Dream On(37)

“Good.”

“Fine.”

“Cass? Is everything all right?” A female voice calls from over my shoulder.

I whip around so fast I nearly lose my balance. “Mom?” I splutter. “What are you doing here?” I’d been so absorbed in conversation I hadn’t noticed her minivan parked at the edge of the lot—or her standing right behind me.

Mom adjusts her beige blazer. “You didn’t get my voice mail? I had to run an errand on this side of town so I thought we could have lunch. I brought your favorite—a po’ boy from Wiseman’s.” She holds up a brown paper bag.

A whole new level of panic threads through my veins. Snatching the bag, I mutter a quick “see you later” to Devin, loop my arm around her shoulders, and herd her toward my building. “Thanks, Mom. How about we eat in my office? I can give you a tour…”

Mom’s never been someone to be pushed around, though, and she shrugs out of my hold with a tut. Her gaze flicks to Devin. “Is this one of your colleagues?”

“Oh! Uh… this… this is…”

Devin steps forward, hand extended. “Devin Szymanski.”

“Devin,” she murmurs. Realization lights up her features, followed by pure, unadulterated disbelief. “Devin? It can’t… you aren’t…” She touches her forehead and shoulders in the sign of the cross, something I haven’t seen her do since I was a child.

“A figment of Cass’s imagination? No, I’m not.”

“So… you’re real. Cass was right. You’ve been real this whole time.” Her knees buckle and I reach for her automatically, but she steadies herself on the nearest car. Face pale, she waves me away. “She thought your name was Devin Bloom, though. Why?”

“I think she conflated my name with my brother’s flower shop, Blooms & Baubles.”

“I see.” She’s quiet for so long I’m afraid she’s gone into shock. But then she straightens and lifts her chin. Uh-oh. I know that look. Warning bells sound in my head, but Devin continues to smile benignly as if a Tomahawk missile weren’t headed his way.

“So—” Pushing off the car, she advances on him. “You date my daughter for three months, she gets in a near-fatal accident, and you disappear without a trace, making her believe you never existed at all?” For the first time, his confident expression falters. “Do you realize the anguish you put her through? Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you—”

I propel myself between them, arms raised. “Mom, pump the brakes. Let me explain.”

“Now I see where you get your temper from,” he mutters under his breath.

“Devin and I randomly ran into each other a few weeks ago, we got to talking, and neither of us remembered meeting before the accident. We decided to get together for drinks to try to pinpoint how we know each other, since I have so many memories of him. One thing led to another and—”

“—we started seeing each other,” Devin finishes.

Mom’s jaw goes slack. “You’re… seeing each other. As in, dating?”

“Correct,” says Devin.

“I don’t believe it. It doesn’t make sense. How could she remember you if you didn’t meet until recently?”

“We’re still trying to figure that out,” I say.

She pinches her forehead between her thumb and forefinger. “I need to sit down.”

“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” Devin proffers his elbow.

Ignoring his offer of an escort, she marches through the parking lot and settles on a bench facing the river. Smoothing my skirt under me, I sit next to her. The quiet slosh-slosh of water lapping against the concrete embankment competes with the sound of drilling and hammering in the distance. Devin’s footsteps approach, but he doesn’t sit. He paces toward the river and back, opting to stand.

Mom stares out at the rippling brown water. “For the longest time, Cass was convinced you were real, and I didn’t believe her. No one did. I’m sorry, Cass.” Tears glisten in her eyes when she looks at me.

I pat her knee. “It’s okay, Mom. It’s a pretty unbelievable situation.”

With a sniff, she swipes a finger under her eye, then shifts her attention to Devin. “How do I know you’re not playing her?”

“Mom.”

“No, he could be taking advantage of you. You’ve suffered a traumatic brain injury, and suddenly a guy comes along who’s supposed to be the man you thought was your boyfriend and now you’re dating? It all sounds very convenient to me.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s not convenient at all. I’d finally moved on with my life, and boom, I meet Devin. And no, he’s not taking advantage of me. He graciously agreed to hear me out when most people would have run for the hills. It’s just a coincidence that we happened to hit it off.”

Devin steps forward. “I care about Cass, honestly. I’d never do anything to hurt her.” His blazing eyes settle on me, and my heart thumps painfully. He might not have intended to hurt me, but what he did today was heavy-handed and hurtful in its own way. I know he was just trying to help, but I still can’t help feeling like I’ve been judged and found wanting. My gut twists like a wrung-out towel.