I took a piece of toast and said, “I’m good at the game I love. Jeremy can choose my sport, another one, or a future doing whatever he wants.”
We both added brie to our toast as she said, “Glad to hear…” The ring in the air caught her off guard and she jumped up and found where we had charged our phones last night. She took hers and said, “My sisters are calling. Phone conference time.”
“Get it,” I said, as last night she’d intended to call them today, so I gave her a thumbs-up.
Maybe after she talked to them and we ate, we’d have time for another round before Jeremy and my parents returned. They’d been good to give us some time alone, and I’d wait. Georgie’d be happier after talking to her family.
She choked down her bread fast and said, “Thanks.”
A moment later, she answered, but put her call on speaker, as her sister said, “So you’re married?”
She added some walnuts and almonds on her cheese and said, “Olivia, Michael and I both want the best for Jeremy.”
“You and Stephanie were both so adamant about never marrying. Now she’s engaged and you’re married. Aren’t you afraid?”
Georgie put her food down and met my gaze. Her brown eyes had some deep emotion in them I didn’t quite understand. “No. I’m never going to give up on life if something happens to Michael. We talked about it.”
Interesting. I had no siblings and had zero idea how women talked to each other. My friends and I would be swearing and avoiding the direct topic to a common dominator or just telling directly "not your business". Her sister then said, “Well that’s good, as long as you’re happy.”
“I am.”
Good. I bit another bite of my toast and then her sister asked her, “How do you know you won’t turn into Mom?”
My heart slowed as my ears listened closer. Georgie had mentioned her mother and how she had wanted to die. How deep was that fear? It related to how long it might take for me to tell her I loved her? This wasn’t just sex for me. My stomach twisted at the idea she married me only for money when I was falling hard for her and probably had years ago.
Georgie tugged her ear and met my gaze as she asked, “Why are you asking?”
For a second, I didn’t move, like she’d read my mind, but Olivia asked her, “I want to know how I can ever trust myself like you and Stephanie clearly have.”
If Olivia was my sister, I’d tell her not to take what happens to others as something destined. What happened to our parents doesn’t have to be the truth for us. My parents were friends, but Georgie and I were more. She’d see that in time.
My fortune had come from hard work and laser focus on what I wanted.
However, Georgie lowered her lashes and her cheeks blushed as she said, “Well, Michael and I talked about it, and I hope whoever you might think about marrying supports you being independent.”
More than that. Georgie and I were good together because we weren’t sacrificing who we were or what we wanted. She wanted to be home and to take care of our son. I’d enhance that lifestyle. Life was good.
Olivia asked Georgie, “But how do I trust myself?”
She took my hand and her brown eyes were full of trust as she nodded at me and smiled, “To be honest, Jeremy is my reason I can take this chance. He deserves to have a good dad, like we had.”
I’d honor that. Our boy, not me, was a reason to pick up and take the best contract. Olivia said, “I don’t have a son that needs me.”
Now I understood her sister was clearly the needy type. Maybe that’s why she was a teacher, a job I could never do. “Olivia, it will be okay. When you meet the guy you trust, you’ll know.”
“I guess,” her sister mumbled.
Trust was a good start, but in time, I’d want more. Georgie let my hand go and fixed more cheese on her bread as she said, “Look, I have to go.”
The women said goodbye and I jumped up to get our coffees. “Your sister takes that pact seriously.”
She put her phone away as I slipped her a coffee.
“Her boyfriend broke up with her right before Dad died. She was devastated and never got over it. When we made our pact, she’d thought that was why he’d left her or something like that.”
“That doesn’t’ make sense.”
“Love doesn’t make sense. I’m glad we married for more practical reasons.”
Right. She needed time. She took a sip and sighed a little contentment as I prompted so she’d tell me more. “You were talking about support and taking chances.”
She took the last long sip of her coffee, then said, “When my mother died, it was because she gave up on life after my father. She never made a choice and preferred to be in the shadow until the very end. We talked about how you don’t want my love like that.”
Interesting. I hadn’t expected the intensity of how the words of love poured out of me. “I’d want my mom to live if something happened to my dad.”
“Good.” She nodded and then ate her toast.
“And for you to tell me what you think.”
We both ate a few minutes. As we finished, I helped pick up the plates and said, “To be honest, my dad was intense.”
She helped me but then refilled our coffee cups and said, “My dad was the heart of the family. Losing him meant we lost who checked up on us, who took us to the doctor and came to school to get us.”
I washed the dishes. In my family, that was absolutely my mom. “Your mom didn’t even keep doctor appointments for you?”
She joined me to dry the dishes and
