Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 17

"How could they let him introduce Lila to a girlfriend?" Anne exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the kitchen of the house as Kate sat down, sipping a cup of coffee and thinking about the evening. Kate's dad had taken Lila out for frozen yogurt, and Anne and Kate were rehashing her talk with Sally and JD. Kate had never seen her mother so angry, not even when she called to tell her that Trey had left them, and she was honestly shocked at her mom's reaction.

"Mom, it's not Sally's fault, it sounded like he sprung it on them too," Kate said softly, eyebrows knitted in thought, and Anne groaned. "Well, I guess they're seeing what type of person their son is," Anne countered. Kate frowned a little. "I think they know already Mom," she said, shaking her head a little bit, and Anne sighed. "Kate, it's OK to be angry about this. You don't have to hide it if you're upset, especially not in front of me, because I am furious," her mom cried, and Kate tilted her head. "Mom, I'm... look, I'm not happy about it, that's for sure. But I'm not angry," she insisted, and Anne looked at her skeptically.

"Really? Because I've watched you spend the last 5 years pushing away your own happiness, I've seen you spend the last 5 years concerned with every little interaction Lila has had, focused solely on protecting her and her feelings, only for him to bring some random woman around. Who knows if he's even dating her or how long she'll be in the picture? He has 2 hours to spend with his daughter and he can't spend it focused solely on her?" Anne was ranting and raving, clearly upset not only for Lila, but also for her daughter. Anne had long felt that while Kate had handled the situation about as gracefully as a person could, Trey and his parents took advantage, and she had had it. Kate put her hand on her mother's forearm, trying to calm her.

"Mom, you're right. I have done all of that stuff. And maybe that was my fault. I'm not happy about Trey's judgment, but let's be honest, he has terrible judgment, so we already knew that. Lila is resilient and smart and she'll be OK. She'll probably never see that girl again, and if she does, well great. Maybe Trey will commit to her. Maybe she'll encourage him to be more interested in Lila. I don't know, but I just... I can't worry about it anymore." She looked at her mom, pleading with her eyes for Anne to calm down, and Anne's face softened, pulling Kate into a tight hug. "You're right, Kate. I'm sorry, sweetie, I just can't stand for you to be hurt or disrespected. I want to defend you and I want them to realize how much you sacrifice, and I don't know why it matters really, but..." her mom trailed off, pausing for a minute before continuing.

"Dare I say, your perspective on all of this has evolved?" her mom asked, and Kate blushed. "I guess you could say that," Kate said with a tiny smile, and Anne beamed. "I wonder if a certain red-head has made you feel a little more generous towards Trey and the Hendricks's?" Anne winked a bit at her, and Kate laughed. "Possibly," she said softly, and Anne held her hand. "You know, Kate, I wonder if there will be a time where you feel comfortable introducing him to us?" she asked, and Kate smiled. "I haven't figured out about Lila yet, and I don't want this situation with Trey to sway me one way or the other. But you and Dad, I think that could be arranged," she said slowly, giving her mom a tiny grin, and Anne's eyes lit up as Kate's phone rang.

Kate grabbed the phone, walking absently into the living room, and it was Andrew. "Hi Baby," he said in his trademark soft-spoken voice, and Kate immediately beamed. "Hi! What's going on?" she asked softly. "Nothing, just checking in on you. How was Lila's drop off, did everything work out?" Andrew asked, and Kate internally groaned. "Oh, it was... alright. There was a little bit of drama, but its fine. I'll tell you about it later. What are you up to?" Kate looked out the window, seeing Lila and her dad approaching the house. "Oh, well, tomorrow is Garrett's birthday, and Shane and Ryland are planning a little get-together for him at their house tonight. They're inviting a lot of our friends from the friend group, and EJ and Sarah are going too. Do you, um... well, would you want to come with me?" he asked sweetly, and Kate grinned. "Sure, that sounds great," she said, immediately excited to be hanging out with him again, and Andrew smiled as brightly on the other end of the line, telling Kate he'd pick her up at 9 for the ride out to Calabasas.