Page 44 of Destiny

“Another hard no.” He was divorced, but I’d seen pictures from his wedding, and he was wearing camouflage from head to toe.

“Well!” Mom puts her hands on her hips. “I can’t think of many others that are within your age group.”

I know then that I have to expose some truth, at least. “That’s probably because he isn’t.”

“Oh, no. Don’t tell me you’re robbing the cradle. That is so not a good look, Bea. Plus, your still so young and attractive. An eighteen-year-old won’t know what to do with you.”

The fact that her worst-case situation was me dating a younger man may bode well for me. “Ew! Gross. No, he’s older.”

“. . . how much older?”

“He’s thirty-six.”

“Oh! That isn’t so bad.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Does he have a successful career?”

“He does.”

“That’s good.”

At that point, I might as well just tell her. “It’s Marco.”

“Marco? Like the devastatingly gorgeous Italian lawyer?”

I laugh. “Yes, that’s the one.”

“Wow.” She sits down on a nearby chair.

“What?”

“I’m just so . . . proud of you. Is that a weird thing to say?”

“Right? I feel the same way,” Micky chimes in. “I didn’t think she had it in her.”

“So, is this thing—like serious?”

I feel my cheeks burn a little. “Well, he’s told me he loves me.”

“Oh!” she yells. “That’s just wonderful. But why the hesitancy to tell us? I’m sure your dad will react similarly to me.”

“I don’t know. We’re keeping it for now from his daughters, and I figured it was the right move to keep it from you for the same amount of time.”

She nods. “He doesn’t want to risk you breaking their little hearts. They love you so much already, just as their friend. Geez. I really should’ve suspected something was going on between the two of you. Your car was in his drive almost every time I’ve passed his house these past few weeks.”

“Yeah . . . Well, there it is.”

She gets up and grabs my hands. “I think it’s great. I really do.”

“Thanks, Ma.”

“It just kind of hurts my feelings that you thought Daddy and I would react poorly.”

I shrug. “I just didn’t know. You’ve always been so worried about me. With the diabetes and everything—”

“Sure, but you’re a fully functioning adult now. We trust you to take care of yourself and choose the right people to include in your life.”

---