“So, how should we bring this to her attention?” I asked. “Call her up and tell her to check her Internet history?”
“How about a good, old-fashioned intervention?” my mom suggested. “Sit her down and tell her about your concerns. As a mother, I would understand that it’s coming from a place of love. Find a time where Terry isn’t around and talk to her. Then, if she doesn’t listen, you’ll have to expose him. Honesty is important, especially between family. Maybe you can arrange a lunch and have her meet my son. Have you been introduced yet?”
“Mom,” I said gently. “Technically, Ariana and I can’t be dating. We’re sort of stepsiblings.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “I forgot about that detail. Well, I’d suggest the two of you talk to her soon. If the two of you are ever going to be related, I’d rather it be through your marriage, not theirs.”
Ariana and I both blushed.
“If you need to call me as a character reference for him, I’m happy to talk to your mom. But, it’s probably best if you don’t involve me—your mom might not be interested in talking to her husband’s ex.”
“Thank you for your help,” Ariana said, standing up to give my mom a hug. “I really appreciate it.”
“Stay strong, sweetie,” she told her. “You’ll get through this.”
After handing me an extra pan of cinnamon rolls, my mom escorted us to the front door. She gave both Ariana and me hugs before sending us on our way.
“Good luck, dear,” she whispered to me as Ariana walked toward the car. “She’s a keeper.”
“I know.”
I followed Ariana out to the car, with a little bit of hope. If my mom could escape my dad’s lies on her own, then we could help Barb end things with a little nudge.
Chapter Sixteen
Ariana
As I sat in my paper robe, I swung my feet back and forth over the examination table. I hated waiting for test results. I always got the feeling that they would not turn out the way I wanted.
After my last seizure, Daniel immediately found another specialist in the area. This new doctor wasn’t as close to the university as Daniel’s office, nor was it on the bus route. So, Daniel promised to drive me to my appointments. Of course, I refused his offer and took a cab instead.
Meeting new doctors made me nervous. I was never sure if they would understand my medical needs. But, Daniel made a point to send a very detailed history of my care under him. I think he even explained my need for a different doctor, though, for my sake, I hope he didn’t go into specifics with Dr. Kessel.
“Well, Ms. Colbert,” the doctor said, returning to the exam room, “everything looks fine. You’re lucky you didn’t do any more damage when you fell and hit your head.”
“That’s good,” I said, feeling a little relieved.
“I’m going to recommend you stay on your current medication. I might also suggest that you change your diet—maybe increase your protein and healthy fat intake. It certainly won’t hurt. Also, as Dr. Malone discussed with me, stress is one of your major triggers. Is there any way you can lower your stress? I recommend therapy or exercise to most of my patients.”
“I usually don’t encounter a lot of stressful situations,” I said, and it almost made me laugh to hear those words come out of my mouth. It was true, though. For the most part, my life was pretty easy. It was just the last month or so that was especially stressful.
“Anything you want to discuss?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m working on it.”
“Good. Do you have any questions for me?”
“Nope,” I said cheerfully, happy that I didn’t have a new brain injury to worry about.
“Then that’s all I need from you,” he said. “Since you’ve been having more episodes recently, I want you to come back in a month. Of course, if you have any problems, give the office a call. By the way, whoever did your stitches did a great job. They must have careful hands.”
“They do,” I said, suppressing a giggle. I had learned that Daniel could do a lot with his hands.
I called a cab as I left the office and coincidentally, the driver that dropped me off showed up.
“Hello, Miss,” he said. “Are you going back home now?”
“Not yet. I need to go to the Cheesecake Factory downtown.”
“Certainly.”
As we drove, I thought of what my opening line with my mom would be. Do I skate around the topic or do I dive right in? I had never been so nervous to see my mom in my life, and that was coming from the girl who got her ears pierced at the age of ten without her mother’s permission.
I paid the driver when I got out of the car, but I seriously thought about getting back in and having him circle the block until I was ready. I would never really be ready, though, so I walked straight in the restaurant door, ready to get the intervention over with.
“Ariana!” my mom exclaimed the second she saw me. She gave me the biggest hug and kiss. She was positively glowing with joy. It made my insides squirm.
“I’m so excited to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t been available much. You’ll figure out how that is when you get married. We have so much to catch up about.”
“Yeah,” I said, plastering a fake smile on my face. “Let’s order, then you can tell me what’s been going on.”
Once we perused the menu, my mom set it down on the table and rested her hands in front of her. She was clearly trying to get me to notice the ring on her finger.
“Two karats,” she gushed. “Can you believe it? I told him he spent way too much on me, but he said I was worth it.”
“Wow,” I said, feigning enthusiasm. Apparently, my mother didn’t know the difference between expensive jewelry and costume jewelry. The thing on her finger was most certainly a fake.
“I just want to tell you everything about him. Terry is just the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He surprised me by booking a vacation last week. It was so romantic. He really went all out to make me feel special. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”
“I’ve been talking to Daniel—his son,” I interrupted. “And actually, I have met him.”
She tilted her head. “You did? Terry didn’t tell me that.”
“It was before you got together, I believe. He was staying at his son’s house.”
“Oh, he told me about that. He said that his ex-wife had taken all his money, so he was forced to sell his condo. His son lent him a spare room for a little while during his search for a new place. He sounds like a nice kid. Maybe Terry didn’t know who you were. If we weren’t together then, I suppose he wouldn’t make the connection. It’s a small world.”
I shook my head. “No, I think he knows exactly who I was and what our connection was when he met you.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” my mom said. “I think he would have brought it up. He keeps talking about how he wants to get you kids together.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course, he did. I’m sure he wanted to gloat in Daniel’s face.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m going to give it to you straight—when I met Terry, he was not very nice to me. He basically called me a slut for being with his son. He made fun of me for my epilepsy, too. When we were alone in the house together, he tried to trigger a seizure with flashing lights.”
My mom crinkled her face. “Sweetie, I think this is all a misunderstanding. Terry’s not like that. He would never do anything to hurt another person.”
“Then how do you explain that?” I asked. I wanted her to figure out that her husband wasn’t who he said he was.
“Maybe he was making a joke. You can be sensitive sometimes. I’m sure he didn’t know that the lights could trigger an episode. Believe me, he wouldn’t do something like that.”
I sighed. “I know it’s hard to hear this, but maybe you jumped into things too quickly.”
She smiled. “I see what this is about. You’re concerned about me making a hasty decision. I get it. You d
on’t need to try to scare me away from him. We’re married now. I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’ve talked to his son about him. He’s not a very nice guy. I’m sure he’s put on an act for you. But, what kind of man treats his son like crap for no reason? He’s jealous of Daniel’s success and we think he specifically went after you to get back at him.”
This time, my mom scowled at me. “Ariana, is this a side effect of some new medication or something? You aren’t making any sense. You’re throwing out some wild accusations about someone you don’t even know.”