Chapter Twenty-One
Saturday was grey. No rain, but no sun, and it wasn’t expected to come out for days. Ben had hoped it would be a nice day for Mom’s birthday.
Mom.
He was still getting used to it, but he was happy that the adoption would be final soon. Then he would have a mother. He wouldn’t have to explain why he didn’t have one, or why his aunt took care of him—he’d be another kid with a single mom.
And maybe if Coach stayed around, he’d have a dad too. They really liked each other. The other kids at Thanksgiving said they were in love, especially the girls, and Ben thought they were probably right. He saw the way they kissed and he saw the way Coach looked at her. He knew what was happening when they thought he was asleep in his bed and he heard them go into Aunt Mia’s room. He wasn’t stupid, and guys talked. Guys talked a lot about that kind of stuff.
Coach took him to town to get her a present, and he walked around the fancy store really, really confused. There was so much glass and breakable stuff, Ben kept his hands stuffed in his pockets.
“Ben, come over here.”
Looking up, he saw Coach was waving to him. Walking carefully so he didn’t bump into anything, he saw Coach standing by a shelf filled with glass animals. Hundreds of them. Ben liked this. He’d find something here. She loved animals and she loved glass. So that was perfect.
“Ben, this is Liam. His family owns the shop.” Liam nodded at him, ben thought anyone who had a shop with so many cool things had to be alright. Ben shook his hand, and started examining the display.
He checked every shelf and table, thinking there was nothing that was just right… but then he saw it. Yeah, that was perfect.
“Can I see that one?” he asked, pointing to a figurine on the center of a shelf. The man smiled. Ben opened his hand and took the animal on the flat of his palm. It was a cat. He remembered the litter of kittens under their front stoop in Maryland. Both he and Mom really wanted to take care of them inside, but they weren’t allowed to have pets. He thought she’d really like this.
The man said the cat was made of blown glass. It looked like a diamond, but it had these little black eyes. When he held it up to the light, it reflected so many colors. It was perfect. Mom would love it.
He only had one problem. Ben only had ten dollars and he didn’t think that would be enough.
“I like this.” He extended his hand toward the man. “But how much is it?”
Liam crinkled his eyes. “This is unique. It was made by a local artist.” He looked at him again. “How much are you offering?”
“I have ten dollars.”
Liam made a face, nodding. “I want this to have a good home, so I guess we can take that.”
“Really?”
“Yes, sir,” he answered. “Would you like it wrapped?”
“Yes, please.”
Liam took his money; when he returned, he handed Ben a little silver bag containing a wrapped box. It was when Ben looked up that he saw the man give Coach his credit card back. They were trying to do it so he wouldn’t see, but he did. He almost said something, but he kind of felt like this is what a dad would do for his kid, so Ben kept quiet and enjoyed what having a father would feel like.
*
Mia sat in the living room, reading a book, with strict instructions from Adam and Ben to enjoy the day. She wasn’t supposed to lift a finger, cook a meal, make a snack, nothing. They were going to do everything. So, Mia lounged, with a sappy, and somewhat dirty romance novel, in jeans, her favorite soft rag socks, and a Notre Dame Football sweatshirt she’d stolen from a certain guy’s laundry basket.
Just as she was settling into a nice warm daydream, Adam’s truck roared into the driveway and Mia watched as her boys made their way to the house. Adam carried her coffee and Ben had what appeared to be a gift bag. They talked and laughed as they came up the path.
What a pair they made. Adam was wearing jeans, an untucked blue chamois shirt, and a brown barn coat. He was so gorgeous her heart was hammering away before he even got in the house. Ben was in his usual jeans and T-shirt, a Jennings Football sweatshirt, and a baseball cap.
Her boys.
Did life get any better?
Bubba charged into the house and leaped on her, wet paws leading. He was up and he was down as quickly as someone could say ‘mud’. Adam grabbed him and sent him to lie down in the entryway. Poor dog. He curled up, his eyes wide and his tail thumping wildly.
Adam handed her the Starbucks, to which she was becoming addicted, and kissed her lightly. “Happy Birthday, again.”
“Thank you.” Another kiss and another. He hadn’t shaved yet today and his beard was scratchy, but she didn’t care.
“Um, you guys can stop being gross now.” Ben was growing impatient.
“Sorry,” Adam said. He stepped back. Ben plopped on the end of the couch and handed Mia the bag.
