Resign with Grace, Return with Fire Chapter 30
“Only people with no real ability would believe nonsense like that,” Ariana said.
Warmth spread through my chest at her words. My nose stung; years of pent-up grievance made me pull her into a tight hug. “Being with you is great, Ari.”
Not long after that, I brought Ariana back to my hometown and introduced her to Mom.
Mom’s face lit up with joy when she saw us together, and she nodded approvingly. “This is lovely! Ari is a wonderful woman. You’d better not let her down, Fred!”
Ariana was polite and responded warmly to everything Mom said. She smiled the whole time, too. She even jumped in to help when Mom cooked.
I couldn’t help thinking back to the first time I’d brought Sandra to my hometown. Her expression had gone stiff the moment she’d seen the modest, outdated living conditions, and her every move had dripped with disdain.
When Mom cooked, she’d shown no intention of helping. All she’d done was watch with cold detachment.
Later, when Mom got overwhelmed and asked Sandra to help bring a dish to the table, she looked at Mom’s oil- stained hands with disgust. After setting the plate down, she had made a beeline for the sink and scrubbed her hands with soap no fewer than ten times. ⚫
Some time after that, Mom came to the city to visit Sandra and me, bringing some local specialties. She’d even remembered that Sandra had irregular periods and had thoughtfully brought some herbs to help with that.
But Sandra despised Mom for being from the countryside and was convinced that she would dirty the apartment. She’d had a hideous look on her face the whole time. She’d made Mom wear shoe covers inside and hadn’t allowed her to touch anything in the apartment.
That wasn’t the worst of it. After Mom left, Sandra had tossed the medicinal herbs that Mom had painstakingly gathered from the hills into the trash without hesitation.
“Who even takes herbal concoctions anymore? Modern medicine is the way to go! She’s such a typical hick- superstitious and ignorant!”
I’d had a massive fight with her over that. It was Mom who’d helped smooth things over before we made up.
Mom could tell that Sandra didn’t care for her, so she stopped coming to the city to see me after that. She didn’t want to provoke Sandra and make things worse.
Because of work, I’d been stretched thin and hadn’t had time to go back home to visit Mom.
In hindsight, I’d been a horrible son. I’d hurt my own mother for the sake of a woman.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to make up for that. I still had a chance to make things right.
I headed into the kitchen to help with the cooking. The moment I stepped in, I saw Mom and Ariana chatting and laughing. Ariana had Mom grinning from ear to ear.
My heart warmed. So, this was what it felt like to have found the right person. Maybe this was also what happiness looked like.
Mom adored Ariana. After dinner, she went so far as to give Ariana our family’s heirloom emerald bracelet.
“Ari, this is a family keepsake. I’m giving it to you now.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Sloan.”
Mom was about to put it on for Ariana when a sharp shout erupted from the doorway.
“You can’t! That bracelet is mine!”
We turned toward the voice. Surprise, surprise-it was Sandra again.
I scowled. She’d been relatively quiet lately, and I thought she’d finally given up trying to cling to me. Clearly, she refused to leave us alone.
“Why are you here?” I snapped.
Before she could answer, Mom’s expression turned frosty. “You again? Stop trying to win me over! I will never approve of you and Fred being together. Besides, Fred and Ari are happy now. Don’t you dare come here and wreck their relationship!”
