Page 90 of A Home for Harmony

“It’s more than dating.” He wanted to at least get that out there. “Scarlet has met her.”

“Wow,” his mother said. “Good for you, Micah. It’s about damn time. Tell us about her.”

This was where things could get tricky, but he might as well be honest.

“Her name is Harmony.”

“That’s a pretty name,” his mother said.

“She’s a pretty girl. Woman,” he corrected. “She’s younger than me. I might as well start there.”

“Okay,” his mother said. “How much younger?”

“Twelve years,” he said, wincing.

“I thought you were going to say she was in college or something,” his mother said, laughing.

“Not that far out of it,” he said. “Actually, she’ll be twenty-seven in a few weeks.”

“That’s pretty far out of college,” his mother said. “What does she do?”

“She owns her own business.”

“Sounds smart and mature, considering you seem nervous about her age. I guess I should ask how long you’ve been dating and how you met.”

He told his mother everything, including Harmony’s online presence to prevent her from being surprised later. “Scarlet knows how I feel about the whole influencer rage, but Harmony isn’t like that.”

At least he was trying to convince himself there was a difference now.

“If she was like that,” his mother said, “then she wouldn’t have gotten this close to you and would not have met your daughter. And you’re not fooling me saying that Scarlet surprised you by coming home one day. You wanted to be caught as an easy way to let her know what was going on in your life. You did that as a kid too.”

He snorted. “Maybe. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. I thought she’d be upset, but she loves Harmony.”

“Do you love Harmony?” his mother asked.

There was no reason to lie. “I do. It feels odd. Different.”

“Different from what you felt for Trinda?” his mother asked.

“Yeah. It’s not the same and I don’t need a lecture that it shouldn’t be since that didn’t last.”

“I’m not sure you really loved Trinda, but you did the right thing. I think you got too much pressure from her parents andyour father. Maybe everyone should have stepped back and let you figure it out on your own.”

It was the first his mother had said that. “You were right there with Dad.”

“And looking back, I believe we were wrong. I never thought you two were right for each other. You were too far apart.”

“Some might say that about Harmony and me,” he said.

“That’s why you called,” his mother said. “Because you’re beating yourself up over this and your failed marriage. Which we all can say was doomed from the start. You can only fight for so long before something gives.”

“I’m the one who gave.”

“You call it giving up,” his mother said. “I call it being mature enough to save you all the pain coming. Notice how two people can view the same actions differently?”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

“There is no reason to compare the two unless you think they are alike.”