***
The rest of our trip seemed to fly by, and we both slept hard on the plane heading back home. We couldn't let that hammock and that ocean view go to waste, and of course, we had to make use of the entire bungalow, inside and out. It had been physically draining and we were both worn out.
Not to mention, I needed to be emotionally prepared for the fallout with my mom when I got home. When we landed, Sebastian asked me if he should come over with me, but I told him it would only make it worse and that I'd handle it.
“I'll talk to her first,” I said. “And then you can stop by later, perhaps. She's got no real choice. She's going to have to get used to us being together.”
While I wasn't officially Sebastian's girlfriend – mainly because he hadn't asked yet – we were very much in a relationship; albeit, a complicated one.
I had texted my mom from Bali and told her we'd talk when I got back. She tried to call me several times after that, but I kept telling her the same thing; we'd talk when I got back. Period. There was no reason for her to ruin the rest of the trip by being dramatic. I didn't need or want her hysterics. But now that I was standing on my front porch, I was dreading the backlash I'd kept pushing off. It was a bill I knew was coming due, and I had no other choice but to pay it.
As soon as I opened the door, my mother was standing there in the foyer, glass of wine in hand, a well-practiced look of disapproval on her face.
“Have fun in Bali?” she asked, downing the glass of wine.
“Yes, lots of fun actually,” I said, surprised that she'd started things out so casually. I'd expected her to be breathing fire the moment my feet hit the driveway. “What's going on? You wanted to talk?”
“Come, sit down, Violet,” she said, sitting on the couch and patting the seat next to her.
In that moment, I could see tears in her eyes. She was going to cry. Oh God, I couldn't handle it when my mother cried.
But I sat down beside her.
“So, guess who I talked to while you were gone?”
I had an idea, but I didn't say her name. “Who?”
“Sebastian's ex-girlfriend, Jessica.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked. “She's crazy, you do know that, don't you, Mom? I mean, she's certifiable.”
“Of course I do,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Crazier than half the people in the loony bin, if you ask me. I never did like her, but Sebastian did and that was all that mattered at the time.”
I kept waiting. She'd talked to Jessica, so I knew there was more.
“ Jessica said she had something to show me, which I refused to look at because it's Jessica and I have no interest in her drama,” she said and a wave of relief flooded my body. “But since I wouldn't look at the attachments she'd sent along, she told me that they were proof you and Sebastian were having a thing. Of course, I told her she was being completely ridiculous. ”
“So, you didn't believe her?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course not,” mom scoffed. “You and Sebastian? He's a good man, and wouldn't do something like that.”
I twirled a couple of strands of hair around my fingers. “What if I pursued him, mom?”
“He'd still say no,” she said, shaking her head. “He and your father were too close for him to be involved with you. You're like a daughter to him, Violet.”
For some reason, hearing my mom deny everything like she was doing made it all the worse. She was so sincere in her belief that we'd never get together and yet, I had to tell her. There was no way I could keep my relationship with Sebastian secret from her. Not for very long anyway. She'd eventually find out.
And besides, if it was true that Sebastian and I were in love, it was only a matter of time before we became official. I couldn't hide something like that from my mother.
“Mom, I have something to tell you,” I said quietly, staring down at my hands. “Jessica wasn't lying. Sebastian and I are actually together and we're in love.”
My mom was quiet for a moment, then she burst out laughing. When I didn't join her, she stopped and looked at me, an expression of something like panic upon her face.
“Wait. You're serious, Violet?”
I nodded, finally bringing myself to look her in the eyes. “I am,” I said. “I know it seems weird, with the age difference and all, but we fell in love, mom. And what we have between us is real, I know it is.”
My mother stood up, her knees shaking. “I - I have to get more wine,” she said, her voice cracking.
I knew she was crying and didn't want me to see, so she refused to look at me. I grabbed hold of her arm and stood beside her.
“Listen, mom. I'm a grown woman now,” I said. “And we are both consenting adults. I love him and he loves me, this isn't just some random fling. It's real, mom. It's really real.”
My mom pulled her arm away, but instead of going to the kitchen for more wine, she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling Sebastian,” she said. “We need to talk.”
“About?” I asked, narrowing my gaze on her.
“About the fact that he's sleeping with Charles' daughter, that's what.”
I reached for the phone, but she pulled away. She had dialed it and was waiting for him to answer.
“Mom, listen to me,” I said, trying to remain calm. “I'm an adult. I'm not a child, and whatever – ”
Sebastian picked up, and my mother immediately started screaming at him. She called him every name in the book as tears streamed down her face. It killed me to see my mom in such pain, but I knew that I needed to stay strong. This was my life to live, not hers. And I was going to grab hold of love and happiness where I found it, regardless of how uncomfortable it might make her.
