“I know just the place.”
* * *
CLOVER SHOULD HAVE kept her phone off. Why did she bother turning it back on? Oh, yeah, Erick. Just in case Erick called her or texted her, she turned her phone back on. As soon as she did, she regretted it.
There they were. Ten text messages—four from her mother, three from her sister, one from her brother and two from her sister-in-law. Three voice mail messages—one from her mother, one from her sister, one from her father. And then there were the emails. One from everybody—father, mother, sister, brother. And all of them wanted to know, “Who’s Erick? How’d you meet him? What’s he like?”
She didn’t want to keep ignoring her family mainly because they wouldn’t shut up until she answered their questions. But if Clover called her mother and told her about Erick, then her mother would tell everyone in the entire family and maybe she would be spared the telephone tsunami.
With a heavy sigh and absolutely no desire to have this conversation whatsoever, Clover sat at her big oak table, the very same one she and Erick had sex on that morning, and called her mother.
“Where have you been?” were her mother’s first words. Not “Hello.” Not “Hi.” Not “There’s my daughter!” This was already a terrible idea.
“Working, Mom. Just working.”
“I thought the nursery was closed for the winter.”
“It is, but I still have to work. There’s billing and payroll. Plus I got an offer—”
“Your father said you’re seeing someone. Is this true?”
Okay, so maybe Clover wouldn’t tell her mother about the buyout offer.
“I am.”
“Well...tell me everything.”
“There’s not much to tell. I’m seeing someone. His name is Erick. With a K. Also a C. A C and a K.”
“How’d you meet him?”
“Through work.”
“What’s he do for a living?” her mother asked, which was code for “How much money does he make?”
“He’s a carpenter. I think that’s what he’d call himself. He does cedar decks and cedar siding. Basically anything with cedar. It has natural insect repelling properties and—”
“Your father tells me this Erick has a daughter. Is that true?”
“I don’t know why Dad or Erick would lie about having a daughter.”
“Clover, I’m only asking because it’s important.”
“How is Erick having or not having a daughter important?”
“You don’t think it’s important?” Her mother sounded horrified.
“It’s important to him. No idea why it’s important to you.”
“If you’re dating him, everything about him is important to me.”
“Wait,” Clover said. “Are you dating him? Or am I dating him?”
“You are my daughter.”
“So we’re both dating him?”
“Clover, I have no idea what’s gotten into you, but I’m not thrilled with this attitude. Why won’t you answer my questions? Is this your new boyfriend’s doing?”
“Yes, my kind, funny, handsome, hardworking, thirty-eight-year-old boyfriend is forcing me against my will to not answer your personal questions.”
“I do hope you’re joking.”
Clover sighed. Heavily. So, so heavily.
“Yes, Mom. I’m joking. Erick isn’t here. He’s at work. We met at the nursery. We like each other. Nothing is serious yet. You’ll meet him on Thanksgiving. That’s all you could possibly need to know about him and me and us. Isn’t it?” Clover decided to put her mother on the defensive. Better to ask questions than be interrogated.
“I don’t know about that. Your father said Erick was at your house at eight thirty this morning.”
“He was fixing my deck. He does that sort of thing. It’s what he does for a living.”
“He didn’t charge you for fixing your deck, did he? That’s not very—”
“Oh, my God, no. He didn’t charge me. He’s a good guy. You should be happy I’m seeing him.”
“Of course we’re happy you’re dating anyone, dear.”
Clover didn’t reply to that. Perhaps if she clammed up and said nothing her mother would get the hint. And a comment like that didn’t deserve a reply. They’d be happy with her dating anyone? Anyone at all? A random dude off the internet? An ex-con with neck tattoos of AK-47s? A suspected serial killer? Anyone?
“It’s very interesting that you don’t want to talk about him. Your first boyfriend in a very, very long time and you don’t want to discuss him?”
“He’s not my first boyfriend in a very, very long time.”
“You’ve dated other people without telling us?”
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility. I am thirty years old. I do get to have a private life, don’t I?”
“You act like I’m interrogating you.”
“You are.”
“All your father and I care about is your happiness.”
