Billionaires Dollar Series

I clear my throat. “She lied about who she was. She said she was the neighbor’s niece when she was actually hired to house-sit for the summer and take care of the cat.”

“Ah,” my mother says, and a whole world is contained in that word.

“Just say what you’re going to say.”

“Well, I’ll say that she was probably intimidated. I know you don’t always think so, sweetie, but you’re sometimes rather impressive. Has she apologized for it?”

“Yes.” Profusely, actually. And explained it. And on some level, perhaps I could understand it-that lie, anyway.

“And?” Mom asks. “That’s it? That’s the whole reason you’re not talking?”

I shake my head, my teeth grinding together. No one, I’ve told no one, and it’s… well. It’s too much to keep to myself.

“Well, she’s pregnant.”

My mother is silent. The times I manage to strike her speechless are rare, but I don’t take any pleasure from this particular moment.

Her eyes are wide. “You’re having another child?”

“Unplanned, but yes.”

Her eyes grow hazy with tears, the widest smile spreading over her face. I can’t help it-I smile too.

“Oh my God,” she says, “another grandchild. A baby! And how was that not the first thing you told me today, Ethan? You let me babble on about Liam and my book club and groceries!”

I laugh, reaching over to hug her. “Mom, it’s still early days, and it’s complicated.”

“This part is very simple, though. You’re having another kid. Are you happy?”

I haven’t really thought about it in those terms. Happy. But when I don’t let my thoughts speak and just listen to what’s inside me… “Yes,” I say. “Really happy, actually.”

Mom wipes at her eyes. “Why on Earth isn’t Bella here? Move her in with you! What are you waiting for?”

Ah.

“She said she was on birth control,” I say. “Clearly, she lied.”

My mom grows still. “Did she tell you that?”

“She denies that she planned it, of course. Says she took some herbal medication at the same time that interfered, something called St. John’s Wort.” I shake my head, turning away from the look in my mom’s eyes. “But I won’t be dragged into the same arrangement as with Lyra. The kid, I’m happy about. Not Bella.”

Thwap. My mom hits me on the back of the head, and not gently, either. “Ouch. What was that for?”

“For being an idiot,” Mom says. “You’re telling me that the girl I met-who was clearly keen to make a good impression on me, and on you, I might add, looking at you like she thought you’d hung the moon-is somewhere in the city all alone, thinking you hate her? The mother of my future grandchild?”

“Erhm. Yes, I suppose.”

She leans away from me, arms crossing over her chest. Rare are the times I’ve seen her truly angry. “Did you investigate? Ask her OB/GYN to confirm any of her story? Or did you jump straight to your own conclusions?”

Damn it. “Mom, she lied.”

“About some things, but not about all. And now you’ve left her on her own to deal with a mistake that the two of you made together.”

“I know how-”

“I never thought I’d have to have this discussion with you. You’re thirty-six years old!”

“I’m well aware of that, but-”

“You were interviewed in the newspaper last month! A full-page spread!”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re letting Lyra win if you do this.” She puts her finger n my chest, the eyes I’ve inherited staring back at me. “She was one woman. She doesn’t speak for all of us. And I’d bet my finest racehorse that the only thing Bella has in common with Lyra is her gender.”

“You don’t have a racehorse-that’s not an expression.” I run a hand through my hair, looking away from her. Her words are hitting too close to a truth I’m desperate to believe in.

“I might. What do you know?” Mom huffs out an annoyed breath. “Tell me more about her. What was she like?”

“She was very good with the girls,” I say. “Even when she clearly had no clue what to do, she was good.” In the distance, Evie shrieks with laughter, the sound like a balm to my senses.

Mom leans back in her chair, knotting her fingers together in her lap, like they’ve done all the pointing they’ve needed to today. “What else?”

I wet my lips. Wonder if I’ve chosen the worst possible person to confide in. “She was kind. Truly kind, not the polite type of kind.”

“She was?”

“Yes. And funny. Quietly strong, too, the kind of brave you don’t see, but it’s there, underneath the surface.” I bury my head in my hands, arms braced against the patio table. “Christ. Have I really gotten it all wrong? Messed it up completely?”

“You might’ve,” my mother says. “But if she’s all that you’ve just described, I think you still have time to fix it.”

The running of feet breaks me out of my thoughts. Evie sprints into my arms, climbing onto my lap. I lift her up.

“What’s wrong, baby girl?”

“Daddy’s sad again,” she says, her weight warm in my arms. “I could see.”

“Daddy’s not sad,” I protest.This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

“He’s just contemplating his past failings,” my mother murmurs.

I glance at her, but she just shrugs, unrepentant.

Evie puts her hand on my cheek. “Not sad anymore,” she declares. “Come play with us?”

I stand, bouncing her a little bit in my arms. “Sure. Are we playing magical treehouse?”

Walking down the lawn with her, I make a decision. Honesty. That’s what I’d always tried to adopt with my kids, and perhaps it’s time I started extending that value a bit further. “Evie?”