“Happy Birthday, Mom.”
Every time Ben said ‘Mom’, that was Mia’s best present. But she took the bag, and before he could put up a defense, pounced on him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
“Ah, man,” he complained.
Mia smiled, sat back, and pulled her legs up. She held the bag in her lap and carefully removed the pretty package. The box was wrapped in delicate cream-colored paper and tied with a brown satin ribbon. It was almost too pretty to open. But open it she did, and she had almost as much fun watching Ben’s face as seeing what was inside the box. Pulling the tissue aside, Mia gasped when she saw the delicate object.
The tiny cat sat in the palm of her hand and seemed to be staring right at her with the tiny black eyes. It was perfect, and she recalled holding this figure when she stopped in the compass shop a couple of months earlier. Ben had his own smile now, and she guessed it was because they were thinking about the same thing.
“The cats by our front porch,” she said. He nodded and Mia felt the tears well up. “You wanted one of those kittens so badly, and I just couldn’t keep them in the apartment.”
“You wanted one, too,” he said.
She hugged him, then wiped her eyes. “I love it, and I know the perfect place for it.” Mia got up from the couch and walked to the mantle. It was filled with pictures, including one of Mia and Ben taken when he was about seven on the steps of the Smithsonian. The crystal cat was placed right next to the photo. Mia looked at her son and smiled.
She thought it would be hard to think of him like that, to transition into his mom, but it was the most natural thing in the world. Just as she started to mist up, the doorbell rang. Looking out the front window, there were a pack of boys ranging from eight to about twelve. One of them was holding a football. Ben’s friends.
They’d come by every day since he got off his crutches, wondering when he could play. And even on this grey, chilly day, these boys were outside doing boy stuff. She’d been saying no to Ben, worrying about his leg and what he could do to it if he didn’t take it easy, but it was getting harder and harder. The poor kid was so bored.
Ben hobbled to the door, threw it open, and just looked at her. That’s all he had to do.
“Why don’t you guys play in the yard, okay? But Ben, you have to ref. I know you’re getting better, but that boot is not meant for football.” She loved having a backyard that was big enough for them to play. Ben smiled, and started to go outside—but then stopped, ran back, and gave her a hug. “Stay out of Nana’s bushes.”
“Okay.” He grinned. Then he ran, or hobbled, outside.
She heard the boys charge around the side of the house and Ben couldn’t stop smiling. That smile was why she’d moved.
But now she had to prepare. In about half an hour, she would have a pack of muddy, hungry boys in the kitchen, and she knew she’d better see what she had for food.
Adam watched her as she rose and he grabbed her hand before she took a step. His eyes locked with hers and he pulled her to him. His arms circled her waist so easily, Mia wondered what she’d done to deserve feeling like this.
“I’m going to have to steal my sweatshirt back.”
Mia’s mouth formed itself into a pout. “No, I like it.”
“You can keep it, but I need to wear it. I don’t want to leave that many boys playing outside without an adult.”
Now she was confused. “Why? They’re only playing touch.”
He rolled his eyes and laughed. “They’ll play touch for about a minute and a half.” They heard a roar of voices come from the yard; Mia stripped off the sweatshirt and pulled down the ribbed Henley she had beneath. Handing it to him, Adam smiled.
“They’re boys; it’s normal.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Adam pulled the sweatshirt over his head and walked with her to the kitchen. Mia settled onto the window seat and cringed a little when Ben caught the ball where he was sitting and fell onto the grass. He stood and laughed, and Mia breathed out. She was still getting used to Ben being, well, Ben. She’d tried to re-channel the athlete in him, but finally, like any good parent, she realized she had to let her son be who he was.
Perfectly content to be who he was, Adam walked out onto the deck. It seemed whatever the role—coach, friend, lover, and maybe someday, husband and dad—he made it work.
“Yo!” he called to the boys. “Are we gonna play ball, or roll around on the grass?”
The boys stopped and Ben smiled.
Mia chuckled as she busied herself finding snacks. So much for not lifting a finger today. She’d baked oatmeal cookies yesterday, so she still had a full container, and fortunately there was a whole gallon of milk. The box of granola bars would be gone, too. She was just about to survey the snack drawer when she jumped. Bubba started to bark wildly and pawed at the back door, frantic to get out.
