Page 50 of A Promise Through Time
“What could be so wrong that you can’t work it out with him? What did he do?”
“He let me believe Sionaid had been his wife. He lied to me.”
“They weren’t married? I’m so sorry. We were all shocked to hear that he had a wife, I guess that’s why.”
“He admitted that when I first arrived he would have done or said anything to get me to help with the baby, but we moved past that, I thought. He had plenty of time to come clean and tell me the truth but he didn’t. And not only that, I found out she probably didn’t tell him about the baby because he had already moved on to another conquest. He is nothing but a player and I don’t need someone like that in my life.”
“Oh, Tina. That is awful.”
“I guess you were right all along,” Tina said. “He wasn’t the right one for me.”
“Tina, I don’t want to be right about this. I saw your feelings for him grow and if there’s one thing I do know, it’s if you think there was something there, something that attracted you, then you shouldn’t let that go so easily.”
“I don’t know if I can trust him. How long until I am just tossed aside like those other women?”
“I know. I’m not excusing that. What I am saying is talk to him about it. Talk until you don’t think you can talk anymore. It is completely possible for people to learn from their mistakes.”
“I’ve been lied to so many times by guys. I would have to worry everyday that he wasn’t being honest, that he didn’t want me any more. How can I ever trust him again?”
“Have you ever lied to someone? I know I have. Or have you ever lied by omission?”
Tina thought about that for a moment. She knew what Ashley was getting at. “Of course I’ve lied. We all have.”
“So, does that mean that everyone should cut you from their lives? Does that mean that you can never be trusted? I get it, Donal has a history. But that doesn’t mean he wants to be that guy forever. He never found a person he wanted to change for, maybe now he has.”
“I know what you’re trying to do and I appreciate it, but in this case, I’m not so sure I can just let this go.”
“I think if you hold every man you ever meet to such a high standard, you’re always going to be disappointed. That’s all I’m going to say.”
That hit pretty close to home. Tina knew she had high standards when it came to men. Was there something wrong with that? Maybe there was. It could be the reason she’d never had a serious romance. Not one. She wanted so much to be part of a couple. To have someone to share her life with and yet Tina wasn’t sure she could change or that she should.
“I’m going to bring this back to the kitchen,” Tina said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
If it was possible, she walked away from Ashley feeling even worse than she had before. Why was it that once she’d dug her heels in it was impossible for her to do anything but keep digging? She thought about all the times she’d cut men loose because their motives weren’t what she thought they should be. When was the last time she’d had more than two dates with the same guy? Wasn’t that why she was here? Self-reflection wasn’t her strong suit. She had a very hard time admitting when she was wrong and so she almost never did.
Mary was hard at work, as always. “Good morning,” she said, placing the basket on the table.
“Good morn to ye, lass. How’s the babe?”
“She was cool to the touch this morning, but I’m worried the fever will come back later in the day.”
“Aye. ’Tis good to be cautious. How’s yer man, Donal holding up?”
“He’s not my man and he was sleeping when I checked in on them.”
“Poor thing. I ken I’m hard on him, but deep down he’s a good man. I can see it when he’s with ye and with the babe.”
Hearing Mary’s words warmed Tina’s heart a bit. She knew Donal wasn’t a terrible person, but with everything she now knew, it was making it very hard for her to see.
“I was wondering if you could put something together for me to bring back for them.”
“And what of ye? Do ye never eat?”
“I’ll have some of that good bread if you have any?”
“I’ve always got bread for ye. Do ye like fruit?”
“Yes, very much.”
