Page 43 of Barron's Second Chance
"I'll get the wine," was all she said before disappearing into the kitchen and opening the fridge.
Eden padded over to their three-seater couch, her movements sluggish as she sank down. She sighed before pulling her hair out of her ponytail and running her fingers through it, hoping it would ease the tension in her body.
She was absolutely drained.
Eden murmured her thanks as her Mom passed her a wine glass before she settled, with her own full glass, in the recliner she had just vacated.
"How do you feel?" She quietly asked.
Eden shrugged as she took a sip of the chilled wine.
"Sad. Relieved that we had it out. Tired. Angry." She leaned her head on the couch's backrest and closed her eyes. "You name it, I feel it."
They were quiet for a few moments before Eden spoke again.
"I also feel -" she stopped, unsure how to express it cohesively.
"What, honey?" Her Mom sat there, quietly observing and letting her get it all out.
"When I asked him why he cheated, his reasons were that he was young and dumb. That he was tempted, insecure about how young we were, peer pressure." She flipped her hand around. "The works."
"Yeah," her Mom slowly encouraged.
She ran a finger around the rim of her glass, watching a stray liquid condensation run down the mouth until it disappeared into the wine.
"It's just like, is thatit? He's been pushing me since I've been back for this moment to explain himself, and all he can give me is that he succumbed to temptation just like millions of other men in his position? I just felt," she paused as she searched for the word.
"Disappointed." her Mom simply said.
"Yes!" She pointed her wine at her Mom, liquid sloshing in the glass.
"Not only because he cheated but because…we had something amazing, or so I thought. If he was going to cheat, I was hoping he would confess that he was actually... I dunno, drugged, blackmailed, forced into it." She threw her hand up in frustration.
"You had him on a pedestal," her Mom finished. "And then you found out he's human like everyone else. It must've brought you down to earth hard."
"That's an understatement," she mumbled into her wine glass.
Her Mom sighed before standing and walking to where Eden was sitting. She sat down next to her daughter and patted her knee.
"Honey, life is not a romance novel. Sometimes people really do just betray each other for stupid and selfish reasons. Sometimes there's just not a perfect explanation. Barron is human, honey. Humans have weaknesses and temptations; unfortunately, he succumbed to those."
She nodded, tears springing into her eyes once more at the thought of their young, innocent love and all they had lost.
"But honey," her Mom continued, "it's the lesson you learn from it that's important. Do I think Barron learned a harsh lesson? Yes. He saw the consequences of his actions - losing you, the big one, but he also lost his friends and the respect of his parents. My respect."
Eden frowned. "How do you feel about him now? Has he changed?"
Her Mom sighed heavily before staring at their blank TV. "I admit, I'm still cool on him after what he did to you all those years ago. I had him on a pedestal, too, I suppose."
She waved her hand. "Oh, he's tried to make amends. To be honest, he's turned into kind of a kiss ass around me," she quipped, and they both giggled.
"But as for him changing - no."
Eden turned to her Mom, her brow raised in question at that statement.
"No, I don't think he's changed much. He's still the same Barron - smart, kind, and, yes, loyal. He got off the rails once, derailed in a big way, but he fixed himself and got back on track."
Eden nodded as she swirled her glass around, the liquid mesmerizing her for a moment.
