The Perfect Catch by Linda Cajio

Author:Linda Cajio [Cajio, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-79914-2
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Monday evening, just as Anthony was going up to bed, Elaine drew in a deep breath and said, “Anthony, I’ve arranged for you to be over at Steve’s tomorrow night—”

Her son slewed around, staring at her.

She continued calmly, “I’m going out to dinner with Mr. Reed again.”

The surprised silence froze over faster than Hell on vacation at the South Pole.

“You said you would try, remember?” she reminded him.

“But I thought … he acted all funny that time at the game,” Anthony burst out. “And Aunt Cleo said that meant he was dumping you.”

“Aunt Cleo says a lot of things just to be funny,” Elaine told him, hoping she was handling this right. “But, yes, he was … unsure. We both were. We still are. But we … ah, had a long talk this weekend, and we’d like to see each other again.”

“Mom!”

The sheer panic on her son’s face broke her heart.

“Anthony, honey,” she said desperately, before he could throw a fit. “Don’t make this out to be more than it is right now. None of us knows where this is going, and I’m only taking it one day at a time. That’s all it is now. One day at a time. And so should you.”

He didn’t say anything for so long, guilt flared up in her like a sudden forest fire.

“Anthony …”

“Fine.” He whirled away, out the front door.

Elaine sighed, wondering what else she could do to reassure him that the threat he saw wasn’t a threat at all. She was trained to help kids like him deal with exactly these kinds of family issues, yet she felt she was failing miserably with her son. She also wondered if she should have discussed the weekend more with Anthony, maybe told him Graham had spent the night, but his reaction to a simple dinner killed that notion. She was being less than honest, but he wasn’t ready to hear it. If anyone who had noticed Graham’s car had mentioned it to Anthony, he would have brought it up. Probably he would have thrown it in her face. Maybe she should cancel the dinner with Graham.…

Resentment flared up. Why couldn’t she have a little bit for herself? She wasn’t being selfish to want a private life. In trying to compensate for the missing parent, she had sacrificed a lot for Anthony, including long-denied needs. Now someone had come along, and no matter how tenuous the relationship, it was one she wanted to pursue. And the sooner Anthony got used to his mother having a private life, the better. One day at a time, she told herself firmly.

But the days stretched out deliriously endless, and she knew in her heart she was way past one day at a time. She couldn’t stop herself either. Not from the moment she’d opened her front door to him … the first time.

When Anthony came in later, he didn’t say a word, just stomped up to his room. Elaine sighed again and let him go. He needed time to deal with this, and so did she.

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