I heard Sebastian say, “I'm right down the street. I'll be there in a minute.”
My heart pounded as I waited, and my mother continued to cry. She refused to look at me. Refused to talk to me. She just sat there sobbing.
“Why can't you just accept the fact that I'm happy?” I asked, my own tears streaming down my face now. “And that I'm involved with somebody you admit is a good man, one who treats me really well.”
That's when Sebastian knocked on the door, and we both ran for it at the same time. I reached it first, thanks to me being quicker, and my mom having consumed several glasses of wine. As I opened it up, just seeing his face caused a warm and fuzzy stirring throughout my entire body.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” my mom slurred.
“I stayed close by, just in case something like this happened and Violet needed me,” he said, keeping his cool. “Listen, Angela, I know it's hard to believe, but this isn't what you think it is.”
“It isn't? You're not just sleeping with my daughter because she's young and pretty? She's actually not just another conquest under your belt?”
“No, I promise you, it's different than that,” Sebastian said. “Violet is a brilliant young woman. She's wise beyond her years. Not many women her age have dealt with the loss of their parent, have managed to plan an entire funeral, kept her head above water, and taken care of their mother at the same time. You and Charles raised a strong, intelligent, confident, and beautiful woman. And I'm sorry, but I fell in love with her.”
My heart pounded harder in my chest as he spoke.
“And I hope I can prove to you that we're serious, that we're in this for the long haul,” he said. “This isn't just a fling, I can promise you that, and who knows? Maybe one day I'll marry her.”
He looked so sexy standing there, defending my honor. I almost couldn't breathe as I watched him. I wanted to go to him, to kiss him, to feel him hold me, but knew that I couldn't in front of my mother. Not yet. Right now, it would only make things worse.
“Get out,” my mom said. “Both of you.”
She threw her wine glass at the door, missing Sebastian, but just barely. It hit the wall and shattered into a million pieces that sprayed all over the foyer. I stared at him, and then back at my mom, completely dumbfounded.
“You don't mean this.”
But Sebastian took my arm and led me away, pulling me out the door as I stared at the wreck of my mom.
“She doesn't mean this,” I argued with him.
“No, she doesn't,” he said. “But she needs time. And there's no reason you need to stay there and put up with her emotions and abuse. You're done coddling your mother, Violet. You've protected her for too long. Now it's my turn to protect you.”
As much as it hurt to leave that afternoon, I knew he was right. I knew my mother just needed some time.
It took some time, but my mother eventually took my calls. I was living with Sebastian, and honestly, things were going very well. I just wanted to patch things up with my mother. I was no longer working as Sebastian's assistant, since he felt that might be a conflict of interest. I was working for another company, a job Sebastian helped me land, and that was going extremely well also. I was able to work my way up faster than I thought possible, and I didn't have to worry about it being because I was sleeping with the boss.
I called my mom the day I got the news of my promotion, not expecting her to answer. But she did.
“Mom,” I said, my voice cracking. “I miss you.”
She was quiet for a few moments, but finally she answered me. “I miss you too, baby girl.”
The tears fell, from both of us, as we talked.
“I didn't mean for this to happen,” I said. “It just did. And I wouldn't take it back for the world, but I also don't want to lose you. You're the only family I have left.”
“Do you love him, Violet? Truly love him?”
“Yes,” I said, not even taking a moment to question that. “I do. With all of my heart. And he loves me, mom.”
She sighed. “He's right, you know.”
“About what?”
“I heard what he said to you as you were leaving. How you were done coddling me. He was right. All these months, you were the one taking care of me, when I should have been the one taking care of you.”
“I wanted to do that, mom,” I said.
“I know, honey, but you weren't supposed to. I'm the mother,” she said. “And when I kicked you out, it was all over my own feelings again. I was so caught up in how I was going to lose you, and I pushed you away.”
“I'm still here, mom,” I said. “I always will be.”
“And I'll always be there for you too,” she said. “And if it means I have to come to terms with accepting Sebastian, well, I guess I'm the one with some growing up to do. It's just hard to imagine my baby girl with someone old enough to be her father.”
“He makes me happy, mom,” I said. “And treats me very well.”
My mom was silent for a few minutes. “I don't doubt that, Violet. Sebastian is a good man, I have no doubt about that.”
Hearing her say that filled me with hope.
“Maybe you two should come over for dinner soon,” my mom said. “I'd really like to see you again, Violet.”
“I'd like that,” I said. “And I bet Sebastian would like that too, mom.”