Mia saw all the boys had stopped playing and were staring in the direction of the fence. Ben broke from the group and Bubba went nuts. When she finally got to the back door, she froze. There, at the back gate, stood her mother and her Aunt Regina. Her mother, holding an umbrella to ward off the sprinkles, was air kissing her muddy grandson. Her aunt, who was far easier going than her sister, was smiling at the scene in the backyard. Finally, her mother looked at the back door and spotted Mia, who was certain her jaw would never find its way off the floor.
Ellen Lang DeAngelis, her very proper, pretentious mother, had come to visit. She and Aunt Reg had arrived on her birthday while her football coach boyfriend played with her soon-to-be adopted son. Wasn’t this a great present? Woo-freaking-hoo.
Mia pressed the handle on the door so she could step out and face her mother, who was examining Ben’s boot and looked none too pleased. Suddenly, Bubba jumped, and the door flew open with a snap.
Bubba took off around the wet lawn, nothing but a black streak as he ran through two nice big mud puddles. He barked at the boys who laughed, and then made a beeline for Mia’s mother. The dog must have decided he had a thing for tall blonde women in white designer trench coats.
There was more barking, a screech, and some laughter from the kids before Adam could grab Bubba and pull him away.
Mia had to admit the two giant paw prints that now adorned her mother’s shoulders made quite a statement.
Mom wasn’t amused.
*
Storming into the house, her mother raged. “Mia Elyse DeAngelis, what the hell is going on?” She ripped off the soiled coat and tossed it over a chair. She turned and glared at Mia, who was passing the container of cookies to Ben to share with his friends. Whenever her mother used her given name, it was going to be a long lecture.
“Sorry about the dog, Mom. He gets excited.”
“Forget the dog. I don’t care about the dog. What the hell did you do to my grandson?” Her mom sniffed and checked to make sure the kitchen chair was clean before she sat down. “Well?”
“Ben broke his leg. It’s healing well and he’ll be starting rehab next week.”
“He broke his leg? When did this happen and why wasn’t I told?” Her aunt had slipped into the kitchen, touching Mia’s arm gently in support, and took a spot near the kitchen doorway. Mia loved her aunt. She didn’t see her nearly enough.
“He broke it about four weeks ago.” Adam came in from the front of the house and stood next to her. “And I didn’t tell you,” she continued, “because you and I really haven’t talked.”
Her mother folded her arms. “Well, I’ve spoken to Ben at least a half a dozen times in the past month. He hasn’t said anything. I find that odd.”
“You know, he stopped worrying about it after a while. Boys don’t really talk about things.” Adam jumped in, trying to bolster the argument, but her mother wasn’t going to tolerate it from an outsider.
“Somehow, I think he would have mentioned it. Who are you, by the way?”
“Uh, Adam Miller. I’m, ah…” Poor Adam. He hadn’t been prepped for this.
“Adam’s my boyfriend,” Mia said quickly.
“Your boyfriend? Is this who you dumped Noah for?”
How did she know about that? “No. I broke it off with Noah because of Noah. But we’re not talking about that.”
“Right,” she said. “We’re talking about Ben. How did he break his leg?”
Mia didn’t answer. She stood there, and then she decided that Ben’s injury was nothing she had to hide. Ben was her son and her mother was going to have to deal, so she wasn’t vague—Mom got the story with details.
“He broke it playing baseball. He was covering the plate when he and a player on the opposing team had a collision. His leg snapped.”
“Oh, my God. Baseball? See. I told you when you signed him up it was a bad idea. There are a thousand ways for him to get exercise. I’ve always forbidden team sports.”
Now Mia was seething. Adam put his hand between her shoulder blades, but nothing was going to calm her down. “Forbidden? You really need to lighten up, Mom.”
“We’ve discussed this. You know what I expect.” Her mother’s teeth were clenched so tight, Mia thought her jaw might break. But Mia wasn’t going to back down. Not this time.
“I know that I’m Ben’s mother and you’re not. I’m raising him and you’re not. That means it’s not up to you.”
“How dare you talk to me like that?”
“Get used to it. I know Ben far better than you do. You up and left me to raise him when you moved south—hell, you did almost nothing while I was in the house. You had plenty of opinions, but you didn’t do anything. So now you have to let me handle it. I’m not going to parent by committee.”
There was nothing but a clucking of her mother’s tongue, a sure-fire sign she was upset. Her mother pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes, and Mia turned to Adam before it got any worse. “Could you go check on Ben?”
