Page 35 of Mic Drop

Her hand falls to her lap. “What about his father? Is he around?”

“He passed when Bennett was seventeen.” I pause. “The year he joined the band and left home.”

“At least he has his bandmates. I remember Darren telling me they were like brothers to him.”

How much should I tell her? I guess if she’s focused on Bennett’s story, she won’t be thinking about her own. “His mother’s scars, plus the ones from Lissa way back then—not to mention the ones she’s putting on him now—left a lasting mark. He doesn’t view the members of UC as anything more than coworkers.” It feels so good to discuss this with someone else. Someone who loves him.

“What are you going to do to straighten your boy out?”

“Seems like I have my work cut out for me.” I sip my lukewarm tea. “But before we move on to fixing him, I want to know what he said to you that made you give him your blessing?”

“It’s not so much what he said,” she begins. “It’s what he did. When you arrived back here, you told me you ran out on him. There had been a big fight.”

“It wasn’t so much as a fight. More like a—” I trail off. “Well,” I sigh, “I guess it was a doozy of a fight. He wouldn’t let me explain and all I wanted to do was get here to be with you.”

“As I said. You left him on bad terms.” She gives me one of her patented “mother knows best” expressions.

“Fine.” I dunk my spoon in the tea.

“And what did he do? Did he continue on tour with UC? Worse, hook up with one of the millions of willing women who surround him?” She drinks her juice. “No. None of that. He flew here, from his concert, to be with you for anafternoon. This told me everything I needed to know about him.”

A smile grows across my face. “He’s pretty wonderful like that.”

“He loves you, Sweet Pea. With everything he is, he loves you. Emotions like that don’t come around often, and when they do, you have to hold on to them.”

I can’t help but wonder if she’s referring to my father? Did they have a big romance at first, but life twisted it on its head? “Was it like that with you and Daddy?”

She rubs her forehead. “What we had burned bright and fizzled. I loved him, but we didn’t want the same things. I wanted a family and to be a mother while he needed to be free.” She scowls. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t regret spending years with him at all. After all, he gave me you and your sister, my two greatest achievements.”

“I don’t remember much about him.” I was five when they got divorced, but Ma never made me feel as if I was to blame.

“He’s a good man.” She’s speaking in the present. I don’t have the opportunity to question her because she continues, “Bennett, however, knows who he is and what he wants. I thought he was cocky at first, but I think he puts it on as a mask to protect himself. Now that you’ve told me about his upbringing, I can understand where it comes from.”

I add, “When you add Lissa to the mix, it does all make sense.”

“She’s causing quite the ruckus, isn’t she?”

“The problem is, Bennett doesn’t have anyone from back then in his corner. His mother certainly won’t give him any references. Hisfather’s gone. The only person he was friends with back then”—I stare at the table. No need to airallof Bennett’s dirty laundry—“they lost touch years ago.”

“Your Bennett will figure it all out. The truth has a way of coming to light in the most unexpected ways.” Her voice is steady.

Her conviction rolls over me. “You really do love him, don’t you?”

“So long as he’s good to you, Sweet Pea, I’ll be happy to call him family. If he does something stupid, though, I’ll haunt him from the grave.” She chortles.

I sit in horror.

“Too soon?”

“You think?”

“We have to face facts. We both know how this is going to end, sooner rather than later.”

A lump forms in my throat. “I don’t want you to go.”

Her hand touches the top of mine. “Sometimes we don’t get what we want. But we get what we need.”

“Are you seriously quoting the Rolling Stones to me now?” Her words echo those Bennett said to me recently.

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