Page 76 of Wish I Were Here
I take a deep, nervous breath. “Well, actually, Melanie…”
It’s the first time I’ve said her name out loud. It would be awkward to call her Mom.
“Yes?”
“I was wondering if maybe… I know you didn’t want… but now…” I flush as I stumble over my words, feeling likea student asking for an extension on her homework.Get it together, Catherine. This is not how a successful college professor communicates.“I realize that you had no intention of ever meeting me. But now that you have…” My body tenses. “I wondered if maybe we could get to know each other a little better.”
“Oh.” She presses her lips together as if she’s processing this. Finally, she nods. “I suppose… that would be nice.”
My heart leaps. “Maybe we could meet for coffee?”
She gives me a close-lipped smile. “Let me save your phone number in my contacts, and I’ll be in touch.”
But I’m a planner, and I don’t like to wait around. Not when it’s something this important. “What about this weekend?” I urge. “Do you work on Sunday?”
Melanie hesitates again. “No,” she answers after a beat. “I don’t.”
The silence stretches.
I’m being too pushy. Of course, Melanie is surprised I asked. Her daughter just appeared in her life after thirty years, and now she wants to see her twice in one weekend. I should back off. But I can’t seem to. “So, would that work?”
“Sunday,” Melanie repeats slowly. And then finally, “Yes. Sure, I can make that work.”
“Oh, good.” I can hear the relief in my voice. Luca gives my hand another squeeze.
“I’ll text you tomorrow,” Melanie says. “We’ll set something up.”
Melanie and I exchange phone numbers, and then she walks Luca and me to the door, closing it with a quiet click behind us.
“That went really well. Right?” I whisper to Luca as we walk to the elevator, our feet barely making a sound on the muted gray carpeting. “Don’t you think it went well?”
“I…” He gives me a smile, but it’s different than his usual grin, more restrained. “I’m so glad you got your birth certificate.”
I hug the file to my chest. “What a relief. I’ll head to the DMV and Social Security office first thing on Monday.”
“I bet Tonya will be able to clear your identity right up,” Luca assures me. He pushes the elevator button.
“Sure…” The truth is, Iamrelieved by the birth certificate, but for a moment there, I forgot all about it. That scrap of paper isn’t what I was talking about when I asked if Luca thought things went well. “But what about Melanie?”
He pauses. And then finally, “What about her?”
“We’re going to have coffee on Sunday,” I prompt. He knows this. He was there when I asked her. “What do you think?”
“Right,” he says. “Great.”
Okay, Luca never converses in single syllables. I look at him sideways. “Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not saying?”
“It’s just…” He sighs, his shoulders drooping. “I think you should be careful.”
I turn to face him. “You said that the other day, too. Why do I need to be careful?”
He hesitates and then finally says, “Look, I know your mom is all the things you dreamed of… I’m sure she’s brilliant, she has an important career, and her condo…” Luca’s eyes go wide like he’s never seen anything like it. “Isso spotless you could perform brain surgery on her kitchen counters. But…” He waves a hand like he’s searching for the right words. “All of that… it’s not…”
“It’s not what?” I cross my arms over my chest.
“It’s not what’s important.”
The elevator arrives, and Luca waves for me to get on first.
