Curtains (8 page)

I walked down River Street with my mother, still r
e
eling from revelatio
n
.

"
He was in love with a man, Mom. A MAN! I never in a million years thought that would be the reason. It all makes sense now
.
"
I spared her several of the details, knowing my mother could
n
'
t handle it. I could
n
'
t even handle most of it. I had been dying to tell her about the events of Christmas Eve, but up until now my father had been present.

"
Violet, have you talked to Rhys today
?
"
My mother gave me a sharp look.

"
No, h
e
'
s upset with me for my reaction. But, Mom, he had to know what a shock this is and Ale
x
—
"

"
Le
t
'
s go in here and get a praline
.
"
My mother guided me into The Savannah Candy Kitchen and spent the next ten minutes shoving chocolate covered peanuts and pralines into my mout
h—
all of which she grabbed from various bags she was carrying. I was trying to get the words out as she shoved the candy in. I needed her perspective. I opened my mouth again and she shoved in a chocolate covered pretzel.Your good!

"
Mom, stop it
,
"
I said, chewing quickly
.
"
I
t
'
s very good. Are you listening to me
?
"

"
I am but are you taking my hint, kid? I do
n
'
t want to hear about Alex and his lover.
I
'
m happy you got your closure but you are dwelling on this a little too much, do
n
'
t you think? Do you still love Alex
?
"
she whispered as the cashier rang up her purchases.

"
Of course not. I love Rhys
.
"
I said, honestly
.
"
I just ca
n
'
t believ
e
—
"

"
Believe it, accept it, and move on. I
t
'
s a lot to process, baby, I know. And I know i
t
'
s all a shock, but where your heart belongs is where it
is
. Forget Alex. Forget Sandra and Chris. Think about you and what makes you happy, not what happened
.
"
She stepped onto the cobblestone street and I followed her, watching as the trolley passed us by. She grabbed my hand and wrapped it around her elbow as we walked.

"
Have you talked to Rhys
?
"

"
Mom, you just asked me that. I told you no.
I
'
m upset with him. I texted hi
m
earlie
r
and he never replied
.
"
I was irritated. She would
n
'
t let me vent. I could
n
'
t stop thinking about the insanity of it all.

Rhys spent Christmas on Tybee Island with his family and was staying until after the New Year, as h
e
'
d planned. Although I was unsure of turning down his invitation to join him prior to our fight, I was happy with my decision now that h
e
'
d never bothered to answer my text. I had become accustomed to his silence when he was angry. Well, I was angry too and had every right to be. I was
n
'
t sure even a phone call was a good move at this point.

My mother read my mind as she said
,
"
He probably did
n
'
t reply because
I
'
m assuming h
e
'
s a little hurt and could use some reassurance right now
.
"

"
What do you mean
?
"
I asked.

"
Listen, you have an amazing thing with that man and you are blowing it by obsessing over what could have been
.
"
She turned to me quickly
.
"
Get your head out of your ass, Violet. Stop worrying about the man who left you and start paying attention to the man who loves you
.
"

"
Mom, i
t
'
s not that simple. He said some thing
s
—
"

"
Things that he did
n
'
t mean
,
"
she scolded.

"
He lied to me again
.
"

"
He protected you, again
,
"
she said as she let go of my arm
.
"
You have got to learn to choose your battles, baby. H
e
'
s not in this to hurt you and right about now h
e
'
s thinking yo
u
'
re not in this at all
.
"

I paused in the street, thinking of how Rhys must have felt when I reacted to the situation. Of course I had hurt him. I was so worried about me, how I felt, too selfish to think of how it affected him. My reaction to Alex and his shit was ruining my newfound happines
s
..
.
for the second time.

Did the details really matter? Why did I care so much about the way things happened? What is it in me that could
n
'
t just let it go and be thankful like Rhys was?

No, when it came down to it, the details did
n
'
t mean anything.

Rhys was all that mattered, and his silence was deafening.

I left my mother on River Street to finally head home and get on with living. As soon as I stepped through the door, my phone vibrated.

"
Hey, Molly
,
"
I answered, less than enthusiastic.

"
So do you have plans tonight with that hot as hell new boyfriend or did I just get lucky enough to catch you without any
?
"

"
Tonight
?
"

"
Yes, Violet. I
t
'
s New Yea
r
'
s Eve
.
"

I had spent an entire week at my parents!? No wonder my mother was ready to kick me out. I had been nothing but a moping pain in the ass.

"
No, h
e
'
s at his parent
s
'
house until tomorrow. But I will never go out on a holiday again.
I
'
m cursed
.
"

"
Come on, Violet, just a few drinks before the road becomes dangerous. Then we can bring in the New Year at your house
.
"

"
What happened to Roger
?
"
I asked about her current fling.

"
H
e
'
s on a last minute business trip
.
"
I could tell from her tone she was lying. From the sound of things, she needed me. I looked down at my clothes and caught my reflection in my freezer door. I had once again turned into a slob of a woman, a pitiful mess agonizing over a man.

Old habits die hard.

"
Fine, where
?
"

"
Girl, you wo
n
'
t regret it. We will have a relaxed night, I promise
.
"

God, how I wanted to believe her.

Molly and I sat at the bar, laughing hysterically at the events of Christmas Eve. Though the situation was anything but funny, she had a way of making the disaster seem so as she tried to put it all in perspective.

"
You are an insensitive ass, Molly, really
,
"
I said, catching a tear from my last bout of laughter.

"
Seriously, Violet, you ca
n
'
t make shit like this up. I mean, dear God, what a fucking story
.
"

"
I
t
'
s not funny
,
"
I said firmly as the corners of my lips lifted. She stared at me for a full minute before we both burst out laughing.

"
Okay
,
"
she said, lifting the cocktail straw to her mouth
,
"
if you honestly want to know what I think, I say take him with all his flaws and his baggage, Violet, because he has to take you the same way. I
t
'
s really very simple. In this fucked up situation, even with all the drama, you two make each other happy. Your coincidences make you miserable, but they are no longer in the picture.
She
is no longer in the picture. H
e
'
s going to fuck up and so are you. Tha
t
'
s a given. I do
n
'
t blame you for holding your ground on th
e
'
omissio
n
'
thing, but do
n
'
t drag it out until you two are strangers. You are so ready to stand up for yourself in this relationship because you did
n
'
t do a damn thing in the previous one to defend yourself, but you are punishing the wrong guy
.
"