off, climbing into the front seat of the car to the protest of the driver.
“Just drive,” she ordered angrily, and I offered the young man a look of compassion.
I stood there waiting as they drove away. I was a bit shaken, though it could have gone worse. At least she hadn’t made a scene in front of Victor’s partners. Still, I’d hoped maybe she would be a bit more mature about things. If my daughter wanted to date a man so much older, I’d have had feelings about it, but not that.
Slinking back into the house, I let myself in quietly. There was a lively banter going on about a golfing event or something, so I just took my seat and listened in. I could tell the vibe in the room was much lighter, though Ivy stared me down for a moment. Mimi served us salads only seconds after I sat, so it was likely that Victor had told her to wait for me.
I’d never be used to a servant feeding me, but I would definitely get used to seeing the man sitting to my right every day and every night. And I would never tire of his smile, his laugh, or the way he touched my hand when I needed comfort.
I rested my hand next to my plate, waiting for the vinaigrette to get to me and Victor placed his hand over it. As Charles told a story about a previous golfing incident, Victor leaned over to me and whispered.
“Everything okay?” His eyes searched mine, and I could tell he was concerned.
“It’s not so great. We can talk later.” I offered a prim smile and accepted the vinaigrette from Adam, who now sat to my right, Mom’s chair and table setting removed. I didn’t want to break my mother’s heart like that, but it had happened all the same. If she ever spoke to me again, I prayed she would listen to my point of view, and not act like the entire world revolved around her.
If she spoke to me again….
13
VICTOR
The morning air was crisp, fall settling in with a bright clear morning. Kat looked adorable in her fall sweater and leggings. We parked a few blocks out of the town square and headed toward the courthouse where booths lined the sidewalks, filled with fresh produce and goods. I’d never been to the farmer’s market, but Katherine insisted it was the best place to buy pumpkins to decorate her front porch.
We strolled the walk, our feet crunching the downed leaves, and admired the craft stands and even stands with homemade jams and jellies. Each small tent reminded me of times when I was a child, visiting the fair and getting free candy or treats. A few booths had samples to taste, and one had a cotton candy machine where you could watch your candy be spun right before your eyes. Katherine seemed amused watching children take their cones and enjoy the sugary treat.
The market was bustling, so many people that it was difficult to even approach some booths. I carried a mum, bright yellow like Kat’s sweater, and she had a small pumpkin tucked under one arm.
“You know if you buy any more, we are going to have to swipe a shopping cart from the dollar store across the street.” I joked with her, but in reality, we only had so many hands to carry things, and she was smitten by the tiny tchotchkes that lined the tables strewn out in front of us.
“But a strong lawyer like yourself, you’d think you would be more prepared for outings like this.” She poked my ribs and grinned. I loved that smile. When she smiled it made everything better. As it was, I already had apprehension about being out in such a public place with her, so anything she could do to put my mind at ease was good.
After Charles and Ivy’s harsh reminder a few weeks back at my home over dinner, I had begun to really put thought into the age gap. I was not about to shy away from a relationship with her just because other people thought it was improper, but I also did not want my firm, or my partner to suffer because people were judgmental assholes with sticks up their asses. So walking Katherine on my arm through the mass of faces was precarious to say the least, especially when I noticed Harwin Puschel, head of a competing firm.
His bald head reflected the morning sun, even as puffs of crystalized air floated away from his mouth, deep in conversation with a dark-haired woman. They looked to be bickering, though I was not judging, merely observing what was happening. And not wanting to interact—or hear their judgmental comments—I placed my hand firmly in the small of Katherine’s lower back and guided her toward a booth across the way.
“No, Vic. I want to see if they have strawberry preserves.” She pointed back toward the direction I was trying to avoid, right where Puschel stood with the woman, whom I knew was not his wife. I wished I’d listened to her when she said her stomach was turning earlier, and just forced her to leave then.
“Let’s check out that craft stand.” I tried to redirect her away from the jams, and my untimely public demise. “They have some Christmas décor there. We could plan ahead for the house. Maybe wreaths on the doors?”
Katherine’s house was the epitome of “fluffed.” I was surprised she didn’t run a holiday fluffing gig on the side, paid to drop in to lesser-decorative women’s houses and make them look like magazine covers for the holidays. It was my best shot at convincing her to follow my lead and not get upset that I didn’t want anything to do with jam at that particular moment.
“But strawberry preserves…” Her bottom lip pouted out and she batted her long eyelashes. Frustratingly, I relented, rolling my eyes at her and turning back to the forbidden booth. To my surprise Puschel was no longer standing there, and I didn’t see him in the crowd, so I followed her lead.
She was off in a flash, knee deep in jams and jellies before I caught up. The merchant in charge of the booth had tiny wooden spoons, which he had loaded with samples of various sorts of jams or jellies, and Kat took time tasting all of them, then making comments about them. I stood back, wishing we could just get out of here and go somewhere that no one I knew would see me with her.
It was a horrible thought to have—I knew that—but the rush of second thoughts hit me so hard when I saw Harwin, that I couldn’t think of anything other than what people would say about me. I was lost in thought when I felt a smack on the arm.
“Ole Victor Beringher, how’s it going man?”
I almost swallowed my gum as the grating voice of Harwin Puschel met my ears. Turning slowly, I extended my free hand and shook his outstretched one. The woman he’d been speaking to before stood behind him with a scowl on her face. Just like him to put a woman in her place and leave her so angry the whole world could tell he was to blame.