“Sure,” he said. “You okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
*
Adam went outside, and after walking around the house, he found Ben sitting with Bubba on the front porch. He had the container of cookies and was feeding one to the dog when Adam sat next to him on the step.
“I left the dog in the truck.”
“He didn’t want to be in the truck. He was crying.”
“I see.” He glanced over and saw Ben had put the leash on. “Okay, well, don’t give him anymore of those, he’ll get the runs.”
“Ewww, really?”
“Yup, but give me one.”
Ben smiled and handed Adam the cookies. “Is Grandma pissed at Mom?”
“Oh, yeah.” He took a healthy bite of his cookie, tasting the cinnamon and spices. “But Mia’s not taking it.”
“I hope not. Grandma’s a bully.”
“Sometimes you need to stand up to a bully.”
Ben went quiet and looked at his hands. He was thinking, and Adam found that if you gave this kid enough thinking time, he almost always came down on the right side of things.
“You’re right,” Ben said, and then he stood.
“Ben, what are you doing?”
“I think it’s time to stand up to the bully.” And he walked into the house with the dog in tow.
Holy shit.
Adam scrambled up and followed. He got to the kitchen in time to see a smiling Ben go toward his grandmother and his great aunt, and plop on the floor. “Grandma! Aunt Reg! Did Mom tell you about my leg?” He started to unstrap his boot, the sound of the Velcro filling the space. He rolled up his pant leg, exposing the skinny calf with the scars from the incision. “This is where Dr. McAndrews operated. I have two screws.”
“Surgery? He needed surgery?” Mia’s mother was screeching.
“Aunt Reg?” Mia’s aunt was quiet up to this point, but when Ben called her over, she squatted and examined the injury. “The doctor said there was a ton of force that caused my leg to break. Mom said you would understand because of your work.”
Adam knew Mia’s aunt was a scientist of some sort, and she seemed like a nice woman—very different from her sister. She nodded thoughtfully, listening to Ben talk about his leg. “I’d need to know more, but physics applies to everything.”
Mia was watching her mother fume and had to bite back her laughter. Ben was saving the day.
“He needs to get to the city and see someone there,” her mother said.
Mia had calmed considerably, and as she watched Ben talk to her aunt, she gave her mother no more than a glance. “He has a wonderful doctor. There’s no need.”
“But…”
“Mom, there’s no need.”
Sensing he’d just witnessed a turning point, Adam moved to Mia and took her hand. She smiled up at him, then turned her eyes back to Ben, who was explaining how he got hurt to his grandmother and her sister. The kid didn’t flinch.
Mia – 1; Bully – 0.
*
Of course, the quiet didn’t last. Her mother may have backed off about Ben’s injury, but she was getting on her about everything else. The move to New York had gotten five minutes, her job had gotten another five, and now they were on to her weight. Mia was making the bed in the downstairs guest room when they got to that subject. Aunt Regina was settling in upstairs, so there was no buffer.
“I have to say you look good, another twenty-five pounds and you’ll be perfect.”
“Gee, thanks, Mom.”
“And you know, the offer for a breast reduction stands. My surgeon is excellent and I’d be happy to make it a birthday present. It would do so much for your shape if you went down a cup size or two.”
Adam walked in just as her mother said the words “breast reduction” and he stopped dead. “Don’t you dare,” he said. “You’re perfect just like you are.”
Yes, Adam loved the girls. No doubt a breast reduction wouldn’t go over well with him. She smiled.
“I beg your pardon?” Mom did not love the girls, and often spoke of having them taken care of. In her opinion, women of a certain stature were not supposed to be “busty”. “Mr. Miller, this conversation does not concern you.”
“It does. She’s beautiful and she doesn’t need to change a thing.”
Oh, yes. Mia smiled again. This was her boyfriend sticking up for her, and she loved him.
Adam put her mother’s suitcase on a low stand and looked at his watch. “I have to call Sal’s and change the reservation.”
“Reservation?” Her mother’s eyebrow shot up. “Dinner reservations?”
“Yes,” he said. “I have to call and let them know we’ll be two more.”
“Oh, right,” Mia said. “I hope it won’t be a problem.”
“Well,” her mother said. “We already have reservations.”
Mia turned and faced her mother. “Oh, really?”
