I do,” Buddy said. “I know I’m a little too old for that kind of thing, but why not? Life is about living right up until the end.”
“Will you help him?” Charlie asked.
“Sure,” I said. “Why the hell not?”
“Ah, you’re a good one,” Buddy said.
“Now wait a second,” I said. “I have to know the reason behind it. The real reason. Why do you want to learn how to play guitar?”
Buddy smiled. “I want to impress a woman.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
MILA
“Olivia, on the floor next to you is a cooler bag. Put that on the seat and open it.”
I looked at Ma. “A cooler bag?”
Ma nodded. “I don’t know how long this will take.”
“Oh, Ma…”
“Stop,” she said. “I have to do this. I have to know for sure.”
“You really packed everything here,” Olivia said from the backseat.
“Well, I’m with two pregnant women,” Ma said. “There’s snacks, sugar, salty stuff, and some hearty foods. Sandwiches. With that good bread you like, Mila.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Thank you for being here,” Ma said. She turned her head. “You too, Olivia.”
“No place I’d rather be,” Olivia said as she handed me a bottle of water.
“What did you tell Tyler?” Ma asked.
“Uh…”
“Hopefully the truth,” I said. “We can’t be tied up in lies here.”
“That means you told Silas?” Ma asked.
“Ma, he saw you and Michael arguing at the restaurant.”
“Shit, that’s right. I feel so dumb right now.”
“Don’t,” Olivia said. “I can’t believe this stuff keeps happening to you.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about it,” Ma said. “I’m wondering if this is punishment.”
“For what?” I asked.
“I had the love of my life,” Ma said.
My heart sank.
Olivia touched Ma’s arm.
“Maybe that was it for me. I mean, not everything is like the movies, right? There’s not always the happy ending. Not saying I’m not happy. I love my life. I love the restaurant and my family. I can’t believe I’m going to have two grandkids. A grandson for sure. Too bad I don’t know what the other will be.”
Ma glanced at Olivia.
“Don’t make me feel guilty,” Olivia said.
“Anyway,” Ma said. “My point is, maybe we’re just meant to have that one person and that’s it. If that’s the case, then you two need to make sure you cherish every second you have with Tyler and Silas.”
“No offense, Ma, but if that was the case, we wouldn’t be here,” I said.
“I know,” Ma said. “So now I’m the one who feels guilty.”
“We’re all family here,” Olivia said. “This is what we do.”
“Speaking of family,” I said to Olivia, “how’s the wedding planning?”
“Quiet,” Olivia said. “I’d like to just leave it at that if we can.”
“No problem,” I said.
Damn.
There was always so much going on at once in this family.
Olivia should have been over the moon excited about the baby and the wedding…
“I just need to see,” Ma said.
“We understand,” I said. “It makes sense, Ma. I just hate to see you so full of anxiety.”
“This will fix it,” Ma said. “No matter what.”
“So we’re just waiting for him to come out of that building?” Olivia asked.
“That’s right,” Ma said. “He’s been there a few other times this week. I mean, whatever this is, they’re going at it like rabbits.”
“Ma,” I said.
“I’m just telling the truth,” she said. “It’s not like I don’t have a pulse, you know? I’m… readily available. And for that matter, he’s always taken advantage of that. Which I love. Not too long ago, remember that dinner I burned?”
“Yeah,” Olivia said.
“Ma, no,” I said.
“That’s right,” Ma said. “That dinner was burned because I was up on the counter with Michael in front of me… want to know what he was doing to me?”
Both Olivia and I yelled NO at the same time.
Ma sighed and looked forward.
After a few quiet seconds, Ma said, “I just don’t get it.”
“I told Silas I felt gross and ugly,” I said.
“What?” Ma asked. “Mila. You’re beautiful.”
“So beautiful,” Olivia said.
I nodded. “I’m just having a hard time with these changes. I get why they’re happening. There’s just a voice in my head that sometimes gets too loud.”
“You keep doing what you’re doing, Mila,” Ma said.
“I have that voice too,” Olivia said. “Don’t forget, I came from a toxic work environment. Where a lot of smart women only got noticed when they showed off their figure. And I saw some smart women who didn’t fit the look get treated like crap. That stuck with me.”
“It’s just hard to go to bed one night with a flat stomach and wake up with this… bulge…”
Theresa laughed. “Oh,