Page 36 of Being Julia

As we began to walk away, Kyle called my mom’s name.

“How’s Connor?” he asked.

She turned around and gave him the biggest smile. “Connor is wonderful.”

“Good. Tell him I said hi.”

We continued walking down the street, stopping at one more store before heading home.

CHAPTER 12

As I was sitting at my vanity, putting on my makeup, there was a knock on the door, and my dad asked if he could come in.

“I just wanted to let you know that I spoke with the Dean of Columbia, and he said it wouldn’t be a problem to give the scholarship to someone else as a donation.”

“That’s great news, Dad. Oh, by the way, Mom’s ex-boyfriend, Kyle, said to tell you hi.”

“What?” he asked. “When did you see him?”

“Today, while we were in the city. I ran smack dab into him as we were leaving Starbucks.”

My dad sat down on the bed. “What else did he have to say?”

“Not much. He said he had just ended his second marriage. I’m pretty sure he still has a thing for Mom because he said he thinks he already lost the girl he was supposed to be with or something like that. I don’t know. He seemed kind of weird.”

“He never got over your mother, and I don’t think he ever will.”

“Why did they break up?” I asked as I was putting on my eye shadow.

“Because your mom was sick and wouldn’t get the help she needed, so he left her, which I’m thankful for because I would never have met her if he hadn’t.”

“Sick, how?” I asked in confusion.

“Your mom’s cancer had returned when she was twenty-three years old, and she refused to get treatments because she didn’t want to go through it again.”

I stopped what I was doing and turned around. “What? You mean she was going to let herself die?”

“Yes. And when Kyle found out, he left her.”

“It was because of your dad that I ended up getting the treatments I needed,” my mom said as she walked into the room and sat down next to him.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“Mom, what the hell were you thinking?!” I exclaimed.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly, but your dad helped me with that.”

“We helped each other.” He smiled.

“Listen, Julia. Finish getting ready for your date. We’ll discuss this another time,” she said as she got up from the bed, and she and my dad walked out of my room.

I was stunned by what my father told me. I knew she had cancer when she was sixteen, but I had no idea it came back when she was twenty-three. There was so much about my parents that I didn’t know, and it bothered me. I finished putting on my makeup and curling my hair. I put on the cute maxi dress my mom had bought for me, and I headed downstairs.

“Now that’s the kind of dress I like to see on you.” My dad smiled.

“Very funny, Dad!”

“No, seriously. That dress looks beautiful on you.”

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