Page 71 of And Then There Was Us
Kat rolled her eyes.
“Oh, that’s real nice,” Brianna spat.
Her mother shook her head. “Okay, girls, hold on.” She stood between them. “Bree, what happened out there? He just invited you to see his race. How did that lead tothis?”
Because I’m afraid. Because maybe I won’t fit into his lifestyle. Because maybe a child is too much for him and he just doesn’t know it.“How should I know?”
“Because whatever happened, you just said you did it.” Kat glared at Brianna. “I love you. You know I do, but I’m not going to sit here and mollycoddle your butt when you’rePretty Womanand Richard Gere is right outside that door waiting to sweep you off your feet.”
Fresh tears filled Brianna’s eyes.
“Sorry, Bree. No pity here.” Kat held her gaze. “Either give it up and tell us what he did that led you to do whatever you did, or I’m walking out that door and I’ll see you at work tomorrow. Did he hurt you? Demand you do something you don’t want to? Is he a control freak? Does he have inappropriate thoughts about Layla?”
“Kat!” Jean snapped.
Brianna leaned against the cold tile wall. Hugh’s sad eyes were seared into her memory. She slid down the wall, wishing she could disappear. She closed her eyes against the fluorescent lights that echoed off the yellow walls—and against her mother and Kat’s disbelieving eyes.
“There are too many what-ifs,” she finally said.
Her mother crouched beside her. “What-ifs?”
Kat paced. “What-ifs. What if he leaves me?” she said in a mocking voice. “What if he doesn’t like me in a year? What if my daughter’s too much for him?”
“They’re real concerns, Kat,” Brianna snapped.
Kat sat on the floor beside her and gently took her hand. “Yes, they are,” she said in a soothing voice. “They are one hundred percent valid concerns.” Kat pressed her lips into a line and brushed Brianna’s hair from where it had stuck to the tears on her cheek. “There are no guarantees, Bree. None. You could decide tomorrow that you don’t want to be a mom anymore.”
Brianna gasped. “I’d never do that.”
“See what you felt right then?” Kat poked Brianna above her heart. “That pain that speared you when I said it?” She paused. “That’s what you did to him.”
“This is my fault.” Her mother let out a loud sigh. “You worry because your dad left and because Layla’s father left. You’ve never trusted men, and I never did anything to teach you otherwise.” Her mother held her other hand.
“That’s not true.” It was one hundred percent true about most men, but she wasn’t going to admit tothatweakness. “I do trust Hugh.”I really, truly do. With my life and with Layla’s.
“Then what is this all about?” her mother asked.
“It’s me, Mom.”
Her mother shook her head. “I don’t understand. Are you worried that you’ll change your mind about him?”
“She’s weird, but she’s not crazy,” Kat said.
“No. I love him. I know I do, but how do I make myself not worry? I have all this garbage in my head.” Brianna fidgeted with the hem of her dress. “I think about whatcouldgo wrong…”
Kat pushed to her feet. “Okay, so go back to your twelve-year plan, but I don’t see how twelve years will change anything. Some guy will fall in love with you twelve years from now, and you’ll worry that he’ll leave you in a year or six. You’ll just be older with saggy boobs and bigger hips. Layla will be off to college, and…Oh, you know what? Maybe we should just fill your house with cats now instead of later.”
Brianna rose to her feet. “You’re being a jerk.”
“No. I’m a realist, which is what you have always been, but somehow you morphed into a wishy-washy wimp, which I totally don’t get.” Kat crossed her arms, and Brianna did the same.
“It’s like you’re both twelve years old.” Jean looked between the two of them. “Brianna, you need to talk to Hugh. If you really think thewhat-ifsare too big, then follow your heart and walk away. If you think you can overcome them, then stop hemming and hawing and give this relationship a fair shot—or don’t, but you gotta let him know one way or another. He’s not a college kid, Bree. He’s a man, and a man who seems to be head over heels in love with you and Layla.”
“Tell me how.” The severity of her own voice surprised her. “All I need is to know how to turn off the worries. You’ve seen him. He’s drop-dead gorgeous. If I go to the race and see women all over him, I’ll want to rip their heads off or run away, and which doyouthink I’ll do?”
“Run away,” her mother and Kat said in unison.
“Exactly.”
