Not Broken: The Happily Ever After(11)

“Hey, honey,” Mom said.

“Hey, Mom. Hello, Dorian.”

“Hello, Calida.”

Shawn squirmed in Dorian’s arms when he saw me. She put him down, and he teetered over to me.

“Congratulations.”

“Huh?”

“Mom tells me you and Malcolm are engaged, so congratulations.”

I turned and gave my mom a look of disbelief. “Mom! Really? Engaged?”

“What? You might as well be as far as I’m concerned,” she replied, walking around the space, and picking up the toys. “Where is he anyway? I figured he’d come by with you.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and mentally counted to ten. I did a deep inhale and audible exhale. I knew she meant well, and I’d not given her any reason to think this wouldn’t be something I’d want. My crush on Malcolm had never been a secret, and he’d always been part of the family as much as Macy.

“No, we are…dating. Sorta. Not engaged,” I clarified, looking at Mom. “And I’m not sure where he is. Why would you think he’d be with me?”

“Because, you two…you know…”

“Oh my god, Mom! No. Malcolm and I have not…‘you knowed.’ I went home last night. Alone.” If I had longer hair, I would have pulled it in that moment.

Dad took that as an excuse to leave the room, taking Shawn with him. Didn’t matter how old we were, he still left anytime the mention of sex, or even the idea of it came up.

“Thanks for showing up, Calida,” Dorian said, laughing. “Before you got here, she was lecturing me on my failed marriage.” She moved to take a seat on the sofa.

“Oh, Dorian. Always with the dramatics. I was not lecturing you. I was merely suggesting you not give up so easily. Anyway, Calida dear, back to you and my future son-in-law.”

“Mom, stop! Please,” I snapped.

Mom’s lips pressed into a tight line, and I heard Dorian gasp. I let out a soft groan.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy day. First Dr. Carr and then dealing with Malcolm and his expectations, it’s all been a lot to deal with today.”

I plopped down onto the floral print, oversized chair, dropping my head into my hands.

“Honey,” Mom said, squeezing in beside me. “You saw Dr. Carr today?”

Shit! Shit! Shit! I can’t believe I let that slip. “It’s nothing, Mom. I…I just wanted to tell her the good news. I mean, this is what everyone wanted, right? Me finally moving forward with my life.”

“Yes, that would be nice,” Dorian chimed in as she examined her perfectly manicured, red fingernails. “I think you’ve milked this victim role long enough.”

“Dorian!” Mom scolded.

“Milked it?” I asked incredulously, looking over at her. “Right, that’s what I’m doing.” My voice dripped with sarcasm. “How’s Daniel doing these days? Still fucking his secretary and happy to be free of a viper like you?”

Mom let out a loud gasp. “Calida, language!”

Normally, I tried to play nice in front of our parents, but it was not a good day for Dorian to mess with me. Her face turned beet red. She stood and stormed out of the living room.

“Sorry about my language, Mom, but she pisses me off, and I’m tired of it.”

“I really wish you and your sister would get along better,” Mom replied, rubbing my back.

“I’ve tried, Mom, but she can’t seem to stop being such a b…witch toward me. Not for long anyway.”

“She’s stressed right now, honey.”

I rolled my eyes. She wasn’t stressed. She’d been that way all her life, I didn’t know why they’d never seen it. Maybe it was a parental thing, not wanting to see the worst in your kid—I knew I tried hard as hell not to see it in Shawn—but I refused to let Dorian walk all over me any longer.

“Now, back to you,” she said, smoothing down the short strands of my hair.

Gently, I took her hand to stop that action, and then leaned over to rest my head on her shoulder.

“I’m okay, Mom.”

She put her arm around me. “You don’t seem okay. In fact, you seem rather upset. You wanna talk about it?”

“Hey, what happened with Dorian?” Dad asked, walking back into the room.

Mom gave my knee a pat. “She and Calida are at it again.”

Dad chuckled and shook his head. He walked over, and sat Shawn in my lap, and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. “What am I gonna do with my girls?” he asked before walking toward the kitchen.

I gave Shawn a tight squeeze. I wanted to go home and spend the rest of the day alone, but I’d told Malcolm we’d come over.

I spent another hour at my parents’ house. Dorian even came back out and joined us. I glanced down at my watch. By the time I made it to my house, I’d only have to leave again to get to Malcolm’s small, one-bedroom Midtown rental. We’d just go early. I’m sure he wouldn’t care. I called Mal to let him know we’d be over soon. As expected, he was happy about our pending arrival.





Chapter 5


Malcolm