A Missed Opportunity

55

"I'm not talking about this with you, Kiara."

"Fine." I huff. "Fine—Don't tell me then. Just stop being mean to him. It's not fair to anyone. And if you don't care you're hurting his feelings, then care because you're hurting Cameron's."

She doesn't seem to understand. Like she just can't understand why I don't want her being so mean to Noah. "I haven't said anything." She insists. "Cameron hasn't noticed."

"You know how smart he is." I argue. "You know what he catches onto. You know he's already catching on, so you're going to stop being so mean to him. I mean it, Mom. He's a good man. He doesn't deserve it."

"How do you know what a good man looks like?"

"How do you?" I return. She blinks. "It's not like you've ever seen one. Your father was like mine. Your grandfather too—probably. How do you know, Mom?" I shake my head slowly.

Her lips press together, and I almost think she's about to slap me right across the face. But then her lips begin trembling. I falter when I notice the shine to her eyes. The redness, and the regret. She starts shaking her head as she looks away from me. And she does this thing I haven't seen from her since I was little—She does this thing. It's when she curls up into herself, almost like a protective ball. She'd do it a lot. When they were fighting, and afterwards when we were on the bathroom floor at midnight with a box of band aids and Penny. Penny my stuffed bunny.

I straighten. My first instinct is to help her. My second though...it comes when I hear the clatter of a fork and a groan. He dropped his fork on the tile. He doesn't come running to us though, old enough and smart enough to get up and grab a new one from the kitchen.

I don't want him to comfort his mom on the bathroom floor when it's way past his bedtime.

"Mom," I whisper as I get up from the couch. I reach for her hands. She lets me take them and I try pulling her up. "Come on." I plead. She stands from the couch just as a tear slips down her cheek. "I'm sorry." I don't know if I have anything I need to apologize for. She's being mean to my—Guy I'm Seeing. She's being mean to Guy I'm Seeing, and I'm trying to fix it. While also making sure my son can't see it.

I manage to get her to her room before my son starts calling for me. "Mom! Your phone's ringing!" He informs. I think I left it on the table after giving him his plate.

"Okay, Cam! Just give me a minute." I call back as I sit my mom down on her bed. "Mom," I try, whispering to her as I reach for a little box of Kleenex. "I'm sorry."

"It's Dad!" His voice sounds a bit closer, so I quickly step away from her and leave the room. I'm sure she understands. "Can I answer it?" He asks, just barely making it into the hall.

I stand in front of him before he can venture off down the hall and to the left where her room is. "Okay, thanks." I casually hum as I take my phone from him.

He frowns. "Can I say hi?" He asks. I sigh deeply but hand him the phone after I answer it. He smiles and holds it to his ear with two hands. "Hi, Dad!" He greets. He sways around some in silence, listening to Noah for a minute. "Yeah, we're at Grammy's." He hums, shrugging to himself. I check over my shoulder. "Mhm. She's in front of me." He assures. Pauses for a moment. "Okay. Love you too. Bye." He returns. Then holds my phone up to me.

I smile briefly as I take it from him. "Go finish your lunch." I wave my hand. He spins to march off. I put the phone to my ear but don't say anything until he's out of my sight. "Hello?" I breathe.