“Did Olivia tell you she wants a quick engagement?” June asked. She’d expected it would be at least a year before they got married. Give them some time to get to know each other. Give June some time to get used to the idea. “She didn’t mention that to me.”
Chloe delivered her signature smirk to June. “She was a little busy dealing with your cross-examination. Where did you get some of those insane questions? Overbearing parents dot com? ‘Do your religious beliefs line up’? Really? We don’t go to church. And I can’t believe you asked if she was pregnant. Doesn’t that violate some law?”
June exhaled and looked at Fiona, who was grinning. Not a mother herself, Fiona always told June how much she loved watching her with her daughters—especially when they were sparring. “What? Am I going to be canceled now?” June had been worried that she’d come on too strong with Olivia, and now she had confirmation.
“No. But I think you pissed her off,” Chloe said.
June winced. This was bad. When the girls said that, it meant they’d had it with June or William. Why hadn’t she left the bad-cop role to their father like she usually did? “Is she okay? Should I call her back?”
“Chill. She’s fine. She’s in love. Even you can’t ruin that,” Chloe said sharply.
“Chloe!” Fiona shot her a look. “Tell your mom you’re only teasing.”
“Mom, I’m messing with you,” Chloe said obediently. “But seriously, relax, okay?”
Of her two daughters, Chloe was the one with the harsher tongue, often causing arguments when her tone or intent was misunderstood. She was also the far more rebellious of the two—Olivia had been the more cautious child. Had anyone asked June, she’d have bet her life savings that it would be Chloe, not Olivia, who threw a wrench into the spokes of her carefully planned future.
“I’ll try not to ruin everything,” June replied evenly.
Chloe ignored her mom’s comment, leaving June to wonder what else Olivia had said. “So, Olivia low-key needs a favor from us. To tell Dad. Hold on while I get him on FaceTime.”
Fiona stood up quickly. “I think that’s my cue to grab another cup of coffee,” she said before disappearing inside the house. Chloe plopped down next to June.
June shook her head. This favor was anything but low-key. “What? No way. She should tell him herself.”
“To be fair, Mom, she’s a little scared now after your reaction.”
June was momentarily stung. But she couldn’t argue. She had only her stupid list of premarital counseling questions to blame for this.
Her ex-husband’s face appeared on Chloe’s screen. June moved her lips into the shape of a smile and tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear.
“What’s up?” William asked, his voice brisk but warm. “Everything okay? You haven’t FaceTimed me with your mom since you backed your car into that skate ramp.” A smile ran around his lips as he spoke. William loved to give his youngest a hard time. He and Olivia often butted heads because they were so much alike, but he and Chloe always had an easy rhythm between them.
Chloe shrugged. “How long until you stop bringing that up? It was dusk. They shouldn’t have left it in the middle of the road.”
“So you’ve said,” William retorted as he ran his hand through his thick sandy hair. June spotted the twinkle in his gray eyes.
“Anyway,” Chloe said, drawing out the word dramatically. “We have some major tea on Olivia.”
William’s eyes narrowed. “Tea? Olivia drinks coffee. Or should I say espresso, now that she’s living the Italian life.”
Chloe laughed. “Dad! It means—”
“I’m kidding. I know what it means. The surgical interns told me. So, spill that tea!” William said, a playful look crossing his face. Proud of himself that he knew his daughter’s lingo.
June cringed, knowing William wouldn’t be feeling playful after hearing the news. She worried his feelings would be hurt. Not that he was sensitive, but it was his firstborn daughter getting married. It was hard enough that Olivia had kept Zach a secret from June; June would have curled into a permanent fetal position if Olivia hadn’t told her about the engagement directly. She needed to say something before Chloe did. “It’s good news!” June let that sentiment roll off her tongue, trying it on. Was it good news? It could be. But it could also lead to disaster, like June’s first engagement that destroyed not one but two relationships. Three if she counted the one with her mom, which had never quite recovered.
June rubbed her bare ring finger, remembering her mom’s biting words when she showed off her gold band: “Where’s the diamond?” Her mother had grabbed June’s hand and twisted the ring, as if the gem would suddenly appear.
June swallowed hard so she wouldn’t cry. “It’s all he could afford!” she hissed. June had fought to cling to her happiness, but her mom’s scrutiny was like a worm on a mission, finding its crevice, working its way into June’s mind, becoming all she could think about.
“Olivia is engaged!” Chloe chirped, pulling June from her thoughts.
June saw a flicker of confusion cross her ex-husband’s face. He made eye contact with June, and she gave him a reassuring smile—one that she hoped conveyed, We will get through this together. They’d been less-than-stellar spouses but made great exes. Go figure.
June studied William’s passive expression as Chloe excitedly narrated the romantic proposal and marveled at how William could sit there without interjecting one What? or How? or It’s too soon! But he’d always been that way—able to control his emotions to the point that it sometimes drove June mad. “React!” she would yell in the middle of almost every argument. His lack of emotional response made June feel like she was fighting with herself. And maybe she was. But she’d learned to read his eyes, the tilt of his head, the clenching of his jaw. And it might have been a decade since their divorce, but she still knew this man. He was concerned. And he would be sure to tell Olivia all about it when she did get brave enough to face him.
William looked at June. “What do you think of all this?”
June took a breath. “She seems very happy.”
“You know that’s not what I’m asking.”
“I think she’s an adult, and we have to let her make her own choices, good or bad.” June thought of her own mother again. This was her chance to fulfill the promise she had made to her younger self about her future children. She would protect her kids, but she wouldn’t prevent them from being happy. She wouldn’t interrogate every choice they made. Or ruin the excitement behind their new adventures. She’d be happy for them, trust them. Even if their decisions didn’t make sense to her. If only she’d realized how complicated that might be. It had been an easy vow to make after a heated argument with her mother when she was only twenty-three.
“This isn’t about graduation,” June had asserted when her mom insisted she’d be throwing her degree away. “Or the type of ring he gave me. It could be three carats and it wouldn’t make a difference. You hate him. You always have.”
June’s mom’s expression softened. “I don’t hate him.”