Page 53 of Waiting to Love You

“I know, Momma. I know,” I grumble, remembering my conversation with Seth earlier.

“You just have to find the right one. That’s probably why she’s having such a hard time. Melissa is all about doing things in order and wants to have her business up and running before she thinks about love,” she gripes.

Melissa has always had a written plan for her life that must be followed to the letter. If this guy is getting her this worked up, he must mean more to her than she is letting on.

“Sometimes the best surprises in life are the ones we least expect,” I whisper. I never planned on getting pregnant with Rebekah, but I wouldn’t change having her for the world.

“I’m glad Rebekah was there to see Mel. Those two were thick as thieves before she left. It doesn’t hurt that she and I look exactly alike. I bet if Mel hadn’t left, Rebekah would call her ‘Mama’, too.”

“I highly doubt that. There’s only one other person in this world she could love more than her mother…” My mom’s voice trails off.

“Mom,” I grumble as I reach for my cell to check the time, noticing the text from Seth that I ignored earlier.

Seth

I’m sorry if I ruined your day. I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. Hope you enjoyed your sandwich.

“Fuck,” I murmur

As if I needed another reason to feel like a shitty human being. Not only have I been keeping this enormous secret, but then he felt the need to apologize to me because I was too tired to act like a decent person.

“Language, young lady.” She clicks her tongue. “Now, what’s gotten you so upset?”

“I’ve been a mess for the last few days, and I made someone feel bad because of my mood. They didn’t deserve it,” I mumble as I lean back on the couch.

“Okay, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Mom,” I gripe as I pull my right leg up, resting my heel on the edge of the couch. “What am I going to do now?”

“Well, the tried-and-true response of apologizing always seems to do the trick.”

“Can you be serious for a minute?” I shake my head. Here I am, trying to get advice from my mother, and she has jokes.

“I am! If this person is worth your time, apologizing will fix everything,” she insists.

“Thanks for coming all this way so I could get some sleep. I’m sure you had other plans for the evening.” I push up from the couch and head toward my bedroom, quickly glancing at the clock in the kitchen before I pass by. “Are you staying or heading home tonight?”

“I’m staying. I want to be here to help take the load off you for a few days.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I reach over and wrap her in a tight hug. “I don’t know how I’d survive without you and the girls to help me.”

“If you told Seth…” my mom says, her voice trailing off without ending the sentence.

My parents have been nothing but supportive of me since I let them know I was pregnant. They never once pushed me to tell them who her father was, but I finally broke down and told them after she was born. We don’t see eye to eye on the issue of Seth, but they respect my decision to not tell him… mostly. But it’s at times like this she tries to push the subject.

“I heard from Mrs. Thomas that he was living in the apartment above their garage,” she huffs as she unbuckles Rebekah from her seat, her annoyance at my reluctance to tell him about our daughter clear in her voice.

Another negative of living in a small town: everyone knows everyone. My parents and the Thomases became fast friends when I moved to Tyson’s Creek, meaning my mom now has someone who will check in on me and tell her everything she wants to know. I don’t doubt for a second that Mrs. Thomas has probably been pumping my mom for information, as well. Maybe her friendship with my mom is why she hasn’t said anything to Seth about our daughter.

“Mom…” My voice trails off, trying to find the words to explain what’s going on between Seth and me.

“He came back from war, and of all the places he could go, he moved to the same town you lived in.”

“It’s complicated.” I try to keep my voice calm as I head into the bathroom. I need time to think, to get some space from my mom and all her questions, so I turn on the water and push the stopper in on the tub. A relaxing bath sounds like just what I need right now.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had this conversation with my mom, and I doubt it’ll be my last, especially now that Seth is back in town. I’ve told my mom all my reservations about even thinking about starting a relationship with Seth while he was in the military. I’ve watched what my mother went through and refuse to have that kind of life, for myself or Rebekah.

“Your father loves you, Bristol,” she mutters as she comes into the bathroom, knowing how hurt I still am about all the events my father missed because he was off fighting a war or protecting the world from evil.

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