The Bird and the Worm

“Things may get a little bit awkward,” I warned him, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze as we approached my parents’ front door. “My parents just settled their differences.” He touched his free hand to my face, curious and concerned at the same time. “I’m fine, I really am. I just…don’t want to stay long.”

“Okay.” He smiled a little, trying to be the support system for me, just like he always had. I bit my lip, and then I knocked gently on the door.

I half expected my mother to sneer at Brian and then fake a smile for me when she opened the door, but she played it completely cool, stepping aside to allow us in. I could see exactly what she was thinking, though. Her slightly aged eyes said it all. I was her estranged daughter bringing my mysterious fiancé home to grab a bag or two of stuff, and she hated me for it. I could imagine how she felt about Brian.

He smiled politely at her as we passed, and I led him as quickly as I could towards the stairs. He followed silently, and he gave me a short, gentle kiss once my bedroom door was closed. His lips calmed me, and I sighed as I looked up at his unfairly beautiful face. “Thank you, Brian,” I murmured, and he laughed shortly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, his fingertips grazing the earrings he’d bought for me tonight.

“What for?” Another half-smile, and he stroked my face. “It’s part of my job description.” We both laughed at his bad joke, and then I pulled away from him, tossing whatever I found that I wanted onto the bed, and he efficiently stored them in the bags we’d gotten from the back of his car. The entire time, my eyes were either watching the new ring on my finger or searching for something else to grab, dripping a few tears for good measure along the way.
If Brian noticed, he said nothing about it.

With a bag of my things in one hand and Brian’s hand in the other, I went back downstairs, met by the sight of my parents sitting in front of the television, my mother’s eyebrow creased, both pairs of eyes fixated on the screen, my father’s hand over my mother’s. I looked away from the sight as we reached the front door.

“Heather?”

I turned my head. My mother rose smoothly from the couch, smoothing out her hair and folding her hands. Her gaze was deliberate, and I glanced back at Brian, who offered a half-smile, before looking back at her.

“Would you happen to have the time for a small chat?” I hated the way she said that. She made it seem like I wasn’t making time for her, like I was deliberately pushing her away and moving on from my real family to the life I was trying to make with Brian.

I nodded, setting my bag down and walking towards her after letting go of Brian’s supportive hand.

Her hand guided me towards the kitchen, and since I felt slightly awkward, I opted for leaning against the counter. She did the same, her arms folded. My hand curled around the edge of the counter, waiting.

“I haven’t been treating you very well, Heather,” she said softly, and her gaze drifted to the floor. “You don’t know how much I regret that.” As secretly as I could, I scanned the kitchen for any emptied wine bottles. I felt horrible for it, but I was sure that wine was the only reason she could be so civil with Brian anywhere near her. “I simply thought that…well. Every mother dreams that her daughter will be with a man for a long time before he even considers making her his wife. Every mother wants her daughter to marry a rich doctor who will always be able to take care of her.”

“Brian isn’t poor, Mom,” I reminded her.

“I know that. He has money, I’m sure.” Her gaze flickered to the new addition to my left hand. “I mean, he can afford to buy you a new memory, for crying out loud.” She tried to laugh, but it sounded forced, and it was mangled in her throat anyway. “I judged you two much too quickly. I saw you with him once, and you were telling me the whole story behind your decision to make him your husband.”

“Mom, about that, I-“

“It made me worried.” I raised an eyebrow slightly. “I didn’t know when I’d see you again. Oh, you were terribly mad at me, I’m sure, and I guess I deserve that.” She paused again, not meeting my gaze. “I could never tell if the next time I saw you with him…” She sighed. “I wasn’t sure if the next time I’d see you, he’d have a ring, too.”

“You think I would marry him without you and Dad being there?”

She swiped at a tear, saying nothing.

“Jesus, Mom,” I said, exasperated. “I’m marrying him, yeah, but not without you guys there. He wouldn’t like that, and neither would I.” I wiped at a tear of my own. “I’d feel horrible if Dad never got a chance to give me away.”

