Road To Recovery (A "Living With The Choices We Make" Sequel) ✔️

17 - Excuse Me, But I Love Your Son!

This chapter is dedicated to janhavi007 who gave me that little bit of extra motivation to finish this chapter :)

15 - Excuse Me, But I Love Your Son!

Charlotte's POV

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, Tivon asked me whether I wanted to meet his parents. My first inclination was 'hell, no' - after all, I was not sure how old folks would feel about the whole adultery thing - but when I realized that this was really important to him, I gave in.

Since I didn't have visitation with Noah over the holidays and Ryan expected a full dinner with turkey and the works, Tivon actually arranged for a pre Thanksgiving get together the week before. We were supposed to stay for two days and the idea of a sleepover with my lover under his parent's roof was nerve wracking. I felt sick for days, my stomach cramping every time I thought about it. Even Noah couldn't cheer me up - it felt worse than it did back in college when Ryan had announced that we were going home for his father's fiftieth birthday.

I suppose that a lot had to do with the animosity Ryan's mom had showed me from the start. Marlene Parks was old school, a woman who was perfectly content to bend to her husband's wishes and wait on him hand and foot.

My defiant and rebellious streak hadn't come over well with her and since I had been raised like a spoiled brat, afraid to break a fingernail, she had felt Ryan's choice unacceptable. Even now, I was reminded that I was an incompetent wife and mother every time I saw her, having to thank my lucky stars that her son had not kicked me to the curb. In her eyes, I was a lost cause.

The fear that I wouldn't live up once again to a mother's standard consumed me. As I packed my suitcase, I mulled over every piece of clothing I picked up - considering if it was conservative enough to meet her approval. When I went to the manicurist the day before, I opted for some clear nail polish and made sure that my long blond hair was tamed in a meticulous bun when we took off on Wednesday morning.

To my surprise, we didn't go to O'Hare but a smaller airport just outside the city. My jaw dropped when I realized that Tivon had his own plane - a Gulfstream that was owned by the firm, but was mostly used by Hannah since she was one of the most famous criminal defense lawyers in the country, used to travel all over the place. It cost a criminal a hundred grand just to schedule an appointment, and I was sure that she charged them even more if she actually had to fly out to meet them in another state.

The interior of the plane was class with cream leather seats that were so soft that they managed to relief some of my tension just by leaning back in them and closing my eyes. A young steward offered us a glass of champagne and I gulped two down to calm my frayed nerves. After that, I started to attack my perfectly shaped fingernails with the result that they were gnawed off to the skin by the time we took off.

"Nervous?" Tivon asked, removing my index finger from my lips by enveloping my hand with his.

I nodded. "What if your parents don't like me?"

"Don't worry." His smile was small and for the first time I realized the big frown on his forehead. "It will be fine." The champagne is poured down his throat with a shaking hand.

My eyebrows arched. "Tivon Goldstein, is there something I should know about? You seem terrified."

His laugh was artificial. "Terrified might be a bit much, but I am a little bit anxious. My parents can be..." He didn't finish the sentence, signalling the steward for a refill instead.

"Can be a little bit what?" I persisted, not willing to let this slide. My own nervousness was by now raging through me like a tornado, sucking up the few ounces of reason I had mustered up over the past week. This was going to be a nightmare.