mother’s tear-streaked face. Slowly getting to his feet, he folded the letters back up, and slipped them into his pocket. He bent down and kissed the top of his mother’s head. In his mind, he envisioned her wearing a gold, jeweled crown.
“Mama, before I go, I wanted you to know that I understand now why you believed that not accepting Benjamin’s money would make him step up to the plate. You saw the good parts in him and hoped for the best. You made him want to be a better man as he said. Sadly, nothing could change him. Secondly, I want to tell you that I’m getting married. I told you about Lauren some time ago, the one who stole my heart. I’m so in love with this woman, it’s a crime and a cryin’ shame, so here I am, tossin’ my hat in the ring of marital bliss for the second and final time. I’ll bring her by soon, maybe next week.” He gave her another kiss, and made to leave.
“Aaaa… Air… A…”
He stopped in his tracks. “Yes, Mama?”
She lifted her arm and patted her heart. Then, she pressed the fingers of her right hand together, rested them on her chin and pushed them forward. He smiled as she used sign language to say, ‘Thank you.’
“You’re welcome, Mama. But I should be sayin’ thank you to you. I love you.” He headed out of the facility, put on his helmet, and took off on his Kawasaki H2R…
…Several months later
“So, is it true? You look like it’s true.” Ashley sat on the barstool at the Fadó Irish Pub in Midtown and crossed her long legs. She wore a black catsuit with a crystal necklace and her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. He did notice the bags around her eyes and the hair at her temples threaded with silver.
“That’s what you called me down here for?” Aries slid in the seat next to her. “To question whether I was getting hitched again?” She chuckled and shook her head.
“It’s true then.” She laughed. “You told me you were never doing this shit again. Said marriage was a horrible idea after you served me with divorce papers.”
“Yeah, well, I changed my mind. I’m not here to talk to you about my private life though, so what was so important that you needed to see me face to face? You told me you didn’t wanna come by the house and talk, so I agreed to meet you here. What is it?”
“What do you think it’s about?” She tossed him a sly glance.
“Well, you finally stopped badgering me about money when I sicced my lawyer on you. You stopped tryna get custody after Aiden wrote you that nasty-gram, as you called it, though you accused me of putting him up to it.”
“You did.” She gave a lazy chuckle.
“Like hell I did, but believe whatever you want.” He pivoted about on his bar stool, looking around the place. He hadn’t been here in years.
“I wanted to tell you that I’m moving.” She ran her finger along the rim of her glass of Negroni.
“Moving? Where to?”
“Ohio. Got a job offer out that way. City called Dayton.”
“Mmm. I see. And what about Aiden?” She shrugged, sadness in her eyes. Her smile slipped away, then another was born, this one dipped in regret.
“My son doesn’t love me. He doesn’t want me. What’s the point in hanging around?”
“For Christ’s sake, Ashley, he’s a thirteen-year-old. Tomorrow he’ll hate something that he loves today! Thirteen-year-olds change their minds like they change underwear. You can’t just run away because you and your kid are having a rough patch.”
“What’s the point? I tried to speak to him about it, and he told me I sucked. Who talks to their mom like that?” Her tone drowned in anger. “You’re a better parent anyway… just like you’ve always said.” He huffed, and they remained quiet for a spell. “I love our son, Aries, more than he’ll ever know. He just takes everything so personally, and every time I try to talk to him, he yells at me or shuts down or just… just goes away.”
He knew at that moment that Ashley had been blowing smoke up his ass. She’d probably known all along that their son was making moves on his own accord. He damn sure wasn’t pulling the puppet strings. He hadn’t poisoned the pond. She was the one who’d dumped bad decisions and emotional toxic waste into the ocean of