There was silence on the other end of the phone for far, far too long. I checked the phone, but we hadn’t been disconnected.
“Mom?”
“I’m here,” she replied tersely. “Just give me a minute.”
I bit down on my lip and held my breath. Finally, she spoke again.
“Is he really good to you?” Mom asked quietly.
I let my breath out in one big burst.
“Yes, he is,” I confirmed. “He really is.”
“It sounds like he has a lot to work through,” she commented.
“I know he does. I think he’ll be okay, though, eventually.”
“I hope you are right.” I heard her sigh again.
“So, we’re good?” I asked tentatively.
“It’s your life, Chloe,” Mom said quietly. “I don’t have to like all of your choices, but I will respect them.”
“I hope you’ll give my choice in Aiden a chance.”
I heard her sigh.
“I will, dear,” she said. “You better invite him to Thanksgiving because I have quite a few questions for him.”
“I suppose I can’t begrudge you that.”
“No, you can’t,” she agreed. “Now I have to get my flight arranged. It sounds like you do, too.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“You are welcome, dear. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I hung up the phone. The call had lasted much longer than I had anticipated, and Mare’s wine was catching up to me. I ran off to the bathroom. When I was washing my hands, I looked at my face in the mirror.
I was smiling.
“You really are learning a few things, aren’t you?” I asked my reflection. I nodded to myself, just to solidify my feelings. “It’s about fucking time, too.”
I giggled and then went back to the living room to call Aiden to let him know I was coming for the weekend after all.
And with that, my life started to fall back into place.
NINETEEN
I lay on my back in the jeep, panting.
“Is this going to become a habit after all of Redeye’s parties?” I asked, wondering if I was going to have to add a package of wet wipes, tucked away in one of the back corners.
“Depends on if there are shots,” Aiden replied.
“There are always shots.”