As if she hadn’t spoken, Willow continued, on the exhale: “I mean, they’re all little chatterboxes, I’m sure you know that, and they’re just chattering away talking about all the things you do for them.”
Summer wondered what they’d said. She braced herself and waved the smoke out of her face. Hopefully they hadn’t mentioned any of Summer’s new obsessive behaviors, scouring the house for socks that matched and washing dishes until her fingers cracked and bled.
“Sarah said you started a mom and daughter book club. Is that true?”
Summer nodded.
“And Nate said you have a group of his friends over once a month for a pizza and sundae party.”
“I do,” Summer said. “And let me guess. Luke said I don’t do anything for him like I do for the other two.”
Willow laughed. “He did. But I pressed him and he admitted that he’s a night owl like you and the two of you stay up late at night watching monster truck videos when neither of you can sleep.”
Summer shrugged. “All true.”
Although Willow had always taught her pride was a no-no, Summer felt herself smiling a little proudly.
See? I’m a perfectly capable mother.
Maybe Willow was actually coming around. Maybe they could start over. Maybe Summer didn’t have to ask her to leave and never come back. A tiny sliver of hope emerged from somewhere deep in Summer’s subconscious. Then Willow spoke.
“I just don’t know why,” she said. “I raised you not to be spoiled, and yet you’re totally spoiling these kids. You’re giving them the impression that the world revolves around them. That poor Hannah is going to think she’s a princess the way you buy special snacks for her. Biscuits! When you were teething, I gave you a rib bone. What have any of them done to deserve this? You’re raising a whole brood of entitled brats. And you’re about to add another one to the mix.”
Summer opened her mouth and then closed it. Of course. She’d been right all along. Willow couldn’t stay. She was toxic. Irrational and toxic. She couldn’t be around Summer’s kids or around Summer.
“You have to leave,” Summer said. “You can’t stay here.”
Willow coughed, and a fresh cloud of smoke escaped from between her lips. Her eyes, the exact same shade of cornflower blue as Summer’s, blinked comically.
“What?” she said.
“I know you heard me,” Summer said.
“But I’m their grandmother.”
“Being their grandmother by virtue of the fact that you share their genes does not give you the right to come into my house and criticize my parenting.”
“Of course it does. It absolutely does. You should know yourself, Summer, that your job as a parent is never done. If, as your mother”—she made an extravagant gesture towards herself with her cigarette—“I believe you’re spoiling these children, making a colossal mistake, I might add, and never mind the bar-hopping, it is my duty, as your mother, to say so.”
Yes, sending Willow away was absolutely the right thing to do.
Just a moment ago, Summer had questioned her own wisdom. After all, she had spent the past several weeks slowly going crazy. There was the sock-hunting. There was the hand-washing. There were those moments she secretly wished for an illness or a car accident. And let’s not forget the leaving-Hannah-in-the-car incident.
She may be approaching the very edge of reason, but she hadn’t quite reached insanity. She didn’t need anyone, especially not someone like Willow, telling her how to parent her children.
“Willow—Mom,” Summer said.
Willow smiled, and the split second of camaraderie made her look so pretty Summer almost reconsidered what she was about to say. No, it was best to stay the course, Summer thought. Willow’s beauty was that of villains in kids’ movies. She was Maleficent, not Mary Poppins.
“Yes?”
“I think it’s best if you leave. And I think it’s even better if you don’t come back.”
CHAPTER SIX
Willow had said those exact same words to Summer once. I think it’s best if you leave. And I think it’s even better if you don’t come back.
Summer was fifteen. Willow, being the contradiction she was, didn’t believe in ear-piercing. She believed in saturating her entire body with bourbon—to the point of poisoning—but definitely not ear-piercing. That was visible.
The topic had never really come up, probably because Willow didn’t have her ears pierced and Summer didn’t think about wanting earrings until Josie brought it up.
One weekend Summer and Delaney were at Josie’s house, sitting on her bed flipping through magazines. Josie pointed out the earrings on a woman in a perfume advertisement and said, “You know, girls, it’s a small wonder none of us have our ears pierced yet. Mama said I can get mine done now that I’m fifteen. We should go together.”
Josie’s mom, Carla, clucking her tongue and hiding a smile, loaded the girls into her car and drove them to the mall. A girl about their own age greeted them with a semi-wicked grin, and it was only then that Summer waffled. Heidi, the girl at the earring shop, had a neat row of piercings all the way from her lobe to the tip of her ear and Summer wondered if this initial trip would be her first step down a slippery slope.
Josie didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll go first.”
She didn’t flinch when Heidi pierced her ears, but she did hiss through gritted teeth. When it was done, she admired herself in the mirror, and then made them all laugh by pretending to talk to her crush, Mikey Jones: “Hi, Mikey. How do you like my new earrings? Come a little closer, Romeo.”
Delaney went next, and insisted on holding hands with Josie and Summer. They stood on either side of her, and her death grip made Summer’s knuckles sore.
She did flinch, jumping once and then again when Heidi pulled the trigger on the piercing gun. Instead of pretending to talk to Mikey Jones, she pretended to make out with the mirror, sighing and groaning until Heidi snatched it back from her.
