Page 87 of Bend
“It’s just weird.”
“You think that means I’m going to continue to sugar-coat things for you?”
“No, it’ll just take some getting used to.”
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Cassie’s having a girl.”
I beamed at her. “Yeah? That’s awesome.”
For some reason, it was that bit of news that made it hit home—I was going to be an uncle. My little sister was going to be a mom. I was going to be uncle to a little girl and bound to spoil her rotten.
She nodded. “Now, you’re the oldest—where’s your contribution?”
My mouth dropped open. “Who just told me to make sure I use a condom?”
She shrugged. “What can I say? I want grandbabies.”
“Unbelievable. Why didn’t you ever say anything before?”
“I liked Monica in the beginning, but she was very self-centered and turned out to be a lying, cheating whore. She wouldn’t have been a good mother.”
I leaned back in shock. Amazing how the truth came out from those close to you on how they felt about your girlfriend once the relationship was over. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“She used you.” She leaned back and settled into the chair, a mischievous smile spreading on her face. “Have I ever told you how your father and I met?”
I nodded and sat back as well, wondering where she was headed. “At a party in college.”
“That was where, but not the how.”
My brow scrunched. “Okay.”
“My sophomore year, my friend Beth took me to a party. From the moment I walked in, my skin crawled. Not in a bad way, but it tingled.”
I knew exactly what she meant—I’d experienced it at a growing rate for days.
“We made it into the kitchen, and my eyes locked on a gorgeous set of blue eyes, then bam!” Her eyes were bright before softening.
“I remember Dad saying he got caught in that moment.” The memory was a fond one, my father describing the emotion that came over him. When I was a kid, it was like a fairy tale for boys as he explained to me that cooties weren’t such a bad thing.
“There’s a lot he didn’t tell you. But I have to ask—did you ever feel anything like that, what you do with this girl, with Monica?”
I shook my head. “There was attraction, just like with every girl I dated before her.”
Mom was more animated during our conversation than I’d seen her in weeks or months. “That right there tells me there could be so much more with this girl.”
“Why?”
“Because half an hour after I entered the door to that house, I was in the bathroom having sex with your father, and I didn’t even know his name.”
My jaw dropped open. “Wait, what?”
“And his girlfriend of a year had come to the party with him.”
“Holy shit! Seriously?”
She chuckled. “No, but that’s the way I always thought it would’ve gone if he hadn’t been in a relationship.”
I blew out a hard breath. She was trying to kill me. “What did happen then?”
