We arrived at my apartment building, and I turned to say goodbye. “I’ll—”
“Baby, I’m walking you to the door.”
I hated taking up more of his time when our night was ending prematurely because of my obligations. But I didn’t argue with him.
We reached my floor and walked down the hallway until we were at my front door, my heels clapping against the hard tile. I turned to him to say goodnight, holding her food with both hands so I didn’t have any way to embrace him.
He did the work for me. His arms circled my waist, and he gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “Goodnight, baby.”
I wanted to do more, to go home with him and sleep through the night, side by side. I couldn’t give him that at all, and I had no idea when I could. “Goodnight…”
Because the universe hated me, my mom opened the front door like she intended to go across the hall and retrieve something from the apartment she shared with my father. She looked surprised, like she had no idea we were standing there.
My heart dropped to the floor.
Surely, Derek must have assumed this was a possibility when he walked me to my apartment door, so he should have been prepared for it.
My mom stared at him for a few seconds, like she couldn’t believe he was that attractive in real life.
I couldn’t believe it either, every single day.
I didn’t expect Derek to do the talking because I knew he struggled with basic social interactions, so I spoke first. “Mom, this is—”
“Derek Hamilton.” He extended his hand. “Lovely to meet you.”
My mother shut the door behind her like she didn’t want Lizzie to overhear. She took his hand and gave it a quick shake. “You too, Derek. I wish I could say I’ve heard so much about you, but Emmy is pretty tight-lipped about…”
“Mom.” With just a word, I told her to chill out and not make this into something it shouldn’t be. I tried to hand her the food so she would have something else to focus on. “How about you give this to Lizzie—”
“My daughter and granddaughter come as a set. So, if you want to be my daughter’s man, you should step up and be a man and—”
“Mom.” I couldn’t believe she’d just said that, just blurted it out so inappropriately. “Go inside and give this to Lizzie.” Now I was furious my mother would have an outburst like this when it was the first time I’d had a serious relationship with a man since Lizzie was born. Why would she risk losing that?
Derek handled the situation remarkably well and rebounded quickly. “I’m sure I’ll meet Lizzie soon. With everything Emerson has shared with me, she sounds like a very bright young girl.”
My mom stared him down like that wasn’t good enough as she took the food from me. “Hurt my daughter, and I’ll hurt you.” She stormed inside and kicked the door shut behind her.
My hands immediately covered my face in raw humiliation. “Oh my fucking god… This is why I don’t want you to walk me to my door—”
“Baby.” With confidence in his voice, he grabbed my wrists and gently pulled them down so I would look at him. “It’s fine. I will continue to walk you to your door, regardless of your mother’s reception. She can’t scare me away, alright?”
That was not what I expected him to say…at all. “My mother is really a lovely person. She’s not like that…”
“She’s protective of you. I get it. From what I’ve gathered, I sound like your first real relationship, so this is the first time she is going through this scenario. You’re the most selfless person I know, always taking care of everyone else, and she wants you to have the best. I don’t blame her.” He looked into my eyes with that confident gaze, like this event wouldn’t change a single thing between us, like he wasn’t going to get pissed off at me again and stop talking to me.
I didn’t know what to say. It was the first time the scenario had been flipped, when he knew what to say and I was completely stumped. “I’m still sorry that she spoke to you like that when you don’t—”
“Baby, it’s okay.” He cupped my cheeks and gave me another kiss. “Goodnight.”
He made me feel better, took the stress off my shoulders, thought about my feelings and disregarded his own. “Goodnight.”
He walked down the hallway and took the stairs.
I sighed before I stepped inside the apartment.
Lizzie was already eating on the couch, scarfing down her greasy food and milk shake. “Man, this is sooooo good. Way better than—”
“Lizzie.” Even though my mom had just pissed me off, I didn’t want Lizzie to disrespect her grandmother.
Lizzie continued to watch TV as she ate her fries out of the bag.
I faced my mom, giving her a cold stare.
She knew I wouldn’t say anything in front of Lizzie, so she kissed her granddaughter goodnight then walked into the hallway.
I let her leave and knew I should just let this go.
But nope. I never let anything go.
I went after her and shut the door behind me. “Mom, what the hell was that?”
She spun back around. “Why does he deserve to risk nothing when you have to risk everything? You have a daughter. You’re always going to have a daughter. If he really wants to be with you, he should be hustling his ass to be with both of you. He doesn’t deserve to drop you off clandestine-style and then just leave—”
“Mom, this is not uncommon. People see if they’re serious before they expose their children to a new person. I’m protecting Lizzie by making sure this is the real deal before I let her get attached. So, stop blaming him.”
The fire dwindled in her eyes.
“I don’t want to rush anything until we’re both ready. And frankly, it’s none of your business, Mom.”
“It is my business when I’m the one watching her—”
“Then I’ll get a babysitter,” I snapped. “But we both know you don’t want that. Don’t sabotage my relationship. Don’t speak to him like that. He’s a great person. You have no idea.”
“Exactly. I have no idea.”
I sighed. “We’ve only been dating for like six weeks. I wouldn’t introduce him to my parents this soon anyway.”
“But you met his?” she challenged.
“That was his decision—”
“Emmy.” She held up her hand. “He introduced you to his friends tonight. First, his family and now his friends—and you still don’t bring him around. Why? Are you embarrassed of us? You think if he meets Lizzie, he’ll leave?”
“Of course I’m not embarrassed—”
“Then what?” she demanded.
“I just… He’s a really gifted person—”
“Yes, I already know this.”
“So, conversations and social situations aren’t as easy for him as they are for us. I just want him to interact with Lizzie in the right way, when he’s ready to do that, when I’m ready to do that.”
“He seemed fine just now.”
“Yes, I was shocked. But I knew he did that for me because he doesn’t want to lose me. Mom, he really cares about me. He wants to be with me, no matter what. So, let us grow this relationship on our own terms. Don’t provoke him or disrespect him like he’s a teenage boy who knocked me up. This is a grown-ass man.”