“Your turn,” Delaney and Josie said to Summer, their voices singsongy. With a flourish, Heidi motioned to the chair. Summer cringed.
“I don’t know, you guys,” she said as she climbed onto the chair.
“I knew we should have made her go first,” Josie said to Delaney.
Delaney nodded.
Summer felt slightly offended. “Which one of us stole Mr. Richter’s hall pass and hung it in Mrs. Sealy’s office when you two were two scared to do it?” (Mr. Richter, the science teacher, used a huge fake spider as a hall pass, and Mrs. Sealy, one of the vice principals, was terrified of spiders. Students had heard screams coming from her office whenever she saw a live one.)
“You did that?” Heidi said.
“You’re clearly impressed,” Summer said. Heidi nodded.
“Yes, I did,” Summer said. The girls giggled again, and Summer lifted her chin.
The actual piercing didn’t hurt as much as Summer anticipated. A quick poke and it was over. The slow burn and longer-lasting throb were bearable. Heidi took a picture of the three of them, Summer still in the chair and Josie and Delaney leaning in from either side, all three of them puckering their lips.
It never even crossed Summer’s mind to think about how Willow would respond. They were just earrings, after all. Most of the girls at school wore them (not just the slutty girls). But when Summer arrived home, flashing her rhinestone studs, Willow flipped out. Fortunately, because Summer never let Josie and Delaney come inside, they didn’t witness the verbal lashing.
Willow sat in her usual place on the couch. Summer pushed open the door. She was so lost in excitement she forgot to close it. She could feel the smile taking up her entire face. Hair in a ponytail to better show off the earrings, she approached the couch. Willow’s inebriated state made her swivel ever so slowly toward Summer.
“Notice anything different?” Summer asked, turning her head slightly to one side.
Summer saw Willow notice the earrings. It registered in her eyes and
she stood up, hoisting her thin frame off the couch as if she weighed a million pounds instead of a hundred. Squinting, she walked over to Summer, and leaned in close. The scent of bourbon followed her. Willow squinted.
“What have we here?”
Summer’s cheeks ached from smiling. “Delaney and Josie and I all went to get our ears pierced. It’s Josie’s birthday and her mom said she could.”
“Did your mom say you could?”
Willow’s words were so slow, so perfectly pronounced, that the hairs on the back of Summer’s neck stood up.
“No, but—”
“No. That’s right.”
Willow slapped her hard across the face. Summer’s head snapped back and tears immediately stung her eyes.
“You didn’t even ask me,” Willow said in a voice so deadly quiet Summer backed away, afraid of what she might do next.
“I didn’t know,” she said. “It’s just earrings.”
“Just earrings, huh?”
Again, she had said the wrong thing. She continued backing up toward the still-open door. When she stood on the threshold, Willow said, “I think it’s best if you leave. And I think it’s even better if you don’t come back.”
***
Of course, Willow wouldn’t get the reference now, almost twenty years after the ear-piercing incident. She was drunk then, and she was probably drunk now. But the words were etched into Summer’s memory like tracks on a record.
Willow’s evil-pretty smile faded.
“You’re asking me to leave?” she said.
“No. I’m telling you to leave.”
A beat of silence passed.
“Well, I guess I’ll get my purse. This is what I get after years of raising you, of always putting your needs before mine. My own daughter, just putting me out.”
Summer rolled her eyes. She had so much to say on that topic. So much. But instead of saying anything, she crossed her arms and waited.
Willow shrugged one bony shoulder. “I guess I’ll get my purse.”
***
“Where’s your mom?” Derek asked when he returned to the living room.
“Don’t call her that,” Summer said. “Call her Willow. She left.”
“What?” he said.
“You heard me. She left.”
“But why? Things were going so well. She was having fun with the kids. I can’t believe she just left.”
“I told her to leave,” Summer said.
Derek dropped down on the couch next to Summer. “Why?”
Could she explain? Could he understand? He’d grown up in a happy, practically perfect household with happy, practically perfect parents. His mom baked mountains of cupcakes for chess club fundraisers and his dad announced the high school football games. The members of the football team had made up a secret handshake just for William Gray, and they all called, “Gray” in deep voices whenever they saw him on the field or in the halls.
Derek didn’t even know what it meant to be let down in the most vital of ways. He lived a charmed life.
Winter must be emerging from her shell. I’m feeling resentful of my own husband.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Summer said.
Derek exhaled heavily, stood up, and went into the bedroom.
Alone in the living room, Summer wondered whether she’d done the right thing. Derek had such a strong moral compass. He always forgave so quickly, probably because he hadn’t been hurt so often, repeatedly broken down. Having Willow here, at this time in Summer’s life, hadn’t felt right. It added another stressor. She’d been gone for three minutes and the house already felt calmer.
Just as she was dozing off, Derek came back into the living room and pulled her to her feet. Throughout their fourteen years of marriage, neither one of them had ever slept on the couch. Holding hands, they walked into the bedroom.
Summer fell asleep with her head nuzzled into Derek’s neck. This, she thought, is exactly how things should be.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tuesday night felt just like any other weeknight. Willow’s absence had decreased the tension considerably, Summer thought, and her mood felt light as she prepared for her date with Derek.
