“I agree to hear her out.”
A low chuckle left his mouth. I listened to someone speaking in the background, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. “I have to go, but look, just go out to eat, get a free meal out of it, and hear Moms out. She’s a little blunt but it comes from a good place. She cares about those she loves and sometimes goes overboard. I already told her not to be stressing you out and be on any bullshit when she got there, okay? So for me, go out with her with an open mind.”
Sighing, I dropped my shoulders forward and closed my eyes. “Okay. For you, I’ll hear her out. But Yosiah, the moment she starts being disrespectful, I’m done. I’ve dealt with it for too long and I’m not doing it anymore.”
“That’s fair. But I assure you, you won’t have any issues. Now I have a meeting with my lawyers I’m walking into. Enjoy lunch and I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Okay, see you later. Love you.”
Silence passed between us and it took a second for me to realize what I had just confessed. My eyes shot open and I quickly hung the phone up and thrust it on my countertop. My heart hammered inside me and my pulse raced through my veins as my stomach swished with nerves.
Love you?
What the hell was I thinking? The words had been lingering on my mind for a while now, but this was the first time I’d actually spoken them out loud. I didn’t even think we were in the place to be saying it, and maybe it was too soon, but I couldn’t help that my feelings for Yosiah were growing stronger each day.
Fuck.
I shook my head. I didn’t want to do anything that would cause me and Yosiah to go back into muddy waters. I was sure he didn’t love me yet and I didn’t want to force anything on him anymore. I was now allowing things to develop between us at his pace instead of trying to force and rush them like I had been doing since meeting him.
My phone vibrated on the countertop but I ignored it and silenced it instead. I wasn’t ready to face what I’d confessed just yet. Instead I was going to prepare myself to have my first one-on-one with my monster-in-law and hoped everything went as well as Yosiah assured me it would.
After taking my time to get ready and coming downstairs to unfortunately see my monster-in-law was still downstairs waiting for me, I sucked it up and left with her. We ended up coming to a brunch spot not too far from my house that was only open until two, meaning our time would be limited, since it was now a little after twelve.
There was an awkward silence at the table while we waited for our food to come. I sipped my strawberry lemonade as I scanned the crowded patio. The brunch rush was kicking in and we were lucky to get here when we did.
Zoya clearing her throat caused me to whip my eyes in her direction. We stared at each other for a short moment before she broke the silence between us.
“Well now that we’re here, I guess it’s time we clear the air between us,” she started while I slowly nodded in agreement. Zoya sat up straighter, giving me that same intense stare her son had. “I can admit that I could have handled receiving your pregnancy news better than I did. I know the relationshipbetween you and my son has been rocky from the beginning and it was from my understanding that the two of you weren’t planning on having kids. So learning you were expecting caught me off guard.”
“What I don’t understand is why me and my husband having a child would make you so upset?”
She pressed her lips together and cut her eyes into slits. “I’m the first to admit that I may be a bit overprotective when it comes to Yosiah. Even though he’s a grown man, I still treat him like he’s the kid I had to put a Band-Aid on when he was learning to ride a bike. I had a hard time getting pregnant, I don’t know if you know that, but Yosiah was mine and Alonzo’s miracle baby. With the complications of getting pregnant came complications with birthing him, making him the only child I was able to conceive and birth. So his whole life I spoiled him and made a promise I would protect him. When I learned the circumstances of your marriage, it rubbed me wrong because my son was being forced into something he didn’t ask for nor did he want due to his father’s carelessness. One thing I don’t play about is my family, Xylina. You mess with them and I take it personally. Yosiah didn’t deserve to have to pay for his father’s mishaps. I knew my son would take his vows seriously, no matter if they were real or fake, because that’s how we raised him. I also knew what he wanted out of life and that being in this fake marriage with you wouldn’t get it. So to answer your question, that’s why I was upset. Seeing that you’re becoming a mother soon, you’ll see that all we want is the best for our kids and anyone who messes with them instantly becomes an enemy of ours.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, processing her explanation. I could understand where she was coming from. My baby wasn’t even here yet and I might not be a fighter, but I would fuck someone up over it already. I knew my previous actions didn’t win me any cool points with Yosiah’s parents. Even if his dadwas cordial, I was sure I wasn’t his favorite person, and sadly I couldn’t be mad at them for that. But still…
“I can understand your reasoning. In the beginning, my intentions with Yosiah were one hundred percent selfish and superficial, but that’s not the case anymore. I’ve developed true feelings for your son and the two of us have agreed to give thisfake marriageas you call it a real shot. Now we’re bringing a child into the mix and I know Yosiah wants you to be a part of our kid’s life and it would even be nice for me to get along with at least one of my child’s grandparents and have their support. I don’t know anything about being a mom and I didn’t have the best example of one growing up either, so being on the outs with you isn’t ideal for me. But I can’t let you continue to degrade me. I don’t want anyone like that around my baby.”
Her mouth twitched and she folded her hands on the table just as the server came back with our food. My stomach rumbled as I inhaled the stuffed crème brûlée French toast, grits, fresh fruit, and sausage I got. I wish I could stomach eggs, but just the thought made me feel nauseous.
After dismissing the waiter, we lowered our heads and blessed the food. My mouth was practically watering as I poured syrup on my French toast.
We grew quiet again, getting lost in our food.
After a while, Zoya cleared her throat again and began speaking. “Since it seems you’re going to be around regardless if you and my son are together or not, I do agree that the two of us should come to a mutual understanding and get along.”
I wiped my mouth and nodded. “I agree.”
“I was behaving like a child, so I can apologize for my previous actions. And if you’re willing to forgive me, I would like to start over. My son told me a little about your relationship with your parents and it’s unfortunate but I don’t want to be another adult in your life that lets you down. As long as my son is happyand the two of you are agreeing to make it work, you won’t have any more issues out of me.”
It wasn’t the welcome warm truce I’d hope for, but for Zoya I was sure it was as good as it got. Plus I wasn’t looking to be best friends with her or form a mother-daughter relationship with her, so I could accept it.
“I accept your apology. As I said, I care about Yosiah a lot. We have worked things out and understand each other better than in the beginning. Whatever issues the two of us might have in the future, we’ll figure it out, betweenthe two of us,” I made sure to emphasize.
A smirk split Zoya’s face. It was the closest thing to a smile I’d seen since we’d been sitting here. I noticed her and Yosiah were a lot alike in the emotions and personality category.
“Basically you’re saying you want me to mind my business and allow the two of you to work your shit out when needed.”
I lifted my shoulders and brought my glass to my mouth, sipping from the straw to stifle my smile.