Page 42 of The Only Goal

My muscles are so taut, I’m surprised they’re not snapping. Talking to my mother always has this effect on me. “It’s not up to you.”

“He is my grandchild, and you are my daughter. I won’t let you do this.”

I grit my teeth and try to stay calm. “I can make my own decisions. I’m an adult now.”

“Well, you’re certainly not acting like one!”

“Mom!” I snap. “He cheated on me.”

“So you just leave him?”

My mouth drops open. “What do you expect me to do?”

“I expect you to at least talk to him. You don’t just walk away without a word. He’s been losing his mind trying to reach you, and you cut him off at every turn. He was in tears last night talking to your father.”

My insides pinch into such a tight knot it’s painful.

“If he loves me so much, why’d he sleep with someone else?”

Mom sighs. “Because he made a mistake. He’s very sorry. And you would know that if you just talked to him. This is why I hate texting! Cell phones are a design of the devil.”

I roll my eyes, tempted to tell her that she’s talking to me on my cell phone right now.

“They’re just an excuse not to communicate properly.”

“Mom—”

“No. Don’t you cut me off again.”

I hold my breath, letting her say her piece. I want to hang up, but my inner child wouldn’t dare. The wrath of Mrs. Tan is a fierce one.

“I know he hurt you, and you have every right to be mad. But you have a son together, and you can’t just turn your back on your marriage. Go to counseling. Figure it out.”

“What if I don’t want to figure it out?” The question takes me by surprise, and I blink at the wall. Huh. I did not know I was feeling that way.

“Tamara, don’t talk nonsense.”

I ignore her and keep going, the revelations coming to me as I say them out loud. “Why can’t I experience life without him? Why do I have to stay married to him?”

“Tamara,” Mom grits out. “You’re not seriously going to divorce him. That is absolutely shameful.”

“People get divorced all the time.”

“Not in Gladstone, they don’t!”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, well, I don’t live in Gladstone anymore.” Thank God!

“We still do! Think about our reputation. The shame your sister has put us through over the years with her drinking and partying.”

“She was a teenager cutting loose, Mom.”

“She got arrested once.”

“For jaywalking!”

“That’s not the point. You father will never live down the embarrassment of having to collect his child from the police station. Don’t you dare be like her. Don’t put your father and me through this. Please.”

“Officer Dawson didn’t have to arrest her. He was being completely over the top trying to make some stupid point because he didn’t like her. People know that. You can’t keep carrying that around with you. It’s ridiculous.”

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