“Remi, I thought you might never ask.” Her eyes glistened with tears, and I picked up my sleeping son from his crib and placed him in her arms. I didn’t have a mother in my life, but seeing the love in her eyes for my son tore my heart open for something I dreamed of having. A family to call my own.
She was offering me that family as disjointed as it might be, and I clung to that hope.
34
Evan
“Honey, I’m home.” I opened the door and found the house smelling like home-cooked food. Grinning, I wondered where Taylor or the takeout containers must be hiding. As if I wouldn’t have caught on to my girl’s attempts to cook. It was clear I could find a better way to occupy her time than with domestic chores.
“In the kitchen, Evan.” I followed her voice into the kitchen, putting my bag down in the hallway.
“Hello, Evan.”
“Mom.” I was completely confused. In all the years I lived across town, this was the first time my mother showed up to my house. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought it was time we sat down and talked. About your father. About a lot of things.”
“Remi?” My girl held Ethan, wearing a cute little apron that was much too clean for her to have had anything to do with dinner. I smiled, smelling the delicious food. She obviously had help cooking. My teeth and my stomach were safe tonight.
“She came by earlier. We had tea and she offered to show me how to cook chicken parmesan.” I loved her smile. Remington was guileless. She had no idea the history between my parents and me. I wasn’t angry with her for having my mother over, but wariness bred from a childhood of painful disappointment hovered in my head. If my mother had motive to being there and unknowingly involved Remi in it, I wouldn’t be nearly as forgiving.
“Kiss first. Explain later.” I hauled her into my arms, not caring who was present when I kissed her. That was their problem, not mine. I needed to reassure Remington and myself that we were okay. We were the family unit I counted on, and I needed her to know that.
I heard my mother shifting her feet, making a discreet clucking sound. As if I cared what a woman who’d abandoned me for alcohol within our own house thought about me now. I was choosy with my olive branches these days.
Remi turned shy and whispered, “Let me change, Ethan.”
I grunted my response, not happy she was leaving me out there with my mother to deal with. I kissed Ethan’s fuzzy blond head and then kissed her forehead, sinking into her. Ethan smelled faintly of dirty diaper while Remi was all sunshine and dinner. Sadly, I let her go, watching her walk into the bedroom she only recently started sharing with me.
I turned, pausing to glance at my mother. Blue eyes met blue eyes starring the other down. “Mom,” I warned her.
She held her hands up. “I only came to talk. To get to know Remi better, and her son, if you’ll let me.” I watched her wring her hands together, hoping this was her being sincere, maybe attempting to make amends. In the light, her eyes looked okay and I didn’t smell alcohol. She was sober right now and I held on to that.
“Remi is a part of my life now. A fixed, permanent part of my life,” I clarified, making sure there was no room for misunderstanding.
“I get it. You love her. I’m happy for you. So happy.” Her face softened and words quiet. This was the best I would probably get from her, but it didn’t mean I had to let her back in.
“I’m not sure that you do. I would do anything for that woman and that little boy. I won’t have you come over here and upset her.”
A hand touched my shoulder, calming me down while an arm wrapped around me from behind. “It was tea, Evan. Just tea.” Remi smiled, squeezing me, and I let it go for now.
“Enjoy dinner. Thank you so much for having me, but I should go.” My mother smiled. At least she understood the cue of when my hospitality was at an amicable end for the evening.
“Thank you so much for helping me. I’m afraid I’m not a very good cook.” Remi pulled away, opening her arms to my mother. It felt huge in the moment. Remi wasn’t stingy with hugs, but she was guarded and if she hugged my mother, her visit must have meant something.
“No, dear, but you’re very good for my son.” My mother hugged Remi back and left. It was then I noticed the car out front.
“She called for a taxi before you came home. She doesn’t drive anymore,” Remi told me, taking a pan from the oven.
“So, chicken parmesan?” I deflected.
“She said it was one of your favorites growing up.”
“You’re my favorite.” I waited until she put the pan on the cooling rack before swinging her into my arms.
“Evan, it’ll get cold.” Remi’s resistance was futile. I needed her now more than ever.
I nipped her neck. “Then I’ll warm it up.”