“It was a surprise. We have reservations at Norriture, at eight.”
“Mom, Norriture?” Figures. They had to go with the trend. Norriture was fancy and expensive and right up her mother’s alley. Adam had taken her there the week before because family friends were heavily invested in it. It was nice, but neither she nor Adam thought it was worth the hype. “It’s no place for a ten-year-old, Mom.
“Oh, Ben will be fine, but Adam, I’m so sorry, we won’t be able to change our reservation. We’re meeting other people for dinner, and we didn’t know about you.”
Mia’s locked eyes with his and she could tell he was angry. It wasn’t a fury, but a quiet anger that was more about her than anything else. Mia had no intention of going to Norriture or anywhere else without Adam.
“I hope your friends won’t be disappointed, Mom, but I’m going to dinner with Adam, Nana, and Uncle Rob, Aunt Leslie, and all the boys at Sal’s. I hope you and Aunt Regina will come.”
“Honey, this is Norriture. It’s one of the best restaurants in New York!”
“I’ve been there,” Mia said nonchalantly. “Adam took me last week. The place is beautiful, but it’s not a place for children.”
As her mother started to object again, her aunt entered the room. “Where are we going? Can we cancel that snotty restaurant your mother wanted to go to with her friends? Ellen, I don’t know how you keep up this front. It’s exhausting.”
Mia smiled. She had no idea why her mother moved south to be near her sister. The two of them were oil and water—Aunt Regina took none of her mother’s crap. “Mom, I’m going to spend my birthday with the people most important to me. I’m not going to apologize for that.”
“I told you it wasn’t a good idea, Ellen.” Facing Adam, Aunt Reg turned on her best manners. “Adam, if you can change the reservation at Sal’s, we’d love to come.”
“Regina! You’re supposed to be on my side!” her mother screeched.
“Since when?” her aunt replied.
“What about our plans?” Mom pleaded.
“Our plans were to celebrate Mia’s birthday. It seems we’re doing that.”
“Wonderful, just wonderful.”
Folding her arms, Mia stared at her mother. She was annoyed, insulted, and truly tired of being treated like a doormat. Maybe her mother should stay in a hotel. Her aunt could stay, but putting her mother off-site was looking better and better.
“What is Sal’s—a pizza place?” Ellen was still going. She was like the Energizer Bunny of bitches.
Mia answered her as she moved toward the door, wondering what she’d done to warrant this treatment. “For your information, Mom, Sal’s is a very nice Italian restaurant. If there’s room, you can come. If not, there’s leftover mac and cheese in the fridge.”
*
Adam found Mia upstairs in her room slamming drawers. He stood back and let her vent until he saw her take a deep breath. She’d handled most of the confrontation with her mother pretty well, but he guessed the cracks about her looks had hurt. Couldn’t the idiot woman see the wonderful daughter she had? Going to where Mia stood, Adam took her hand. She was warm. Mia was always warm.
“Don’t let her get to you. Don’t.” He brought her hand to his mouth and skimmed a kiss over the knuckles.
“Lose weight, get a boob job. Shit, what’s next? Should I go blonde and get blue contacts, so I can look just like the sainted Sara?”
Adam took her shoulders and turned her to face him. He’d seen her have meltdowns before, but now he knew why. When he looked at her, all Adam saw was this beautiful girl, but the job Mia’s mother had done on her self-esteem was bubbling right at the surface.
“The short answer to all of that is no,” he said. “The long answer is why would you want to? As I think I’ve said more than once, you’re perfect just the way you are.”
Mia’s eyes were full of pain as she looked up into his, but surprisingly, there were no tears. He pulled her close and her head dropped onto his chest. Adam’s arms fit around her perfectly, just like she belonged nestled against him. Her body was round and supple, her hair was soft, and he often found himself lost in those amber-flecked brown eyes.
“Why does she make me feel like this?”
Families were so hard, especially relationships with mothers and daughters. He’d seen it in his own family and in friends’ families, but it had never been anything this blatant, this cruel. “I hate to say this, but you may never measure up in her eyes.” Mia’s breath hitched, but she held it together, and Adam was happy she wasn’t letting her mother win. “But that’s her problem, not yours.”
Sniffling, Mia wiped a hand across her eyes. “It is if I keep feeling like this. Like somehow I’ll never be good enough.”
Adam held her tight. “You’re good enough. You’re better.”