Miss Independent by Kiki Leach Page B

going to move past this?”
                  She clutched her spoon tight and huffed. “How long did it take you to move past daddy leaving us when we were damn near destitute from all of his gambling?”
                  “That was an entirely different situation, Vanessa Rae Brown. I had two children and we had been married for at least ten years. You were just in high school. Eighteen years old with no clue of who you wanted to be, let alone who you wanted to be with. Puppy love doesn’t equate to a marriage.”
                  “See? You always do this. You always try to make my problems seem as if they’re no big deal compared to yours. And then you wonder why I don’t ever tell you anything.”
                  When her doorbell rang unexpectedly, she realized it was the only excuse she’d have to be rid of the conversation.
                  “I’ve got to go. I ordered a pizza and it’s here now.”
                  “First ice cream, now a pizza? And all by yourself? If your figure goes to hell because of that man --”
                  “Goodbye, Mother, have a safe flight home.” She clicked the off button and slammed the phone down onto the counter.
                  The doorbell rang again and she put the ice cream back into the freezer, wiping her hands down on her pajama pants as they had become sticky.
                  When the bell rang again, she became aggravated.
                  “I’m on my way!” she snarled.
                  As she reached the foyer asking who was on the other side of the door, a familiar, deep voice spoke out to her. She smiled, relieved, and ran over quickly, pulling back. 
                  A beautiful man with smooth brown skin stood before her wearing a solemn smile. His name was Alexander Grant, and his face looked as if it were hand carved by God himself. He was by far considered one of the best people Vanessa had ever known. And from her own lips, he was too good to still be married to her mother for nearly ten years.
    “Hi,” she said. “If you can believe it, I just finished talking to your wife on the phone.”
                  He clutched her shoulder in concern and walked inside. “Baby girl, your mother is the reason I’m here.”
                  “Oh, goody.” She clasped her hands. “She wanted you to make sure I hadn’t tossed myself into the East River too?”
                  “Something like that. She had been calling me all day but I was too busy at the restaurant and couldn’t talk or get away any faster. She assumed you must have seen the invitation this morning which is why you kept dismissing her calls. You weren’t in the mood to talk.”
                  “No, I wasn’t.” She shut the door. “But when am I ever in the mood to talk to her? That being said, for someone who knows very little about me, she still seems to know me all too well.”
                  She went back to the kitchen as Alexander followed. “How long had you known about the wedding?” she asked.
                  “I didn’t learn of it until today when your mother called. She left a few panicked voicemails and just kind of threw it in there.”
                  “Sounds like her.” She sighed. “At any rate, I’m not going to that thing. Even if I was certain it was going to be a certified train wreck and bashed across every media outlet imaginable. She only invited me to be spiteful.”
                  “Or she’s trying to make amends.”
                  “Well, if this is her way of trying to make amends, then her screwing Nathan behind my back was her warning me off of him. And if that’s the case, she’s a fantastic friend and I should’ve thanked her instead of decking her lights out at the senior pool