“He’s affording this by working his butt off. My boy leaves for school at seven in the morning, and comes home from work at eight in the evening. At the earliest! He’s more of a Man than my husband when it comes to taking care of his family, and that’s after what we put him through! The least you could do is to acknowledge his achievements, Aaron! But, no, you keep making fun of his job because it’s in IT. Not that it would make a difference anyway.”
I smirked at that jab against Aaron, but I was happy about something else. Yes, Mom was placing blame on Aaron, but that was for not wanting to work on our relationship. And, even in front of a stranger, she fully admitted her part in all this, defended me, and put me above her husband. At that moment, I clearly felt my affection for her regrow.
“What do you mean, Claire? It wouldn’t make a difference?” Aaron asked, I thought he sounded a little scared.
“Aaron, our boy was shot! And you CHOSE to not tell any of us and leave him all alone in the hospital!” Mom’s voice was trembling at this point. Whether from anger or sadness, I couldn’t possibly tell. “That showed me a side of you I could never accept. I could never live with a man who would do THAT to his own child. I don’t think I could ever forgive you for that.”
What followed was a moment of silence on their part. It was actually so long that I checked my internet connection. Then came the surprise, when I heard the counselor sigh.
“This was only the tenth of our twelve sessions, but I will inform the judge that I don’t see any possibility for reconciliation. What Claire just told you is, in my opinion, not something she can move past.” Then I heard the counselor sigh before she continued. “I have to tell you that my letter for the judge will include the reason for why I reached that conclusion.”
I listened to Mom and Aaron make their farewells to the counselor before Mom left the room. Then I listened to her walk through a few doors, heard something that sounded like the lock of a toilet stall click, and finally Mom’s sobbing.
Chapter 24
Listening to Mom crying through the bug I had on her phone was surprisingly hard for me. I suspected it was because of the definitive end of her marriage, and her crying about this caused conflicting feelings in me.
On one hand, I could still understand why she would be saddened by the end of a twenty-year marriage, and I wanted to comfort her. On the other hand, it made me wonder if she would have rather stayed with him despite everything that happened.
When Mom made it back into my apartment a few hours later, she had cleaned up well enough to not show any signs of her crying. To my big surprise, though, the very first thing she did after stepping through the door, was to embrace me in a tight hug. She didn’t say anything while holding onto me, nor did she answer when I asked where that hug came from, but when I wrapped my arms around her shoulders to return the hug while holding her head to my chest, she, again, simply took a deep breath as if to take in my scent.
After about a minute, she simply let go of me and walked into her bedroom.
I had not called her while she cried in that bathroom. I wasn’t trusting myself to not make a stupid comment about the possible reasons for her emotional outburst and reveal that I listened in on her. Instead, I had decided to prepare her favorite meal, placed a bottle of white wine in the fridge, and let her speak at her own pace if she needed to.
It worked. As soon as she stepped out of her room after changing her clothes, smelling the frying catfish and hush puppies, her face relaxed into a smile. Then she stepped into the kitchen, hugged me from behind, and held onto me while I worked on dinner.
This even intensified when Ava returned from her shopping trip to Ikea with Maggie and John. Not only did my sister immediately pick up on Mom’s mood, she seemed to also reach the same conclusion as I had. So, instead of asking what happened, she simply joined us in the dinner preparations by asking me to talk her through preparing the tartar sauce.
Mom’s mood improved a lot as she silently watched her children prepare a family meal. The smile on her face when we finally sat down and ate was warm and happy.
When we sat on the couch afterwards, I had Mom and Ava cuddled up to me on either side, each holding a glass of white wine, and it took a while of silence before Mom felt like talking.
“The counselor decided today that we no longer have to attend any more sessions.” she said out of the blue. “She’s going to inform the judge, so the divorce can continue.”
Ava and I both thought about that for a few seconds.
“And ... how do you feel about that?” Ava asked.
“Scared, to be honest.”
“Why?”
Mom sighed.
“The fact that your father left Tim alone in the hospital had her realize that our problems go beyond what she could work on. Her job was to try and make us find some common ground. Overcome our differences to the point we could work together. In reality, Aaron would need to work out his differences with Tim, and not only is that outside her expertise, it would definitely take more than the twelve sessions the Judge had ordered.”
As Mom explained this, she had wrapped herself around my arm, in addition to holding my hand in both of hers.
“But, why does that make you scared?” I asked, still not understanding her emotional outburst.
“When the judge hears about that, there’s no way for Aaron to gain custody of you.” I snorted at that, like I would’ve ever gone along with that anyway. Though, she ignored it to instead continue in a low voice. “But, with me being basically unemployed, homeless, and penniless, I’m not sure I will be awarded custody either. I can’t lose you again, Tim. I just can’t.”
I couldn’t help it. Despite the dire mood, that last statement of hers made me extremely happy.
“Mom ... I’m pretty sure that’s not how this works.” I smiled.
“It’s not?” Ava managed to ask first.
“I don’t think so.” I said while shaking my head, before turning my attention back to Mom. “If the state hates one thing, it’s giving away money. And if you don’t get custody, while Aaron can’t get custody, the state would have to pay for me. So, you’ll get custody.”
It was a poor attempt at a joke, but it worked. I felt her body relax against me and saw a weak smile appear on her face before I continued.
“Seriously, though. Remember what your lawyer said in January. Because of my apartment, there’s a chance the judge won’t give you the house with the custody ruling. But, let’s be honest here ... I’m still a minor. They can’t just assume that I’ll be able to keep making rent, so it’s likely you’ll get the house until I graduate high school. Though, if they argue that you could pay the rent with your alimony, we’ll just stay here. Either way, you’re not homeless.”
“You really mean that?” she asked pensively, her eyes glazing over. “You’d be fine with me staying?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “It’s a little cramped right now, but by the time the divorce is through, Ava will live in that condo John bought.”
“Oh, Darling, thank you!” Mom proclaimed while throwing her arms around my neck and placing a wet kiss on my cheek.
Ava had a big smile on her face as she watched this spectacle, but her happiness suddenly deflated.
“What is it?” I threw a questioning look in Ava’s direction, but it took her a moment to answer.