The doorbell rang, Chuck barked, and everyone scampered to the front door to open it for Delaney and Josie, and Josie’s puppy, Delilah, who happened to be Chuck’s littermate. Delilah greeted Chuck by pouncing on him and sending his body rolling across the living room. They knocked Hannah off her feet, surprising her into silence, and Delaney scooped her up before she could start wailing. The boys immediately started sword fighting with Josie, and Sarah lured the puppies into the backyard with treats.
“You look nice,” Delaney said to Summer.
“Thanks,” Derek said. “I think so, too. I put a lot of time into this outfit.”
Summer elbowed him.
“Thanks for doing this, guys,” Summer said.
“Are you kidding?” Josie said between slashes of her foam sword. “We couldn’t stand to see you so stressed out. We need you to relax as much as you need you to relax. You’re going to send yourself into premature labor.”
“Where’s your mom?” Delaney said. Hannah squirmed in her arms and Delaney set her on the floor. She immediately lifted her arms, asking to be picked back up.
“Gone,” Summer said. “And don’t call her that.”
Delaney and Josie looked at each other, but didn’t say anything.
“I saw that,” Summer said. “Trust me, we’re all better off.”
“Aunt Dee,” Sarah called from the kitchen table, “I need help with my biology homework.”
“I’ll do my best,” Delaney said. “No promises.”
“But you do biology every day of your life,” Sarah said. “You’re a veterinarian.”
“True,” Delaney said.
“What are we feeding these hooligans?” Josie asked.
“There’s bean stew in the slow cooker,” Summer said.
“Dangit,” Nate said. “I thought we were having a pizza party.”
Summer laughed. “You are. I was just kidding about the bean stew.”
The boys ran off, whooping and hollering, “Pizza!”
Josie tossed her keys to Summer. “Take my car. Just in case we need to rush Nate to the emergency room when I slash his arm off.”
Summer shrugged. “Okay.”
She’d choose Josie’s SUV over her own econo-van any day.
Summer and Derek called, “Bye, kids!” and Summer felt like skipping out to the car.
When Josie shut the front door behind them, Derek turned around and pressed Summer up against it. She giggled, but stopped right away when she saw the intensity in his expression. With his hands on either side of her head, he leaned in for a kiss. It started out slow and gentle, but heated right up to steamy after a few seconds. When he pulled away, Summer laughed a little breathlessly. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she said.
“Man, I feel like that was our first kiss all over again. Remember how long I waited for that?”
“Oh, I remember,” she said. “You weren’t the only one waiting. And now we’re not the only ones waiting for dinner. This baby’s hungry.”
***
The baby opted for The Golden Lantern, as Summer’s babies always did in utero. She couldn’t get past the craving for cashew chicken and fortune cookies.
“So why did you make Willow leave?” Derek said when they were seated.
“I notice you waited until we actually got here before you started interrogating me.” The server brought them water, and Summer was grateful for the interruption. “Ready to order?” Summer said.
They ordered, Derek watching Summer carefully the entire time. When the server walked away, Summer said, “Let’s not talk about that tonight, okay? This is supposed to be a fun, relaxing evening. No pressure. Willow ruined my entire childhood. She absolutely does not need to ruin this date night.”
Derek nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Okay. Do yo
u think Delaney and Josie would notice if we didn’t come home tonight? We could get a hotel room.”
He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she giggled.
“That kiss really got to you, didn’t it?”
He waggled his eyebrows again.
Wow, I didn’t realize how badly I needed this.
“So do you remember our first kiss?” Derek said.
The server returned with bowls of egg drop soup, and Summer blushed.
“Of course I do,” she said. “How could I not?”
“True.”
“You were so nervous.”
“It was my first kiss!” Derek said a little too loudly. They both flinched at the volume, and then laughed.
“We went to the lake that day,” Summer said.
“I do remember,” Derek said. “I remember quite clearly.”
“You had just gotten your license, and you were so nervous about driving. Or so I thought.”
“But I was really nervous about kissing you. I’d decided. That was the day I’d kiss you. I had a license, I had a girl. All I needed was a kiss.”
“That’s what you were thinking?”
Derek nodded. “Yep.”
“You entered into manhood that day, my love,” Summer said.
“No, I didn’t do that for a few more months. Until that night at the drive-in.”
“I am scandalized. Truly.”
“You were, then. And your current state proves you have been ever since.”
Summer snorted. “Proving your manhood time and time again.”
Delaney and Josie were right: dating her husband was a must. After dinner, Summer felt relaxed. Calm. Maybe even a bit frisky.
***
They drove home in Josie’s car, the windows down and rock music blasting. Tomorrow Summer had to visit with the pediatric heart specialist, but for tonight, she pushed her fears aside and enjoyed her husband. He looked over at her and grinned, then took her hand and kissed it. They could handle anything, she thought, as long as they were together.
After thanking Delaney and Josie profusely and seeing them out, Summer and Derek got ready for bed.
The Motherhood Intervention: Book 3 in the Intervention Series Page 5