I nod. “He’s got a point, Avery. I wouldn’t let my woman go sailing when she was as far along as you are.”
Her brows rise. “Let? You wouldn’t let her? Like you own her?”
“Yes, I wouldn’t allow it. And no, I don’t believe men own women—you’re being dramatic now—but as a man I take it very seriously when I love someone and just want the best for them.” I try like fuck not to think of Callie as I say this, but it’s a hopeless endeavour considering she’s the only woman I have truly loved.
I always thought I loved Jolene but I understand the difference between first love and true love now. I imagine that for some people they are a one-in-the-same thing, but for me, they weren’t. I was too young and inexperienced when I married Jolene to grasp the concept of love. Callie taught me what true love really looks like. It is selfless and all consuming. It is wanting the other person to be happy and being willing to sacrifice anything for that to happen. It’s found in the daily give and take between two people as they work together to build the life they want. It’s the romance, the fighting, the fun, the sad, the heart speeding up when you catch a glance of the person you love, the tears, the smiles, the taking care of them while they are sick. It’s the giving of yourself without hesitation when you’d rather be doing something else. True love is found in the small gestures, not the big ones.
“So, no sailing,” Tyler says as if that settles it between them.
Avery shakes her head. “I’m not your woman, Tyler. I won’t do anything to harm our baby, but I will make my own decisions.”
I chuckle. “Good luck, man.”
“Luke,” Mum says, “because you’re flying in earlier to the island than the rest of us next week, I need you to do me a favour please.”
“What?” I never willingly agree to anything she asks without knowing exactly what it is. My mother has this tendency to assume anything she wants is possible when that’s not the case at all. George seems to have grounded her a little, though, so her expectations aren’t as fantasy-like as they once were.
Something I don’t see often on my mother’s face surfaces—hesitation. “Well, Callie’s flight arrives just before yours. I was hoping you could make sure she arrives safely and settles into the hotel okay.”
I should have known it would have something to do with Callie. My mother has an agenda other than her wedding for
this trip. “I think we all know there’s no way I wouldn’t check in with Callie and make sure she’s okay. But that does not mean you’ll get your wish where she and I are concerned.”
Mum pouts. Fucking pouts. “I don’t understand why you are so stubborn about your relationship with her.”
“There’s no way to make a relationship between us work when we live in different countries. Sometimes we can’t have what we want, Mum.”
“I think Callie would drop everything and run back to you if you told her you wanted that.”
“I wouldn’t want her to. She’s finally getting to do the one thing she’s always wanted. I wouldn’t take that from her.”
Mum rolls her eyes. “You don’t understand women very well. I clearly failed to teach you about us. Luke, love is what all women want. You wouldn’t be taking something from her. You’d be giving her your heart, and that my boy is what she really wants.”
“Mum, not all women are like you. Some want far more than a man in their lives.”
Avery butts in, saving me from this god-awful conversation. “Callie’s not happy in LA.”
I stare at her. “What?”
“She would kill me if she knew I told you this, but she doesn’t love her job and she doesn’t love the people over there. I’m pretty sure she wants to come home.”
I ignore the way my heart slams against my chest. “It’s only been six months, Avery. You know she hates change. She just needs to give it more time and she’ll settle into her new life.”
“I don’t think so, Luke.”
I push my chair back and stand. “Anyone want a beer? Or a drink?”
Mum hits me with a dirty look. “So that’s it? You’re going to refuse to talk about her?”
“Yeah. Callie’s making a new life for herself and I’m happy for her. End of story. Now, if we could get dinner happening, that would be fucking awesome because I’m starving.”
Jolene’s eyes light up a few days later when I take Sean to visit her in prison. She holds her arms out to him and he moves into them for a hug. A newfound happiness fills me at the sight. I’d lived in hope for so long that she would learn to love her son, but as she spiralled into a desperate existence in prison, I gave up that hope. To see it happening now means everything to me.
My son will finally have two parents who love him unconditionally.
She sits and pulls him onto her lap. Looking across at me as I sit opposite her, she says, “Barry came to see me yesterday. We have the DNA we need. Finally.”
I look at her—really look at her. My ex-wife is slowly turning back into the beautiful woman she once was. Her skin no longer has the pallor it did for so long and she’s grown her hair so it hits her shoulders. The thing that really brings her to life now is something I’ve never seen on her before—a sparkle in her eyes. It’s only faint, but it’s there, especially when Sean is with her. I don’t visit her on my own much, but occasionally, we have stuff to talk about without Sean hearing. On those days, her sparkle isn’t as bright.