Page 62 of Rewind

She looked over at Ethan. “Ugh, sure.”

“I can get it, Eomma.”

“No, you stay put. Besides, I’d like to get a chance to know Amina a little better.”

Chapter

Twenty-One

The butterflies she’s felt earlier returned with a vengeance. It was one thing with Ethan by her side but being alone with his mother set her nerves on edge. Would she stop being polite when her son wasn’t around?

As Amina stood up, Ethan gave her hand a quick squeeze and he offered her a smile of encouragement.

She took a deep breath and followed Mary into the house.

When they were in the kitchen, instead of getting the cake, Mary pulled up a seat at the kitchen table and offered Amina the one across from her.

Amina looked over her shoulder. “Ugh, won’t Ethan be waiting for us?”

The older woman shrugged. “He’s a smart man. He’s probably figured out that I wish to speak with you privately. And please relax. No need to be so stiff around me. Have a seat.”

Amina cautiously sat down and folded her hands in her lap. “Thank you so much for having me over. This was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.”

“Thank you, Amina. I brought you in here because I want to see how you are when Ethan isn’t around. I’ve noticed he’s very protective around you. He’s been the same with me since he wasa little boy. Ethan is very caring of the people most important to him, and I can tell his feelings for you are very strong. But I wonder about you.”

“Wonder about me? What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure how much Ethan has told you about his back ground, but his parents didn’t approve of me and his father being together and my parents…well they were embarrassed that I would have a child out of wedlock. I vowed to never bestow the pain on my child that was bestowed on me. I want him to be happy and he seems very happy with you. But as his mother I also need to look out for his best interests.”

Amina stiffened. She’d been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Was this it? “And you don’t think I’m in Ethan’s best interests?”

Mary didn’t answer right away and with each passing second, Amina grew more wary.

“I didn’t say that. I just need to know you’re with my son for the right reasons. I understand you work as the office manager at his practice. And I’m also aware that you’re freshly out of a relationship which has given me concern. I worry that my son may be a rebound to you. Ethan sings your praises. He says how beautiful and kind you are and while that may be true, I need to know the kind of person you are in your own words.”

Amina couldn’t tell if the woman she’d met earlier was simply putting on act in front of her son or was she a genuinely concerned mother looking out for her son. Either way, she wasn’t going to back down. The old Amina was dead and gone and she would fight to stand by Ethan’s side, even if that meant butting heads with his mother.

Amina licked her lips. As much as she wanted Mary to like her, she couldn’t live another life being bullied by her mother-in-law. “Does that bother you?” she challenged.

Mary cocked her head to the side. “My son is the type most people would consider a catch. What do you bring to the table? Are you the type who is simply around to enjoy the benefits of the lifestyle he can offer you? Will you be able to handle the attention he will undoubtedly receive from other woman? I’m not saying Ethan will be unfaithful, that’s not his character. I just wonder how someone like you would handle it.”

Amina placed her hand over her chest. “Someone like me? Someone who you don’t believe is on Ethan’s level or do you not like that he brought home a black girl?”

Mary leaned forward with an expression Amina couldn’t quite read. “What do you think, Amina?”

Amina squared her shoulders and looked the older woman directly in the eyes “I think you love your son very much and I believe you want him to be happy. And I’m the woman who makes him happy. I don’t come from a traditional family. My mother abandoned me when I was little and I lived with her relatives who weren’t very good to me.”

“But when I was a teenager, I was taken in by my grandmother, my father’s mother. My grandmother was an incredible woman and I miss her so much. She taught me the value of kindness, spirituality, hard work and believing in myself. I admit wholeheartedly that I do have some self-confident issues that stem from things that happened in the past but I’m working on them.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered her grandmother and how much she still missed her.

“And yes, it’s true that I was in a relationship shortly before getting with Ethan, but for full transparency, I got with ex shortly after my grandmother passed away. I think in my grief I clung to the first person to show me affection and that’s a regret I have to deal with. I never met my father because he died shortly before I was born, serving our country. But my grandmothersays I’m a lot like him. She says I have his resilience, his stubbornness and his capacity to love.”

As she made her impassioned speech, Mary sat stone-faced, nearly making Amina stop talking but she continued.

“And I love your son so much. I may not be your ideal daughter-in-law candidate but I will do my very best to take care of Ethan and support him in all his endeavors. I’ll be his best friend and his shoulder to cry on when he’s feeling down. I’ll give my all to make this relationship work. That’s what I bring to the table. If that’s not good enough for you, I don’t know what else to tell you because I’m not going anywhere.”

Amina slammed her palm on the table for emphasis. Maybe she’d made an enemy of Mary, but at least now her feelings plain. This would not be another situation like it had been with Mrs. Caldwell.

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