Page 117 of Embracing the Change

But receiving his smile, I was on my way to getting there.

And witnessing this byplay between Jamie and me, our children hadn’t been all right.

But they were definitely on their way to getting there.

I sat in bed beside Jamie, smoothing lotion into my hands.

“I’m concerned about Nico and Felice,” I announced.

Jamie, with Heiress lounging on his ankles (she knew who her daddy was, my precious darling furry girl), wearing attractive glasses because he was reading a book (I’d just joined him after an epic rundown of the day’s events over the phone with Mika), turned his gaze and peered at me over the frames.

“You should be,” he stated.

“What’s your take?” I asked.

“He loves her, so it’s going to destroy him, but he’s not going to be able to put up with her acting like she’s better than his mother every time he spends time with the both of you. Or, I’m sorry if you haven’t already put this together, but it’s something you should be cognizant of, sweetheart, every time she talks shit about you. Which I would guess is often.”

“I would guess that too,” I mumbled.

Jamie nodded. “And that isn’t about him being a momma’s boy. That’s about his wife’s rampant disrespect. Her treatment of Alyona was unconscionable. She’s so up her own ass about how the world is supposed to work according to her, she doesn’t see that Alyona takes pride in what she does. She belongs in this house even more than Felice does, and her efforts to humiliate you by using Alyona only serve to make Alyona think Felice looks down on the decision she’s made as to what she does with her life.”

I made a face, because this was very true, and it was the reason I broke my vow never to get involved in my children’s relationships and spoke to my son about his wife’s behavior toward my employee.

Jamie carried on. “Nico won’t be able to ignore it if they have children, and he won’t be able to stop Felice from talking shit about you to his kids, which will do his fucking head in. So before it gets to that, he’s going to let her go.”

This hurt me so much, I was unable to move or speak.

“It happens, darlin’,” Jamie, reading my response, said quietly. “Life has a way of burning off the rosy glow of first love and making things come into sharp focus. There’s nothing wrong with the lives we live, just as long as we don’t fuck anybody over to live them, and we’re conscious that others aren’t as fortunate. He didn’t turn his back on his life, he pivoted to embrace his future. She thought he’d turned his back on his life. She thought he agreed with her. She was mistaken. And she doesn’t like that very much.”

“I can see her being mistaken. My children tease me about the way I am,” I explained.

“I noticed, but it’s teasing, and it’s rooted in love. She’s not dumb, Nora. She saw what she wanted to see. When it became clear it was what it actually is, that’s what caused the problem.”

Unhappily, because I was keenly aware that I played a part in my son’s marriage issues, I shifted to pull the covers out from under me and settle them over me.

When I was in, Jamie asked, “What are you thinking?”

“That it isn’t all that fun to be the cause of Nico’s troubles in his marriage,” I answered.

Jamie shook his head.

“Stop thinking that, Nora. It has nothing to do with you. Please know, I will be cordial to her for as long as she lasts, but I’m going to say it like I see it, she’s a judgmental bitch. I’m all for social justice. What I don’t like are these self-proclaimed social justice warriors who are so grounded in their beliefs, they think they speak for everyone, when they don’t. She tuned out after that big scene, because if she tuned in, she’d have to confront the reality that you’re a human with feelings, regardless you live in a palatial apartment. You can be hurt. Your life isn’t always roses. And you were hurt. Gravely. But you kept your family together. It was you who earned the respect you received today, not only from your children, but from Darryn and Archie. This tells me she’s not a listener, but she fancies herself a preacher. She doesn’t understand there isn’t a single decent preacher on this planet who isn’t, first, a damn good listener. If they don’t have that skill, any word that comes out of their mouth loses meaning, because they’ve lost touch. She has no idea how this world should be because she’s lost touch.”

My Jamie was so very wise, and I felt better.

Not great.

But better.

So I nodded.

Jamie remarked, “I always liked your son. I respect him a good deal more now.”

“Well, at least something positive came from the day,” I mumbled.

Jamie set his book aside so he could turn to me and pull me up and into his arms (Heiress didn’t like this much, but she’d be back, I’d noticed she didn’t tend to stray too far from her new daddy).

“Before you say it, yes. I should have let you deal with Roland,” I proclaimed.

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