Chapter 8 - The Mother He Never KnewVance traveled to Maine alone.
He returned two days later.
He looked different.
Calmer.
He sat beside me.
"Her name is Margaret."
"I know."
"She cried when she saw me."
I stayed quiet.
"She didn't ask for money."
I smiled.
"Of course she didn't."
"She only wanted to know if I was happy."
Vance looked down.
"I didn't know what to say."
"Are you?"
He thought about it.
"I am now."
That answer surprised me.
He continued.
"She gave me something."
"What?"
"A photograph."
He pulled it from his wallet.
It showed a young woman holding a baby.
Vance.
His real mother.
On the back was a handwritten note.
"I loved you enough to let you go when I couldn't protect you."
Vance's eyes filled with tears.
"She didn't abandon me."
"No."
"She thought she was saving me."
I squeezed his hand.
"Sometimes people make terrible choices because they believe they're protecting someone."
He nodded.
"Like you?"
I smiled.
"Maybe."
He looked at me.
"I spent years thinking Mom was the only person who would always love me."
"And now?"
"Now I know love doesn't come with invoices."
I laughed.
He smiled.
Then he became serious.
"Evelyn."
"Yes?"
"I want to ask you something."
"What?"
"Can we start over?"
I looked at him.
"Start over?"
"Not pretend nothing happened."
He shook his head.
"I want to start from the truth."
I studied his face.
He looked older.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
"Tell me the truth, then."
"I love you."
I didn't answer.
"I loved you before."
He swallowed.
"But I didn't understand what love meant."
I looked toward Lily's room.
"What does it mean now?"
"It means I don't own you."
He took a breath.
"It means you don't owe me."
"It means my mother doesn't come before my wife just because she's my mother."
"And it means if you tell me no..."
He smiled.
"I listen."
I laughed softly.
"That's a dramatic improvement."
He laughed too.
Then he reached into his pocket.
There was no diamond ring.
No luxury box.
Just a simple silver band.
"I can't afford the ring I bought you before."
"I don't want it."
"I know."
He placed the ring on the table.
"I bought this with my own money."
I stared at it.
"Seven thousand dollars a month doesn't buy much."
"I know."
I smiled.
"That's why I like it."
He looked at me.
"So?"
I didn't answer immediately.
I wanted to make him wait.
Because he had made me wait.
For months.
Finally, I picked up the ring.
"I'll give you one chance."
His eyes widened.
"One."
"I know."
"You don't get my money."
"I know."
"You don't get to move back in tomorrow."
"I know."
"You don't get to tell me what to do."
"I know."
"You don't get to let your mother control our family."
He nodded.
"I know."
I smiled.
"Then we have a deal."
He laughed.
And for the first time in almost a year...
he kissed me.
May you like
Not like a husband claiming his wife.
Like a man thanking the woman who had given him another chance.
