Page 72 of Whatever It Takes

“Mom,everything is fine. You and Dad don’t need to fly up here,” I reassured her with the phone pressed to my ear while I attempted to shove a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into Emery’s lunch box.

“It’s been a rough couple of months for you and now that your father is feeling better, our main priority is supporting you.”

I shook my head and grabbed the carrot sticks out of the fridge. “Mom, we are fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Okay, you’re right, but we are slowly getting there. I promise. Dad is not ready to travel yet. Seriously, please stay down in Florida and enjoy that sunshine.”

My father had back surgery a few months ago and has had complication after complication. The last thing I needed was to worry about him not being comfortable here without all of his equipment. He still had physical therapy sessions a couple times a week and needed special accommodations. Flying up here would be a disaster for everyone.

“Maybe you should reconsider our offer and move down here. A fresh start is just what you need.”

“You know I can’t that do that, Mom.”

“Why, because of Quinn?” The disdain in her voice was clear.

There was a time when my parents thought of Quinn as a son. My family loved and adored him. The day we got engaged, my mother gathered all our friends and neighbors over to our house for a celebration. There was champagne and enough food to feed our small neighborhood.

My parents believed in us. We may have been young and foolish, but our love was real, and it was big. The kind that only comes around once in a lifetime. Everyone could see it, even my parents. That’s why they felt so betrayed and disappointed when he broke things off. I swear their hearts broke almost as much as mine when he dumped me.

When I told my family that I was pregnant and marrying Grant, it took them a while to accept it. Eventually, they had no choice but to come around. Grant never quite measured up in their eyes. And believe me, he tried.

Emery trudged down the stairs with her unkempt hair flying along her shoulders. She was trying to balance her overflowing backpack on her shoulder. Her class was working on a huge holiday project and we had spent the better part of last night searching for supplies.

“I gotta go. Love you.” I hung up before she could get another word in. I glanced down at Emery who wore a troubled frown on her face.

“Do you want some toast and cereal?”

She set her backpack down with a loud thump and climbed into the chair. “I’m not hungry.”

“Is everything okay?”

She sniffed and stared at the floor. “I hate school. I wish I didn’t have to go.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “You have to go to school. Besides, you would miss all your friends.”

Her bottom lip trembled. “I don’t have any friends.”

I rested my hand on her arm. “Are kids being mean to you?”

A rush of tears poured out of her eyes. “No one wants to be my friend because they said my dad is a bad man and I must be bad like him.”

I pulled in a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I didn’t want to lose my cool, because I knew they were just kids being kids. Yet, seeing my daughter so upset had me wanting to storm into her classroom and give those little shitheads a piece of my mind. I was an adult and I knew I had to act like one, but kids today could be so cruel.

I reached for her and pulled her into a hug. “Who said that to you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She pulled back and twisted her hands in her lap. “I wish he wasn’t my dad. Why can’t Quinn be my dad?”

“Emery.” My heart ached so badly I wanted to tear it out of my chest. I pushed a few strands of hair off her forehead. “I know you love Quinn, but he’s just a friend,” I explained, gently trying to soften the blow.

There has been so much unbalance in her life, and Quinn staying at his place the past couple of nights wasn’t helping. I felt partly responsible for the pain she was going through. I let her get attached to him. I allowed myself to need him. Now here we both were, missing him and wishing he were here.

This was all my fault, and I was in a no-win situation. Not only was she losing her father, but she was upset that Quinn was absent from her life too.

She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “Well, I hate my dad. I don’t want to be his daughter anymore!”

She was lashing out, and I felt completely helpless. “Listen to me. I know this has been hard for you and I know you’re hurting inside, but I promise things will get better.”

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