He studied her face, a face which appeared to have aged in just a matter of minutes. His mother suddenly looked so much older.
She licked her lips and clasped her hands in her lap. “I should have been there for you. I... I should have protected you. Instead, you protected me.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “You made sure that horrible man paid for his sins.”
Was this for real? All these years he’d kept his distance from his mother because he thought she hated him, blamed him, had been a huge misunderstanding. He continued to study her face, searching for the truth.
“You don’t blame me?”
“No. Never.” Her eyes pleaded with him. “I’ve blamed myself. I grew deeply depressed for many years. It is only in recent years that I’ve gotten treatment.”
And he would have known all of this, if only they’d talked to each other. That’s what he was doing with Pepper. Letting her walk away without talking to her.
“I’m sorry,” his mother said. “Please forgive me.”
He hadn’t known how much those words would move him. He took her in his arms as she wept.
When he at last pulled back, he looked into her eyes, so much like his own. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.” His mother stood. “I should be going. But please don’t let things end with Pepper. She’s good for you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I’ve seen you with her. You smile when you’re around her. And look!” She gestured to the Christmas tree, “I never thought you’d celebrate Christmas again.”
“But she’s the one who ended things.”
“Did she? Or did you give her no other choice?”
“I asked her to stay here with me—to continue this life we’d started.”
“But did you tell her you love her?”
His head lowered. He hadn’t done that. He’d been so busy worrying about protecting her from him—from him hurting her—that he hadn’t allowed himself to say so. He’d held himself back and in the process he’d hurt Pepper.
He knew how to fix this. But first he had to grab a shower. He scratched at the unfamiliar stubble on his chin. In the shower, he’d formulate a plan.
“Thank you, Mom.” He kissed her cheek. “I have to hurry. Can you let yourself out?”
“Certainly. Good luck.”
He was already rushing down the hallway, working on the most important proposal of his life.
* * *
“Happy birthday!”
Stephanie handed Pepper a pink cupcake and a coffee.
“Thank you.”
“I know with you being a baker that it’s strange to give you a cupcake, but I didn’t want you baking your own birthday cake. It’s not as good as yours, but I baked it from scratch. And I ate one just to make sure they were edible.”
Pepper smiled. “Thank you. It looks delicious.”
“I also come bearing news. You’re not going to believe this.”
Stephanie stood in Pepper’s messy apartment with a mix of glee and awe on her face. Pepper, wearing yoga pants and a big T-shirt, moved back to her spot on the new couch. She placed the cupcake on the end table to eat later when her appetite returned.
The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was entertain guests. But Stephanie was too good of a friend to just turn away. No matter how bad Pepper might feel, she wasn’t capable of hurting her friend’s feelings.