Mid Life Love (Mid Life Love #1)(119)

Jonathan

“Mr. Statham? Mr. Statham?” My therapist tapped her notebook.

“Yes?”

“Did you hear what your mother just said?”

“No.”

“She said she’s starting to remember some of the past now. Are you ready to sit over here with us so we can discuss that?”

I stood by my floor to ceiling windows and sighed. “Miss Tate, can we please reschedule this session? I apologize, but I can’t give you my undivided attention today.”

“Not a problem...I’ll have my secretary call Angela in the morning.”

“Thank you.” I heard her gathering her things and walking out the door. I felt a small hand on my shoulder and turned to see my mother looking up at me.

“Are you alright?” She tilted her head to the side. “I’ve never seen you like this...You’ve been moping around for weeks.”

“No. I am not alright.”

“What happened?”

“I—”

“Mr. Statham?” Angela stepped into my office. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but you promised that I could go home early since it’s my birthday and...Well, it’s one o’ clock and you haven’t mentioned—”

“I’m so sorry, Angela. I completely forgot.” I walked over to my desk and pulled out a drawer. I lifted a red gift bag up and handed it to her. “Happy Birthday, I really appreciate everything you do. I told HR that you’ll still need to be paid, but you don’t have to come back until Monday. Enjoy the rest of the week off.”

“What? Thank you! Thank you very much! I’ll make sure a temp will be here for you before I go...Oh, and Mrs. Statham,” she said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a new sPhone. “This came in for you yesterday. I had them give you a new number again.”

“Oh! Well, I finally figured everything out dear. I don’t need any more sPhones. I’ll just keep the number I have.”

“Good, because I think seven numbers is enough.” She laughed. “I’ll see you next Wednesday, Mr. Statham. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome.” I took my place at the window again and sighed.

My mom put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you going to tell me what happened now?”

“Claire left me...”

“What?” She gasped. “When was this?”

“The day after we all had dinner together...”

“Did she say why?”

“Not really.”

She patted me on the back. “I’m so sorry to hear that...Have you tried calling her?”

I didn’t answer. I wanted to call her every day—to ask if she was still out of her damn mind, but I promised to let her go so I left it alone.

“I’ll take that as a no then,” she said, sighing. “Things happen for a reason, son. Maybe you should date someone your own age next. You had to know it wasn’t going to last a long time with an older woman...She probably had an agenda that you didn’t even know about...”

I moved her hand off my shoulder and glared at her. “Thank you, mother. This is really helping.”

“Oh come on! I know you liked her a lot but—”

“But what?”

“Nothing...Just take it from another older woman: These May-December romances aren’t long-term material. I mean, I liked Claire from the moment I met her. I thought she was beautiful, charming, and hell—I would’ve never guessed that she was forty, but that fact remains. At the end of the day, you two are better off apart. You just don’t know it yet... Would you like to eat lunch with me today? We can talk about this for as long as you need to...”

“Sure. But I don’t feel like leaving my office. Could you get that new Italian restaurant’s menu from Angela before she leaves? We’ll order in.”

“Of course.” She stood on her toes and kissed me on the cheek. She patted my back one more time and headed for the door.

As soon as I heard the doorknob turn, something in me snapped and I spun around. “Wait, mom. One second...”

“What is it? You want Chinese instead?”

“How did you know Claire’s first name the day I introduced you two?”

I didn’t know why I’d never caught that before. I’d been playing our breakup and the preceding weeks in my head every day. I was sure it was nothing, but I needed to make sure.

“What are you talking about?”

I walked over. “The day I introduced you to her...Angela said Miss Gracen over the intercom and you asked me who she was referring to. I said my girlfriend, but before I could tell you her first name was Claire, you reached out and said it first. How was that possible?”

“I don’t know. I guess you mentioned her to me before and I happened to remember, so—”

“No. I didn’t.” I noticed that she was shifting her weight from foot to foot. “I never mentioned Claire to you by name. Ever.”

“Maybe you thought you didn’t, but you—”

“I didn’t. Answer me.”

She didn’t say anything. She just stared at me.

“Answer. the. question.”

“Calm down, Jonathan...I think you’re confusing yourself because you’re hurt and angry right now; you shouldn’t be taking this out on me. I’m going to get that menu so we can—”