Page 2 of Mom-Com
“I slapped his hand away from my purse, kicked him in the nuts, and drove off.”
We bumped fists and settled back down on our stools to sip our wine and calm down.
“I feel highly compelled to write about this. You know that, right?” Gabby looked at me, pleading with her dark eyes.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but my pathetic dating life can’t be in your column. My fragile ego can’t handle it.”
“Even if it’s anonymous?”
“Even if it’s anonymous.I’dknow, Gabby.” I sighed. “After Shawn, I just don’t know if I can handle more of a spotlight on my singlehood, you know?”
Her hand rubbed my back. “I know. I promise I won’t write anything. The last thing I want to do is discourage you from getting back out there. Shawn wasn’t your forever, but your forever is out there somewhere waiting for you. I just know it.” She pulled me into a side hug. “I’m proud of you, Lil.”
“Thanks, Gabriella. I’m proud of me for trying too. When Shawn left, I was shocked. I thought we’d be together forever. I never envisioned being a single mom and trying to date thirtysomethings who were passed over or left behind. They all have this desperation that clings to them like a bad odor.” Oh jeez, I needed to put down the wine before I got any more poetic.
“What I’m trying to say is I just don’t think this app thing is going to work. The kind of guy I’m looking for doesn’t live with his mama and he surely doesn’t need to pickpocket me to pay his rent. I need a man who sweeps me off my feet and only has eyes for me. He’ll take one look at me and my children and want to put a big rock on my finger. And if he’s really awesome, he’ll snuggle with me and watch Disney princess movies. Is that too much to ask?”
Gabby went surprisingly serious on me, even though I handed her the perfect opportunity to tease me about my princess obsession. “No, that’s not too much to ask. In fact, I think we should have always been demanding that. Maybe our problem has always been not asking for enough.” Before I could examine that nugget of wisdom or ask how things were going with Hew, her boyfriend, she hopped off the stool and started gathering her things. “Gotta go, girlie. Got words to write and hours to toss and turn before my alarm goes off.”
I made a mental note to sit her down soon and see if things were rocky with her and Hewitt. They’d been together for years now, maybe not blissfully happy, but steady nonetheless. She hadn’t said anything outright, but my best friend radar was beeping. Something wasn’t right with her and I intended to get to the bottom of it.
I walked her out and made sure she got on the road safe. Then I locked up, turned out lights, and headed up to kiss my babies goodnight. They wouldn’t remember, but I couldn’t help myself. They gave me gray hairs, but I loved them fiercely. Sleep wouldn’t come if I didn’t check on them and give them the kisses they wouldn’t normally stand still for long enough when they were awake.
Clark was flat on his back, arms and legs spread like he’d squeezed every last drop of life out of the day before flopping back on his mattress and conking out. I pulled the sheets from under his legs and covered him up, my movements not even stirring him. He was still so small at eight years old, even as he tried to act like the man of the house with his father gone. Sure, he saw his dad every other weekend, but in between those times, he was trying to act older. Why, I didn’t know, but I hoped he stayed a kid for as long as he could.
I tiptoed into Milly’s room, skipping over the wood board that creaked. She slept light and was hard to creep in on. There’d already been some near misses on Christmas Eve when I’d been trying to get her presents under the tree from Santa and she’d heard me.
My beautiful girl had big, blond curls that reminded me of myself at that age. I’d learned to control them with products, but on a five-year-old, they were adorable and wild. I brushed the barest of kisses on her forehead and backed away slowly.
It was moments like these that made everything right in my world. I had my kids. I had my health. Everything would be fine.
In my own bedroom, I put on my cotton pajama pants and ratty, old tank top before snuggling under the covers and clicking on the TV with the remote. I hit play and smiled as the opening credits toSleeping Beautyfloated softly through the speakers. I was the proud owner of every Disney princess movie on DVD. Some women needed Ambien to sleep. I needed happy ever afters and Prince Charming.
The melodic notes of “I Wonder” flowed over me as Aurora sang to the forest animals. My eyes began to blink shut as I commiserated with her. She wondered where her someone was and so did I.
Fumbling with the remote, I finally shut it off and drifted to sleep, visions of princesses and handsome princes filling my head. Except in my dreams, one of the handsome men was for little, old me. He picked me up and swung me around at a fancy ball, my children on the sidelines smiling from ear to ear. A diamond ring sat on my finger as he pulled me in for a kiss...
2
Jameson
“Dad! Where are you?”
I heard Stein’s muffled voice as I was digging through yet another box of clothing, looking for my favorite sweater.
“I’m in the closet!” I shouted back.
I saw an edge of forest green and grabbed it, pulling it out from the bottom, spilling clothes out onto the ground around me. Moving wasn’t for the faint of heart, as I was finding out. I couldn’t find a damn thing since we’d moved two days ago. Maybe it had to do with the way I labeled the boxes. Instead of writing what was in each one, I’d simply put which room it was to go into. Great on moving day, not so great when you were staring at twenty identical boxes in your bedroom and wondering where your favorite sweater was on Monday morning, the first day of school.
“I can’t find my lunch sack, Dad.” Stein was now right behind me, his little face scrunched up comically, like his missing lunch bag was the worst thing that could happen. But I guess when you’re eight and it’s your first day of second grade at a new school, having everything perfect was paramount.
Ruffling the fluffy light brown hair on top of his head, I stood up and motioned for him to follow me. “No problem, kiddo. I know I saw it in the kitchen somewhere.”
I hadn’t, but damn if I wasn’t going to find it so he could have one less thing to worry about. It was my fault we had to move in the middle of the school year. When Pacific Coast College called with an open position to head their science department, I really couldn’t say no. It was the step I needed, both in pay and in position, to eventually land myself a job at one of the University of California campuses. Those jobs were coveted and rare. I intended to be on staff at UC before I was forty. Yes, I had six years before I hit the big four-oh, but even so, I’d be pushing it to hit my goal.
“Can you make my peanut butter sandwich with bananas and honey like Mom does it?”
The mention of his mom was like a dagger to my heart. Not because I held any feelings for her anymore, or maybe ever, but because I knew he kept her up on a pedestal. No little boy should have to beg for his mother’s attention, but that’s what Stein has always had to do with her. He overcompensated by talking about her all the time, and even though I was an adult and could see where the comments were stemming from, the constant reminder of his obsession with her was hard to take. Especially when I was the only parent rearranging my life every day to take care of him like he deserved.
