Chapter 4

The day I was taking Max out for our appointment, my mom blocked me at the door.

"Where are you headed?" She looked me up and down.

I had on a brand-new dress and some light makeup.

To my mom, that was enough to make her suspicious.

"Dinner," I said.

"With who?" Mom pressed.

"A friend," I replied.

"What friend?" she shot back.

"Mom." I stretched out the word, "Are you interrogating me or something?"

"I'm not interrogating you," she said, pulling me aside and lowering her voice. "You've only been divorced for four months.

"Do you know how many people are keeping an eye on you? If you go out dressed like that, and someone sees you, what if people start talking?"

I couldn't help but feel a little helpless. "Mom, is wearing a dress really enough for people to gossip about me?"

"It depends on the occasion," she said, getting anxious. "You need to keep a low profile right now. People need to see that life hasn't been easy for you since the divorce."

"Why do I have to make people think my life is tough?" I snapped, feeling frustrated. "I'm actually doing pretty well. Why should I act like I'm miserable?"

"You..." Mom was left speechless, shooting me an angry glare.

Max, standing nearby, was loving the show.

"Grandma, Mom's meeting a super handsome guy today!" Max chimed in mischievously.

"What?!" Mom's voice shot up an octave. "A guy? What does he do for a living? How old is he? What's his family situation?"

I took a deep breath and rested my hands on her shoulders. "Mom, try to calm down."

"I can't calm down!" she burst out.

"Alright, you can stay upset then. I'm taking Max out," I said.

"Don't you dare!" she shouted.

I grabbed Max and dashed downstairs, with Mom chasing after us for a couple of steps.

And then, out of nowhere, she stopped and yelled, "Did you bring enough money? Make sure you pay for yourself."

I turned around and saw her standing by the stairs.

She looked both mad and anxious, but the worry in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"I brought enough," I shouted back.

"Come home early," she called out.

"Got it," I replied.

"Max wants eggs for dinner. Don't forget," she reminded me.

"Got it," I called back.

After we got outside, Max looked up at me. "Mom, is Grandma mad?"

"No," I said.

"Then why was she so loud?" Max asked.

I thought for a moment, then crouched down to his level.

"Grandma's way of caring is to scold me," I explained.

Max blinked, looking a little confused.

I smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get it when you're older."

There were all sorts of ways people showed love. Some gave hugs, some gave kisses.

My mom's love was grumbling and fussing as she chased after me, making sure I had cash in my purse.

Alex picked a family restaurant with a kids' play area.

As soon as Max walked in, he took off at full speed, dove straight into the ball pit, and vanished from sight.

Alex and I sat nearby, keeping an eye on Max as we chatted.

He asked how work was going for me.

I told him I'd gotten a promotion and was so busy I barely had time to breathe.

He said he was in the same boat. Pediatrics was always short-staffed, and his schedule was packed.

"So you took the day off for this?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nope, it's my day off on the rotation."

"Really?" I asked.

"Really," Alex said, looking at me seriously. "If I'm lying, I'm a donkey."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're a grown man, and you're still swearing oaths like that?"

"It's worth it if it makes you believe me," he said and laughed too, his small canine teeth showing, making him look even younger.

Suddenly, everything felt a little surreal.

Me, sitting here with a thirty-something guy, and he was telling me it was worth it to make me believe him.

I wouldn't have dared to even dream of a moment like this a year ago.

Back then, my whole life revolved around Patrick, wondering if he was in a good mood that day, whether the food I made suited everyone's taste, or if my mother-in-law's back pain was acting up again.

I'd turned myself into a maid, a caretaker, anything but a woman with a life of her own.

"Olivia," Alex suddenly interrupted, "what's on your mind?"

I snapped back to reality. "I was thinking it's been so long since I sat down and had dinner with someone like this."

He paused for a second, then replied quietly, "Same here."

I looked into his eyes, and there was no pity, no sympathy.

There was only that clear, unspoken understanding.

When one reached middle age, it was not the spark of romance that was hardest to find.

It was finding someone who looked at them like they were an intriguing story, waiting to be discovered, not as something old and broken that needed patching up.

After dinner, Alex gave us a ride home.

Before we got out of the car, he suddenly asked, "So, can we do this again sometime?"

Max jumped in before I could answer. "Yes!"

I gave Max a playful tap and said to Alex, "Looks like it's up to him."

Alex laughed and said to Max, "Thanks, Max."

Max wiggled his head smugly.

When we got home, Mom had already made the eggs and was sitting in the living room watching TV.

As soon as we walked in, she looked at me with a straight face and asked, "So, how did it go with him?"

"It was alright," I said.

"Alright? What does that even mean?" she pressed.

"It was... alright," I repeated.

Mom snorted and got up to warm up the eggs.

As she passed by me, she muttered under her breath, "Next time, bring him home so I can size him up."

I laughed. "Weren't you worried about people gossiping?"

"Why should I care?" she shot back, not even turning around. "If my daughter's got someone chasing after her, that's something to brag about."

Turned out, Mom only cared about my happiness.