Page 48 of Blade
“I need your help.” Amber didn’t bother with a greeting when she barged into her mother’s kitchen.
“Hello to you too.” Her mom stood with her back to the counter, her lips curled at the corners. She held a coffee cup in one hand and toyed with the length of her blond hair with the other.
“I hate to lay this on you, Mom, but I need to tell Dad something, and I really need you to take my side.”
A crease marred her mother’s forehead, and she slowly blinked. “You know I don’t take sides when it comes to you and your father. Not anymore. I’m done arguing with him, Amber. It’s exhausting.”
“This is different.” Amber took a seat at the kitchen table. “I met someone, and I’m in love with him.”
“That’s wonderful.” Her mom slid into the chair across from Amber with ease and grace, cradling the coffee mug between her delicate fingers, eager to hear more. “Who is he? And why do you need my help?”
Stalling, Amber helped herself to a cup of coffee and returned to the table. She took a big gulp, hoping the extra caffeinated beans her mother always used would give her a jolt of adrenaline. It did. Not that she needed it. Her nerve endings were twitching as if she stuck her finger into an electrical socket. “It’s Robert Blade.”
Her mother’s coffee cup landed on the table with a thud, almost making the liquid spill over the rim. “You really know how to push your father’s buttons. I honestly don’t care who you date. You know that. I just want you to be happy. But you’re the one who stood in that living room,” she pointed to it as if Amber didn’t know the layout of the house she grew up in, “with your hand raised like you were being sworn into the Supreme Court, that you didn’t go into physical therapy to be around famous athletes and that you’d prove it by never dating one.”
“I haven’t.”
“Is that so?” her mother quipped in return. “Isn’t that what started this whole riff between you and your father?”
“Once.” Amber raised an index finger. “It was one time. And it was a long time ago.”
“And look how it ended.”
“It wasn’t my fault.” Guilt burned in Amber’s gut and radiated up to her cheeks, which she knew were bright red.
“Of course, it wasn’t your fault. You were young. No one blames you.”
He does, and he’ll never forgive me.She flushed the thought from her head. She hadn’t thought abouthimin a long time and wouldn’t allow herself to. She didn’t care about him any longer so what was the point?
“Robert is someone I can see a future with,” Amber stated. “He’s not just some random guy. This is a serious relationship that I’m pursuing. Dad is just going to have to deal with it. Like an adult. Without throwing the past in my face. Without being vindictive.”
“I agree with you. But when did your father ever deal with anything like an adult? He’s a stubborn man. And you’re just as stubborn. You may resemble me physically, but you’re all him.”
Deep down, Amber knew her father was a good man, but she still harbored anger and resentment toward him. She wished she could let go of it, but it festered and spread like a cancer taking over her better judgment, and the comparison disgusted her. “I’m the one who’s right in this situation. He’s not.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. He’s said those same words a hundred times. He’s also a man who’s set in his ways. He dwells on the past. And he holds grudges.”
Amber knew her father was all those things and, ironically, so was she. But, in this case, there was no doubt that he was completely in the wrong. She also didn’t care what he thought anymore, which was new and still hard to wrap her head around. She was an independent, adult woman who did not need her father’s approval. When was she ever going to let go of the need to please her father and crave his acceptance? Now. Right fucking now. Except, fear of retaliation wouldn’t stop nagging at her. Again, she reminded herself of a little piece of information that gave her the upper hand, and it gave her the confidence to push forward. “Will you at least support me when I tell him?”
“Of course. I always support you. Didn’t I argue with him about your decision to pursue physical therapy instead of becoming a real doctor?”
Steam heated the back of Amber’s neck, and she gritted her teeth. “Iama real doctor. Do I have to show you my license?”
“The one that doesn’t have your real name on it?” her mother challenged, a balled fist on her hip. “You know that’s a sore subject around here.”
“Oh my God,” Amber groaned, her head falling back with exasperation. Part of her wished she didn’t come here, and she wondered why she cared so much what her father thought.Because he’s my father.The thought filled her head as if someone spoke it aloud, and she was reminded of Robert’s words from the other night about their innate desire to seek approval from their fathers. “Can I count on you to be in my corner, Mom? To agree with me and not take his side? To tell him to back down?”
“You’re asking for the impossible, Amber.”
“No. I’m not. I’m asking my mother to defend me.”
“I will defend you. With every breath in my body. Whether you believe that or not, it’s true. But you have more faith in my opinion than merit. Your father doesn’t really care one way or the other what I have to say, and, frankly, I don’t care. Over the years, I’ve found it easier to agree with him than argue. It’s easier to smile and nod and tell everyone what a wonderful man he is.”
“You should’ve been an actress.”
Her mother contemplated the statement, then deflated and lowered her gaze. “I do love your father, Amber. I know it sounds like I don’t, but I do. He’s not an easy man to be married to. I know all marriages are hard, but it’s a little harder with him. That’s all.”
“I know.” With nothing else left to say, Amber let out a huge sigh. She didn’t know if her mother’s support would do anything, but she just needed to know that she wouldn’t be battling her father alone. “Thank you. I need you to be there with me. Please don’t change your mind.”
