by Dow, Candice
After a deep breath, she admitted, “It’s hard to hear your child talk about family bonding activities and you’re not included. Or when I may miss one of his basketball games and he says, ‘Well, Dad and Ayana were there so I’m cool.’ That hurts. It makes me sad sometimes.”
I felt her pain and I knew that it would probably hurt if I had to be on the outside looking in with Ethan. I asked, “So, as far as you see it, are there any benefits to having a blended family?”
“Well, I never thought I’d say this, but I think Caron likes having two mothers. You give him something that I don’t and I give him what you don’t. I mean, now that we get along, I think he gets the best of both worlds. But when we were fighting, I think he felt like he had to pick sides and he seemed to be very insecure and uncertain of himself.”
“Yes, I definitely notice that he’s a lot more confident and happy. And we often don’t realize how our issues are evident in the child’s personality. The lines are open for questions.”
I answered a call: “Girlfriend Confidential.”
The caller said, “Yasmin, are you seeing anyone, because I can’t imagine how you could be completely at peace with everything. It’s almost unbelievable.”
Yasmin said, “Yeah, I see what you’re saying. I am seeing someone, but I think I started working on myself first, because I wanted to get my son back. And I think that’s why someone came into my life, because I was at peace. So it wasn’t like I came to peace after I met someone, it was the other way around. But to be honest, having someone definitely makes it better.”
The caller said, “Did you get your son back?”
Smiling, Yasmin said, “I certainly did. We have joint custody and I have him four days and they have him three.”
She seemed so happy to say that. The caller thanked Yasmin and hung up. The next caller directed her question at me. “Ayana, do you harbor any negative feeling toward Yasmin? I mean, she trashed you on Twitter, like, every day. That was crazy.”
Yasmin looked at me and said, “You can say, ‘Yeah.’ I would understand.”
“No, I don’t have any negative feelings toward Yasmin. She saved my life. I have never discussed this on air, but I was being stalked by one of my patients last year and the patient had lured me to a location,” I said, suddenly getting choked up.
Yasmin looked at me sympathetically, knowing that was the situation that had really bonded us forever. Her eyes encouraged me to continue.
“And this person had me at gunpoint and Yasmin wrestled her down. I will forever be grateful to her for that. Nothing she did to me prior to that point even matters. When I look at her, I see a good person.”
Yasmin looked as if she wanted to cry too, as a tear fell from my eye. I was happy, but also sad about Margo. I felt I had failed her. I felt my father had failed her. Yasmin reached out for my hand and spoke for me because I was lost for words. “Thank you, Ayana. You’re a good person too.”
We took several more calls before closing the show. I finished by saying, “Things aren’t perfect between us, but we are a work in progress. Life is a work in progress. And as long as you are progressing, you are living. Thank you for tuning in to another segment of Girlfriend Confidential. I am your host, Ayana Blue Small. Until next time…”
Book Club Discussion Questions
What was your initial impression of Ayana? How did you feel about her actions on the first date with Cameron?
Should Ayana have found a new Realtor after Yasmin called in to the show?
Do you think Cameron was worth the drama? Why or why not?
What do you think he could have done to mitigate the situation with Ayana and Yasmin?
Do you feel that Cameron had a bit of sympathy for Yasmin? Why or why not?
Do you think Yasmin really loved Cameron?
Did you ever feel sorry for Yasmin?
Do you think Ayana should have tried to reach out to Yasmin, considering she was a psychologist?
Would you have married Cameron, believing that his ex-wife was crazy?
Did you believe that Yasmin was acting all alone?
What did you think when you discovered the truth at the end?
Also by Candice Dow
We Take This Man by Candice Dow
and Daaimah S. Poole
Feelin’ the Vibe
Off the Chain
PRAISE FOR CANDICE DOW
“Candice definitely has a legitimate flavor, and I can’t wait until the next book is on the shelves.”
—Urban-Reviews.com
“Dow has convincingly demonstrated that she [can] captivate readers.”
—Books2Mention Magazine
“Good summer reading.”
—MidwestBookReview.com on Feelin’ the Vibe
“Excellent…poignant…very well-written…kept my attention the whole way through…I loved the authors’ writing style…[and] being able to see the story from both sides.”
—TarasViewOnBooks.blogspot.com on We Take This Man
Thank you for buying this e-book, published by Hachette Digital.
To receive special offers, bonus content, and news about our latest e-books and apps, sign up for our newsletters.
Sign Up
Or visit us at hachettebookgroup.com/newsletters
Contents
Welcome
Acknowledgments
Ayana
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Ayana
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Ayana
Ayana
Yasmin
Ayana
Ayana
Ayana
Book Club Discussion Questions
Also by Candice Dow
Praise for Candice Dow
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Candice Dow
Discussion Questions © 2013 by Candice Dow
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Grand Central Publishing
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
www.HachetteBookGroup.com
www.twitter.com/grandcentralpub
First e-book Edition: January 2013
Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Grand Central Publishing name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-4555-1829-6
his book with friends