Page 30 of Forever Yours

Her voice went high in that false trill again. “Oh. That’s right.”

I waited for her to continue, but when she didn’t, I asked, “Is there a reason you called?”

And yeah, it came out clipped and a little harsh, but what the fuck? She never called me or showed any interest that I even existed, and the one-hundred-and-twenty-second phone call she graced me with on my last birthday didn’t count. I knew Dad had called her and forced her to speak to me.On my goddamn birthday.

“Actually—”

I heard a deep voice over the line. A masculine voice said her name. Was she with someone?

“Mom.”

“Yes, sorry. Brad wanted me to ask…”

Brad?

“I mean, Brad and I wanted to know if you’d like… I know you’re incredibly busy with school and swimming…”

Jesus fucking Christ.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I wasn’t going to waste my breath to remind her that I stopped swimming three years ago.

“…if you were coming to the wedding.”

Like a punch directly to the chest, my lungs seized.

“Wedding?” I could barely get the word out.

She cleared her throat. “Yes. Brad asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

Who the fuck was Brad? But that wasn’t who I was most concerned about.

“Does Dad know?”

Despite everything, Dad still loved her. Just like I did. We were both pathetic.

“I was going to call him… soon.”

She kept trailing off her sentences the entire time we’d been talking. It was like she was carefully choosing her words. For Brad’s benefit?

“The wedding is October fourth here in Charleston. If you can’t make it, we’ll understand. I told Brad about how busy you were with… everything.”

I bet she did. Didn’t want her homosexual son showing up and embarrassing her with all his “gayness” on her wedding day.

Wait. Back up.

“Charleston?”

I was getting annoyed with my brain for its monosyllabic replies to everything she said.

And which Charleston? South Carolina or West Virginia. The last I knew, she was still living in Baton Rouge.

“I love it here. Did I tell you that Brad’s house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places?”

When would she have told me that? She would have to want to talk to me first.

“The wedding will take place here in the gardens, and the reception will be held on the yacht.”

So, Brad had money or came from money.

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