Chapter 2
1195 Words
Chapter 2: He's Too Big For Me
The shrill sound of her alarm blared at six-thirty in the morning before a pillow flew across the room and smothered it into silence.
"Five more minutes," Ivy mumbled from underneath her blanket.
Five minutes later became thirty.
Thirty minutes became an hour.
And one hour later, Ivy Collins found herself sprinting across her apartment in mismatched socks with a piece of toast hanging from her mouth while simultaneously attempting to apply mascara.
"This is fine!" she announced to absolutely no one as she hopped around her bedroom looking for her missing heel. "Women have survived worse!"
Her phone vibrated on the dresser.
Mom.
Ivy answered the call using her shoulder while attempting to zip up her skirt.
"If you're asking whether I've had breakfast, the answer is yes."
"You sound like you're running."
"I eat while exercising now. It's called multitasking."
There was a brief pause before her mother laughed softly on the other end of the line.
"I wasn't asking about breakfast."
"Oh."
"I wanted to remind you about dinner tonight."
Ivy stopped looking for her shoe. "Dinner?"
"Family dinner."
"...I'm sorry, whose family?"
"Ours."
"We're already a family."
Her mother chuckled again. "You'll understand tonight."
That somehow made the conversation significantly more concerning.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously despite the fact that her mother couldn't see her. "Mom, every time you say that, someone ends up changing my life."
"Nonsense."
"You said that before buying me a cat."
"You love Mochi."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"
"And before I moved us to another city."
"...Okay, fair point."
"And before I introduced you to Asher."
The room suddenly grew quiet.
For the first time since answering the call, Ivy sat down on the edge of her bed.
Her mother immediately cleared her throat awkwardly. "Anyway! Dinner is at seven. Don't be late."
The call ended before Ivy could respond.
She stared silently at her phone for several moments before slowly placing it back onto her dresser.
That wasn't strange at all.
Absolutely normal behavior from her mother.
Perfectly fine.
Her therapist would disagree.
Three hours later, Ivy sat inside her office pretending to work while secretly scrolling through videos of baby otters wearing tiny hats.
Being an adult was exhausting.
Her best friend, Chloe, leaned against her desk before stealing one of the strawberry candies hidden inside her drawer.
"You know those are expensive, right?"
"And?"
"...You're a terrible person."
"So I've been told." Chloe sat down across from her before raising an eyebrow. "You look troubled."
"My mother is planning something."
"Oh God."
"Exactly."
"Should I call the police now or later?"
"Give it six hours."
After knowing Ivy's mother for over twenty years, Chloe had learned one thing.
Grace Collins was a wonderful woman.
Grace Collins was also suspiciously good at dropping life-changing announcements over casual dinners.
"I have a feeling she's dating someone," Ivy admitted quietly.
"Oh?"
"Mm-hmm."
"And that's bad because?"
"The last time my mother dated someone, she accidentally invited him to Christmas dinner after knowing him for four days."
"...Four?"
"FOUR."
"She's insane."
"THANK YOU!"
Chloe laughed before suddenly leaning forward conspiratorially. "Do you think she's getting married?"
Ivy immediately snorted into her coffee.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because if she gets married before I do, she'll never let me hear the end of it."
That was somehow more terrifying than the marriage itself.
Her mother was competitive in ways society had yet to discover.
She could already imagine it.
> Grace Collins: I got married first.
> Ivy: WE AREN'T COMPETING!
> Grace Collins: Sounds like something second place would say.
No. Absolutely not.
She refused to lose this competition she didn't know she was participating in.
By six forty-five that evening, Ivy stood outside her mother's front door carrying a bottle of wine and approximately seven unanswered questions.
She hadn't lived here for almost two years, but the familiar scent of vanilla candles and fresh flowers immediately greeted her the moment she stepped inside.
"Mom?"
"In the dining room, sweetheart!"
Ivy slipped off her heels before walking further into the house. The sound of laughter drifted from the dining room, causing her footsteps to slow slightly.
There was definitely a man's voice.
Okay.
Fine.
Normal.
People dated.
Her mother deserved happiness.
She could do this.
She rounded the corner with her brightest smile already in place.
"Sorry I'm la—"
The words caught in her throat when she saw him.
The man standing beside her mother was handsome in a distinguished sort of way with silver threaded through his dark hair and warm eyes that immediately softened upon seeing her.
Well, he was certainly attractive.
Good for Mom.
"I'm Ivy," she introduced politely.
"And I'm Theodore Silas." He smiled warmly before extending his hand towards her. "I've heard so much about you."
Silas?
What an oddly familiar surname.
"It's nice to meet you."
Her mother beamed beside him before reaching for Theodore's hand. "Sweetheart, Theodore and I have some wonderful news."
Oh no.
Wonderful news never remained wonderful in the Collins household.
"We're getting married."
The wine bottle nearly slipped from Ivy's hand.
"...Congratulations?"
"And," her mother continued excitedly, "we've decided to move in together."
Wonderful.
Fantastic.
She needed another glass of wine immediately.
"That's great, Mom."
"It gets better."
No sentence in human history had ever inspired more fear.
"There's someone else I want you to meet tonight."
Ivy blinked.
Someone else?
"Oh?"
"Theodore has a son."
She smiled politely. "That's wonderful."
"He's around your age."
"Aww."
"He's moving in with us too."
"...How lovely."
"He should be here any minute now."
Ivy nodded absentmindedly before reaching for her wine glass.
This was perfectly fine.
She was happy for her mother.
Very happy.
Extremely happy.
The front door suddenly opened.
Heavy footsteps echoed quietly through the hallway before an annoyingly familiar deep voice floated into the room.
"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was"
The wine glass slipped from Ivy's hand and shattered against the floor.
No.
No.
Absolutely not.
She knew that voice.
She'd know that voice in another lifetime.
Slowly, almost mechanically, Ivy turned towards the dining room entrance.
The first thing she saw was broad shoulders hidden beneath a black dress shirt.
Then familiar dark hair.
Then a face she had spent two years trying very hard to forget.
"...Asher?"
He stopped walking the moment their eyes met.
Silence.
Complete and utter silence.
For once in his life, Asher Silas looked genuinely speechless.
"Ivy?"
Her mother's eyes widened in delight as realization finally dawned upon her face.
"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You two already know each other?"
Neither of them answered.
Ivy was busy contemplating whether jumping through the nearest window would be socially acceptable.
Asher was still staring at her as though trying to determine whether he was hallucinating.
Finally, Theodore laughed warmly from beside her mother.
"Well," he chuckled. "This certainly makes things easier."
No.
No, Theodore.
This made absolutely nothing easier.
And things were about to become infinitely worse.
Because in approximately five minutes, Ivy Collins was going to discover that Asher Silas wasn't simply visiting for dinner.
He was moving in permanently.
- Writer
