“Stop whining!” She grabbed her son’s wrist and led him down the sidewalk.
“You said we could stop for gelato,” he cried.
“I said we could stop for gelato this weekend. Your father’s flight is landing in a couple of hours, and I want to have a nice dinner on the table for when he gets home. We still have a couple things to grab from the grocery store —”
The mention of the grocery store stopped the boy mid stride.
She turned and glared at him. “Don’t even start. If you start, you’re not getting any gelato at all!”
But he had already made up his mind and dropped like a weight down to the sidewalk. She tried lifting him up by his armpits, but he resisted just enough to stay put.
“You’re a liar,” he yelled, his face pouty and red. “You’re a liar and you’re mean and that’s why daddy doesn’t love you anymore.”
As his words began to register, her grip weakened and she let go of him.
She looked down at the sidewalk: “What did you say?”
Her voice was wavering as she spoke, but the boy wouldn’t face her.
“Why would you say such a thing?” she asked again, more frantically this time.
“I don’t know,” the boy mumbled.
“You don’t know? Did daddy ever say anything like that? Did he ever say he didn’t love mommy?”
The boy didn’t answer right away. She got down onto the pavement next to her son and let out a sob.
“I know we had been going through difficult times, your father and I, but I never imagined he would involve you. That bastard. Did he tell you all the things he put me through? All the ‘work trips’ that turned into week-long vacations; all the nights I stayed up, glued to my phone, wondering when he would call and check in on us?”
She stopped to catch her breath.
“You think I like dragging you around town, shopping for placemats and dry-cleaning duvet covers? We can’t even go to the grocery store without you —”
“I made it up!” the boy blurted out. “Daddy never said that,” the boy continued. “I was just mad at you. I’m sorry mommy.”
He stood up and gave his mom a hug, and the two of them embraced for what felt like a long time. She stared blankly, as if in a trance. Still holding her boy, she kissed him on the top of his head.
“How about we grab a pint of chocolate hazelnut from the grocery store?” she said. “I think that’s daddy’s favorite, too.”