“That’s all you care about? Not Kelly or Hunter or your jobs or each other? Just my happiness?”
“You know perfectly well what I mean. The only reason I ask you these questions is because we care about you. We want you to be happy.”
“I’m happy. Nothing else to see here.”
“You still haven’t told me about this girl of Erick’s. How old is she?”
“She’s seventeen. She’s also my assistant at the nursery.”
“Seventeen? That’s awfully old.”
“When did seventeen become old? What does that make you and me?”
“Seventeen is old when that’s the age of your boyfriend’s child. If he has a teenager, he might not want any other children. Have you thought about that?”
“Why on earth would I think about that?”
“You shouldn’t be dating someone who doesn’t want to have children.”
“He has a daughter. Obviously he wants children, otherwise he’d have given full custody to his ex-wife. He didn’t. He has full custody of Ruthie and he lets Ruthie visit her mom whenever she wants. Because he’s a great dad.”
“Clover, honey, you aren’t understanding me. I’m sure he’s a wonderful father to his girl. But if he has a teenager, he probably won’t want to have a baby. He might not be a great choice to be the father of your children.”
“Fine. Ruthie’s fantastic. If she were my stepdaughter, I’d be thrilled. Although we are getting ahead of ourselves. He hasn’t proposed yet. I haven’t even been to his house yet.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do mean it. He comes to my house.”
“No, I mean, you don’t mean that you’d be happy to be only a stepmother.”
“Pretty sure I meant that. You don’t know Ruthie. She’s a pretty amazing kid. And by kid I mean forty-five-year-old CEO trapped in the body of a teenage girl. She really could take over the nursery if I stepped down.”
“She sounds wonderful. A delight. And we are all thrilled you’re seeing someone, but—”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why are you all thrilled I’m seeing someone? That’s not something for you all to be thrilled about me. Me being thrilled makes sense. It’s pretty normal behavior for an unmarried thirty-year-old grown woman to go out on dates.”
“We’re thrilled because we want you to be—”
“Happy. Yes. You want me to be happy.”
And boy, was she happy right now. Happy happy happy. So freaking out of her mind happy she could scream.
“Your happiness is so important to me and your father. But happiness is more than just enjoying yourself. You do have to think about the future. You have to consider things like whether the men you date will want to have children.”
“The man I’m dating has a child. He wanted children. He had one.”
“His child. Not your child. Clover, I am a mother and I understand things you don’t. You will never love anyone on earth like you love your own babies. You need to think about these things when you’re choosing a life partner. You can’t just date anyone you like.”
“A life partner? Did you miss that portion of the conversation where I said I’ve never been to Erick’s house? We’re not quite at life partner stage.”
“He must not be that serious about you if he hasn’t invited you over yet.”
“Or maybe he’s very serious about me and he just likes my house better.”
“So he comes over to your house a lot?”
“Mom, I have to go. Erick’s calling. We’re figuring out dinner plans.”
“I didn’t hear your phone beep.”
“I did,” Clover said. “Gotta go. Love you, Mom.”
“Clover, we’re not done talking. You call me back as soon as you’re off the phone with him.”
“I have to get ready for dinner. I’ll see you on Thursday.”
“Clover—”
“Thursday, Mom.”
“Clover Greene—”
“Yup, that’s my name all right. Bye!”
8
CLOVER HUNG UP on her mother. She’d never done that before. She’d never hung up the phone on her own mother. If only she could say it felt good, but it didn’t feel good. Quite honestly, she felt like shit. Thrilled? Her family was thrilled she was dating someone? That would make sense if she’d been in a car accident and the doctors said she wouldn’t survive and, lo and behold, six months later she was walking, talking and dating again. That would be an accomplishment. That would be something to be thrilled about. And all that stuff about Erick and babies? Where did her mother get off saying she shouldn’t date a man with a teenage daughter? Her mother knew nothing about Erick. Erick could want zero babies or twenty babies and her mother wouldn’t know. Clover didn’t even know if Erick wanted more children. Clover didn’t know and Clover didn’t care. All she cared about was surviving the holiday without losing her mind, and if this was how her family was going to act, she might as well check herself into the hospital and stay there until January 2.