Page 13 of Sweeter than Honey
“Don’t call me that,” I reply, putting my purse on the kitchen counter. “Who let you in?”
“You used tolikethat nickname,” he responds, running a hand through his tousled hair. I see a glint of gold on his finger and my chest tightens.
“Why are you still wearing your ring, Dylan?” I ask. “You should take it off.”
“Nothing’s over ’til it’s over,” he says, with a frustratingly cocky tilt of his chin.
“We’reover,” I reply. I wish my voice sounded more assertive and less defeated, but I’m exhausted after my long shift, and surprised by my ex-husband’s sudden appearance. “And you should leave.”
“I have a right to see my son, Lily,” he says, a little more serious now. His lawyer voice breaking through.
“Don’t you have to go to work?” I say, eying his suit.
His eyebrow twitches, and his words become more sharp. “Not yet. I want to talk to you about Eli.”
I wish I could just kick him out of my apartment, but I know that trying to force him will just make things worse. It’s better to appease him. I know he’ll get in trouble with his firm if he’s late, so he won’t stay much longer.
“What are all these little horse toys?” he asks.
“They’re ponies.”
Dylan frowns. “Aren’tponiesmore of a girl toy? They’re all pink and rainbow-coloured…”
“He likes them. There’s nothing wrong with him playing with pony dolls.”
“Notnow. But he’s going to start school in September. If the other kids see him playing with rainbow ponies, they’ll think he’s girly. We should take them away now, before he gets bullied.”
“You’rebullying him,” I retort. “I’m not taking his toys away, he loves them! I don’t need you to tell me how to parent. I can take care of him…”
“This is exactly why youcan’ttake care of him,” Dylan says, moving closer to me. I take a step back, but that only antagonizes him. His voice rises. “You buy him girly toys and pink pajamas. Boys don’t wear things like that. Eli needs amanin his life. He needs his father.”
He’s now standing so close to me, I can feel the heat radiating off of his body. He always runs hot, figuratively and literally. His proximity makes my heart pound, and I find myself tongue-tied. But it’s safer to wait him out, let him run out of steam on his own.
My strategy works. Dylan looks at his watch. “I have to go to work. But this isn’t over, Lily.”
He storms out of the apartment, without even saying goodbye to Eli.
It takes me a moment to calm myself again. After a few deep breaths, I go into the bedroom. As suspected, my mother is fast asleep on my bed, her blond hair in curlers.
“Mom,” I say, shaking her shoulder. “Mom, wake up!”
She snorts as she awakens abruptly. “Lily! You’re home.”
“Yes,” I say, irritated. “And guess who I found when I got home.”
My mother sits up with a huff. “I told him to leave before you got back.”
“Whydid you let him in at all? I told you I’m not speaking withhim.”
“He’s Eli’sfather, for goodness sakes, Lily. He’s not the Devil. He deserves to be able to see his own son.”
“He does see Eli, on the weekends, when he’s supposed to. I don’t want him hanging around the apartment…”
“Well,youweren’t home, and my hip was bothering me, so I called him to help. Sue me for being an injured old woman!”
I leave the room with a frustrated sigh. I’m obviously not getting anywhere with her. And I’m probably not going to. Dylan, my ex-husband, is the son of my mom’s best friend. He can do absolutely no wrong in her eyes. It’s been that way since we were kids. He was always the golden boy. We saw each other occasionally as kids, and we started dating when we attended the same pre-law program in university. But he went to law school, and I ended up at home, taking care of our son.
That was the beginning of the end.