“Hello, hello!” he booms cheerfully. His style matches Mrs. Taylor’s. He’s wearing jeans and a Grateful Dead T-shirt. He has a long dark beard streaked with gray and a full head of hair to match, which is pulled back in a ponytail. He has kind, twinkly eyes, the kind that looks like they’re always smiling.
Mrs. Taylor bustles over to the man nervously. “Madison, Maddox, this is Richard,” she introduces the man. “Richard, this is my beautiful daughter, Madison, and her friend, Maddox.”
“Call me Richie,” says the man, smiling and extending a hand for Madison and me to shake.
I shake his hand warmly and say, “Nice to meet you, Richie,” but Madison just stares at him.
“Mom, what’s this?” she says shakily.
“Oh, honey, don’t be rude!” says Mrs. Taylor, sounding even more nervous. “Richie is our guest for dinner, just like Maddox! Now, let’s sit down and eat while we get to know each other, shall we?”
Madison closes her eyes and holds up a hand for silence, as if her mother’s words are hurting her ears. “What is this about, Mom? Why is he here and what is the news you said you have to tell me?”
“Um, well… The thing is, sweetie…” Mrs. Taylor says, twisting her hands nervously.
That’s when I notice the ring.
Uh-oh.
Madison spots it at the same time I do.
“What’s that?” she spits, snatching her mom’s left hand and holding it up to inspect it. Madison’s mom is wearing lots of rings on multiple fingers, which is probably why neither of us saw it right away, but on the third finger of her left hand is a big sparkly diamond flanked by two smaller blue stones.
“Well, um… Surprise!” says Mrs. Taylor weakly, throwing up her hands in a “ta-da!” motion. “We’re engaged!”
“You’re what?” Madison says, her voice breaking as she bursts into tears and runs out of the room.
“Oh no,” sighs Mrs. Taylor while Richie moves to console her.
“I told you this wasn’t the best way to tell her,” he mutters, rubbing her shoulders. Poor guy. “We should’ve eased her into it, let her get to know me first.”
“I thought she’d be happy for me…for us,” says Mrs. Taylor, sounding genuinely bewildered.
I’m so angry with Mrs. Taylor that I have to take a breath to steady myself. I need to go after Madison, but I can’t leave this room without saying something to her. I search my brain for the right words, then say, slowly and quietly, “Mrs. Taylor, thank you so much for inviting me into your home, and I’m honored to meet you. But don’t you think you could’ve given your daughter more warning than this? You can’t just spring some guy on her that she’s never met and say you’re getting married. How do you think that makes her feel?”
Mrs. Taylor puffs up, looking offended. “Well, young man, I don’t expect you to understand my relationship with my daughter, but I do expect her to be happy that I’ve finally found somebody after all these years alone!”
“You weren’t alone!” I say, exploding. “From the sound of it, Madison’s been taking care of you ever since her dad died! Did you ever think it’s not all about you? Why don’t you start taking care of your daughter and put her feelings first!”
And with that, I storm out to find Madison, who is sitting on the front steps, crying.
I sit down next to her and pull her close.
“It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay,” I murmur soothingly into her hair.
“How can she do this? I’ve never even met the guy!” Madison wails. “I don’t know the first thing about him! Does he have kids? Are they going to move away? Am I going to lose my mom now too?” Her tears keep flowing, and my heart aches for her.
“It’s shitty, I know,” I admit. “And I should tell you, I kind of went off on her in there a little bit. I’m afraid I didn’t make the best impression, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she sniffles, leaning her head against my shoulder. “I probably didn’t make the best impression on Richie either.”
I laugh. “I think he probably understands.”
We sit there until Madison collects herself, and I notice her mother doesn’t come outside to check on her. At one point, Richie tries to come through the front door, looking concerned, but I wave him away. I don’t think Madison is ready to hear from him just yet, but it’s nice of him to try.
“So, what do you want to do now?” I ask gently, stroking her hair.
“I’m not going back in there,” she says angrily. “I can’t even look at her.”
“Okay, we don’t have to,” I say. “But I’m still starving. Let’s grab a pizza and a movie and go home, okay?”
“Home?” she asks, looking up at me sadly.
“My place, I mean,” I correct myself.
“Okay,” she agrees, standing up. “That sounds nice.”
I spend the rest of the evening trying to cheer her up. I let her pick the pizza and the movie, and even massage her feet while we watch. When it’s time for bed, I draw her a bath and set out some of my sweats and a T-shirt.
“You’re more than welcome to stay here,” I say honestly. “I love having you, but I understand if you want to be alone now. I can take you back to your place. Up to you.”
“I don’t think I want to be alone right now,” she says in a small voice. “If you really don’t mind, I’ll stay here.”
I smile hugely.
“You can stay with me for as long as you want.”
15
Madison
Things with Maddox are going so well, I almost can’t believe it.
We have settled into a routine where instead of studying and doing homework at home or the library, I do it at his house. In fact, unless I’m working at the pro bono office, I’m always at his house. He lets me work in peace and even helps me study, and since he’s one of the founders of his company, he can work from home with me whenever he feels like it. It’s blissful and domestic, and I’m still managing to keep my grades up and stay on top of things at work. Besides when my dad was alive, and despite the argument with my mom, I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.
I’m spending most nights with him too. Sometimes we even sleep.
I’ve never had anything like this before. I’ve never been in a real relationship, never had anything with a guy that lasted more than one night. Sure, plenty of guys have been interested and asked me out, but like I told Maddox, it’s just never been the right time. Between taking care of my mom and pursuing my passion for law, there’s never been room for anything or anyone else.
We still haven’t talked about what it is, exactly, that we’re doing together. He hasn’t called me his girlfriend, and honestly, I’m not even sure I want him to. Putting a label on things and making a commitment would be a change for me, and between my mom’s engagement and Maddox becoming such a big part of my life now, I’m not ready for any more changes. I like things just the way they are (with Maddox, at least).