Daddy Dearest

Chapter Fifty-Three

Nancy

“Now what are you worried about?” my best friend Janice demanded.

She and I were standing in the kitchen each having a glass of Malbec while my step-daughter and her friends got ready for the big Homecoming dance. Waverly Davenport was in the living room with them, so I got out of the way. When Waverly Davenport took over as den mother, everyone else became her children, no matter what age.

“Alex Chambers just gave Melody a ring that belonged to his grandmother.” I swallowed another mouthful of wine.

“Was it an engagement ring?”

“No. I heard him say it wasn’t. That boy is a little old-school, so it’s probably a promise ring.”

Janice snorted. “Promising what?”

“Marriage,” I replied, making my best friend choke on her wine. I rubbed her back. “It’s a precursor to an engagement ring.”

“Uh-uh. No way. Melody is too young for that. This Chambers boy is very precocious.” Janice’s hot pink nails flashed as she waved her hand dismissively. “I like him, but he’s a little extra, don’t you think?”

I chuckled and popped a cherry tomato into my mouth. “He’s in love with her, but yeah, he’s a little dramatic. You’ve heard them quoting lines from ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ at each other, right? They’re nauseating.”

“Speaking of nauseating, have you broken up with Kenmore yet?”

I sighed and shook my head. Breaking up with Ken was proving to be more difficult than I imagined. The guy was just too... much. Every time I broached the topic, he’d bring up something sweet that he did for me and I’d feel too guilty too break up with him. The thing is, I’m just not ready to have a boyfriend. Or I’m not ready to have someone like Ken as a boyfriend. As sad as it may seem, I am not all the way over Harry.

He was the first man I ever truly loved and the first man to ever truly see me as a person.            

Harry Plum helped me realize my worth as a human being and gave me a family who deserved my love. He saved me from the worst parts of myself.

“Nan, you’re leading the guy on. It’s just going to get worse the longer you let it drag.”

I glared at my best friend. “Easy for you to say, bitch. When was the last time you had a date?”

“Ouch, ho. Hit me where it hurts.” Janice smacked my upper arm. “Like I have time to do any of that between taking care of my mother and my work at the foundation.”

I watched Violet and Lottie whisper to each other and giggle. I wondered if they were talking about the Masons. Violet’s date was Mason Chung and Lottie’s date was Steve Mason. Janice and I thought it was the cutest thing. I was happy that Melody had such friends.

“Were we ever that young, Jan?”

My best friend rolled her eyes. “Sweetie, I think you need to drink more.” She poured more wine into my glass. “We were their age just eleven years ago. I’m sure you were this silly and giggly, too.”

But I wasn’t. I sipped my wine. Seeing these girls so happy and carefree in their expensive dresses was so far removed from my previous reality that I might as well be watching a teen drama on TV. I was raised in a very poor family from Indiana with a drunk father and a mother who was both emotionally and physically abused. She ended up killing herself, leaving me with two younger sisters and a useless older brother who depended on me.