“Did he ever get to see your mom before she—?”
“He did. It was difficult for both of them, especially with the way she left him when he was so young.”
“And you didn’t even know you had a brother until you were, what? Twenty?”
“Almost twenty-one.”
“I never knew how something like that could happen. I always wanted a brother or sister because I was so alone growing up. If I’d found out, only after I was an adult, that I had a brother or sister, I don’t know that I could have forgiven my parents.” She poked her head around the curtain. “Yet you’ve always seemed very calm about that.”
“Because I was.”
“But not Eric?”
“He had a lot of resentment, even after he knew the reason our mother walked away. I think being a married man with a family of his own has made it better for him. And I can’t even begin to understand what it would be like having a mother who walked away from me. But that’s what our mother did.”
“And you don’t resent her for keeping her secret?”
“What I resent was that Eric’s dad put her in the position that forced her to keep secrets from her sons. I don’t blame her for what she did, and in time I don’t think Eric will either.”
“But the good news is you have a brother.”
“And the relationship between us is getting better. Can’t say that it’s great yet. Especially since we live in two totally different worlds. But it’s nice knowing he’s out there.”
“So, did your mother ever tell you why? Or am I getting too personal?”
“It’s personal, but you lived through some of the ups and downs of it, so you have a right to know.”
She came around the curtain, with her hair up in a ponytail the ways she’d always put it up at night, but instead of the cute nightwear she used to wear—short shorts, barely there belly shirts—she was wearing knee-length cargo pants, a baggy T-shirt and boots. Still cute, in its own special way.
“She tried legally for partial custody, but Eric’s father wanted his legacy and my mother was only the means by which he could get what he wanted. After he had his son, he didn’t need her, so he kicked her out. Then after she tried to maintain a place in Eric’s life—let’s just say that in my own dad’s earlier days he wasn’t a saint. He smoked some weed, was arrested a couple of times—although he has no convictions.
“But Eric’s dad found out and used that to threaten my mother—told her he’d expose her husband, my dad, and by that time she’d had me and he also said he’d expose her as an unfit mother for allowing me to be raised by a man like my dad. Things were different back then. My mother was afraid of losing me, and afraid my dad could lose his medical license, even though there were never any real charges brought against him. Eric’s dad had a lot of power and he wasn’t afraid to use it. Also, because she’d been so abused by Eric’s dad to begin with, she simply didn’t have the wherewithal to fight him.
“So, because she feared losing both my dad and me, after she’d already lost Eric, she walked away.” He paused, then sighed. It was a sad sigh that resounded loudly through the hut, filling it with the same sadness. “My mother wasn’t a fighter, Layla. She was a very quiet, undemanding person. And after all she’d already suffered”
“I’m so sorry,” Layla whispered. “You didn’t know this when we were—?”
He shook his head. “My dad only told me the whole story a couple years ago. He kept my mother’s secret for a long time, then finally decided it was time I knew everything.”
“And you told Eric?”
“He had a right to know. He was settling into his new life and I knew he harbored a lot of resentment for our mother, but because his son was our mother’s grandchild, I thought for Riku’s sake—that’s his name—everybody needed to know the truth. And I did want my nephew to know how amazing his grandmother was. She was part of his heritage and he deserves to know the good about her. Eric didn’t want to know, but for the sake of his son I had to tell him.”
“I wish I’d known. Wish I could have helped you. Some things are so difficult when you’re alone. I really am sorry for that.”
“Well, the good news is Eric now has memories of a mother he can be proud of, and Riku has a grandmother who would have loved him more than life itself. He’ll understand that when he’s old enough. Eric will make sure.”
Layla wiped a tear siding down her cheek. “And your father?”
“In Cambodia. Doing well. Running a little clinic in a tourist area.”
“And I thought I had it bad because while I had my parents’ time, I never really had their love. At least, love in the sense that I think parents should have for their children.”
“Maybe they did the best they could, the way my mother did.”
“They do,” she admitted. “But that understanding comes as an adult, not as a child who was simply lonely. Anyway, I’m going to get some sleep. It’s been a long, full day and since Chauncy has vacated my bed now, I think it’s time.”
This time, Arlo lay awake long after Layla was asleep, thinking back on the day. This morning, he’d known someone was coming. Hadn’t known who but wasn’t surprised as Ollie would have sent him only the best. And Layla was the best. It concerned him she was here, but he was also looking forward to the next couple of months with her. No deluding himself about anything, though. She was still Layla, and Layla didn’t belong here. On top of that, she didn’t want to belong here. But over the course of the years there’d been many, many times when he’d wondered what it would be like, having Layla at his side.
Well, for a little while he had that chance, and he was glad about that. What he wasn’t glad about were the feelings that would hit him again once she’d gone. He’d been through that and had been nearly crippled by emotions he’d never expected. It wasn’t until he’d left her that he’d truly realized how much he’d loved her. This time he was smarter. No hearts involved meant no hearts broken. And she was clear that her heart was in her career and nowhere ese. But his? Where was it?
“Damn,” he muttered, as he blew out the kerosene lamp and turned over on his side. Winced because of his back. Then turned again.
“I really do need to look at that,” she said from the other side of the curtain. “Tomorrow. I’ll pencil you in as my first appointment of the day.”
He smiled. She never gave up. That may have been one of the things he’d loved most about her back then. But now?
“Baby’s on the way”
Layla didn’t open her eyes when Arlo’s voice wafted over her. It was a dream. They were cozy in their apartment, cuddled up, studying. Maybe some playing mixed in. And he was explaining
“Contractions just a couple of minutes apart, Layla.”
“Dilated?” she asked, her mind still all snuggly on a sofa back in New York.
“Has been since yesterday, when I checked her.”
She loved his voice when it was all serious. It was deeper, sexier. “Epidural, I’m assuming,” she said.
“We don’t do epidural out here.”
“Better call anesthesia.” He should have already done that. She didn’t understand why he hadn’t.
“Do you want to come with me, Layla?”
“Where?” she asked, her eyes still closed.