All was quiet when I woke up this morning. Either our guests were still asleep, they finally realized how rude it was to carry on like that in someone else’s house, or they finally worked it out. I got up and stepped downstairs cautiously, peaking around the corner at Mama’s chill spot/office. The coast was clear, so I carried on into the kitchen where I found Mama stewing with anger! Her eyebrows were sharp and down-turned, and her face was so red. Every alarm in my body was blaring, and I think I could have hurt someone. I had never seen her in such a state. Ever! She’s so cheerful and loving; it takes a lot to get her out of character.
“Mama?? What happened? What’s wrong?”
“You won’t have to worry about Lucy and Duane anymore,” she said.
“Okay…but what happened? I’ve never seen you like this.”
It kinda scared me, actually.
She took several deep breaths to calm her nerves enough to explain. “They fought all day, Luca. All day! After you left with your dad, I walked in on them fighting…like fist fighting!”
“WHAT?! He put his hands on her??”
“Well…I’m sure she started it. I know him and his family. He wouldn’t do that. But later on, I saw him yelling at Tofu! I threw them out right then.”
It amused me that someone yelling at the dog was the last straw and not them coming to blows, but I was too upset to even think about laughing.
“I just can’t believe how they’ve behaved all week! How could they treat me this way?”
My heart went out to her. She has a lot of friends, yet she doesn’t really hang out with anyone. And for her to extend this kindness to Lucy meant she must have really valued their friendship. I’ve never had anyone take advantage of me like that. I still wanted to know what their deal was, though. Maybe she’ll tell me now.
I followed her into the office and sat next to her.
“Mama? I, ummm…I’m not trying to be nosy, but…what’s up with them? Why have they been fighting?”
“I don’t know, buddy,” she said sharply.
My shoulders and everything deflated in defeat. The mystery would never be solved now.
“She never said why they wanted to stay here,” she continued, “but they do have problems.”
My eyes flicked open in anticipation of a tiny piece of the puzzle. Maybe with enough small fragments, I could put the entire thing together.
“She and I were alike. All we ever wanted was a couple of kids. Whenever they talked about having children, he’d tell her he wasn’t ready. One time, he agreed, and she was so excited. She stopped her birth control and everything. But when it was time to start trying for a baby, he backed out, and it devastated her. She never stopped trying to convince him, though, even well into our adult days. But the whole time this was going on, he had a child he didn’t know about until the girl was grown and married.”
“He was cheating on her??”
“No. It might not seem like it, especially how he’s acted this week, but he’s a good man. He had a one-night stand like right after he graduated and right before he and Lucy started dating, and the girl got pregnant. They didn’t know each other, so she couldn’t tell him. The daughter wanted to know him and tracked him down.”
“So…I guess Lucy didn’t take the news well.”
“Who would? Sure, it’s not like he hid it from her or anything. The girl just showed up at their house one day, so they found out at the same time. But this was way after our birthday, during that now or never period.”
“What do you mean?”
“Our childbearing window closes, Luca. You men can make babies until you die. But women…we all hit an age where we’re still young enough to carry a baby, but it might not be a good idea. Adult pregnancies are hard. And you have so many other things to consider besides the baby like, your age, who’s gonna raise the child if you die…it’s so stressful. That’s where Lucy was when she found out about Duane’s daughter.”
“Damn. That had to sting. It’s like she finally got her wish, but the child is a grown woman.”
“Yeah. Exactly. And Duane, after all those years of saying he wasn’t ready, he suddenly became father of the year, spending holidays with her and all that family stuff. It ate Lucy up inside. She felt like she’d been robbed. Scammed, really.”
I had no intentions of impregnating anyone, but what if I did? What would I do? How would I handle it? What if I was like Duane and didn’t find out I had a child until I was almost an old man? Their situation is so complicated because neither of them is guilty. It just sucks.
Suddenly Mama’s expression changed.
“I had an idea the other day I wanted to talk to you about!”
I suppose we did have enough tea for the entire year, heh. No need to keep dwelling on other people’s problems.
“I’m not trying to control your life, but I really think if you gave this yoga thing a shot, you’d be brilliant at it. You already are!”
Okay… That was nothing I’d never heard before. And I already decided I would try. I thought she knew this. But she continued.
“You spend so much time at the gym trying to get someone to notice you. Why don’t you just put yourself out there and teach classes here?”
Can’t say that had ever crossed my mind.
“At the house?” I asked.
“Yeah! In the yard. There’s plenty of room. When you get to the point where the yard is too small, you can rent a place or something. And then later on you can buy a place. Your own studio, Luca!”
My own studio… That had a really nice ring to it. I could always count on Mama to have bigger dreams for me than I had for myself. It made sense though, seeing as she’s an entrepreneur herself.
“Everyone you’ve led through a routine has enjoyed it. And look at what you did with Alessia! She didn’t care about anything before, but now she cares about her health and body. You did that, Luca. So, instead of waiting for someone to give you permission, why not just do it? Use social media to promote your classes, and at the end of each class, tell everyone to tell their friends about it. Word of mouth is still relevant and very powerful.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” I said. “Not bad at all. I’m kinda mad I didn’t think of it myself.”
“Well, that’s why I brought it up. You have so much potential. You’re still very young, but I don’t want to see you waste your life away waiting around for your turn. You’ve got lives to change!”