“I just don’t like the thought of you being his instead of being ours.”

My heart thadunk’ed once in my chest, and then proceeded to break straight in half. “I’ve been his for five months and a few odd days.” I smoothed my dress, glancing towards the living room, where Brian was in the armchair, making an amazing effort to make conversation with my father, laughing and smiling a lot. Without glancing away from the sight, I added, “I’ve been your daughter for twenty years.”

“He’s important to you, isn’t he?”

I nodded, still watching him, and his gaze briefly met mine before he looked over at what I assumed was my father, trying to pretend he hadn’t seen my face. “Yes. He is very important to me.” I smiled a little. “You mean more to me, though, and you know that, because you’re my mother. But…” I looked over at her for this once. “I listened to his music for five years before he even knew Heather Byrd was a person, and I soaked in his guitar solos like medicine when life was too much to handle. The things he wrote and the music he and his band came up with changed my life.”

“Listening to his music and being his wife are-“

“I’ve always dreamt about being with one of the rock stars that helped change my outlook on things. Y’know. Meet one of them at a concert, go backstage, get a hug or a kiss on the cheek, make a good memory, be important to five guys that literally saved me from myself for a few hours, and then move on, hoping they wouldn’t forget me.” I blushed a little, despite my emotional state. “The first time he kissed me, all I could think about was ‘Oh my God I’m getting my wish’ and ‘I could spend forever kissing this guy’. And when he proposed…”

“Heather…”

“What else could I say to the rock star I’d fallen in love with five years before he knew my name?”

She half-smiled, still trying to understand the way I felt. “I guess I just don’t get the appeal of a rock star’s lifestyle.”

“I know, and…well, I’m not going to prove anything to you. I just can’t. If you don’t adore him or the way he lives, I’m sorry, but, I just don’t think I can give up on him. I love him, and for some twisted reason, he wants to be mine for a length of time longer than anyone else ever has.”

“I see.”

“Just don’t judge us, alright? We can come over and I can introduce him properly, but don’t pass judgment until then. He’s an amazing man, and you’ll see that if you spend some time with him.”

She studied my eyes for a moment, surprised by my confidence boost that was a direct result of Jimmy’s therapy sessions. “I’ll try.” Her gaze flickered to the living room, and mine did the same. Brian and my father were shaking hands, and neither of them looked miserable. “If your father can get past the fact that he’s sweeping you away, so can I.”

“So can we finally call a truce?” She nodded. “Good, because five months is much too long, Mom.” She nodded again, and I gave her a short hug as I walked kind of awkwardly back to Brian, leaning against him as his arm slid around my waist.

He kissed the top of my head, and then he offered his free hand to my father. “It was good to meet you sir, and I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.” I kissed his shoulder in order to hide the tear that slipped from my eye.

“None of it was your doing, son,” my father said, clasping his hand and shaking it a few times before letting go. “We just know how to overreact in this family.” He looked over at me. “Heather’s mother and I should be the ones apologizing for the pain involved. You two go on home now, and we’ll see you.”

I gave a short nod, since that was all I could manage, and then we left, bags back in hand. We walked to the car, and once the bags were in the back seat, Brian smiled, closing the door, and tugged me closer, stroking my chin.

“I love you,” he said. “Not because you helped me forgive a lot of Michelle’s mistakes, not because you fixed me, and certainly not because of the fact that you loved me through my music before I even knew who you were.” He bent down and pressed his lips to mine, gently and casually, and then pulled back.

“Why, then?” I questioned in a soft murmur.

He flashed my favorite crooked smile, stroking my face. “Because. You have got to be the most beautiful person I’ve ever known.” His gentle lips met my forehead, and then his chocolate eyes stared into mine once again. “Both inside and out.” His eyes glimmered for a moment, a small light really just…well, lighting them up, and then the smile became much more natural.

“Can we go celebrate now?”

He laughed. “Yes. Yes, love, of course we can.” He kissed me quickly, helped me into the car, and then we left.