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short meeting with her ex-husband. Things that seemed so unimportant then might now be the reason I lose her.
    Sh e ' d deserved the answers, and the apology attached to it; one I had no right to deny her.
    The sinking feeling in my chest told me that I might never get a chance to explain.

I walked down River Street with my mother, still r e eling from revelatio n .
    " He was in love with a man, Mom. A MAN! I never in a million years thought that would be the reason. It all makes sense now . " I spared her several of the details, knowing my mother could n ' t handle it. I could n ' t even handle most of it. I had been dying to tell her about the events of Christmas Eve, but up until now my father had been present.
    " Violet, have you talked to Rhys today ? " My mother gave me a sharp look.
    " No, h e ' s upset with me for my reaction. But, Mom, he had to know what a shock this is and Ale x — "
    " Le t ' s go in here and get a praline . " My mother guided me into The Savannah Candy Kitchen and spent the next ten minutes shoving chocolate covered peanuts and pralines into my mout h— all of which she grabbed from various bags she was carrying. I was trying to get the words out as she shoved the candy in. I needed her perspective. I opened my mouth again and she shoved in a chocolate covered pretzel.Your good!
    " Mom, stop it , " I said, chewing quickly . " I t ' s very good. Are you listening to me ? "
    " I am but are you taking my hint, kid? I do n ' t want to hear about Alex and his lover. I ' m happy you got your closure but you are dwelling on this a little too much, do n ' t you think? Do you still love Alex ? " she whispered as the cashier rang up her purchases.
    " Of course not. I love Rhys . " I said, honestly . " I just ca n ' t believ e — "
    " Believe it, accept it, and move on. I t ' s a lot to process, baby, I know. And I know i t ' s all a shock, but where your heart belongs is where it is . Forget Alex. Forget Sandra and Chris. Think about you and what makes you happy, not what happened . " She stepped onto the cobblestone street and I followed her, watching as the trolley passed us by. She grabbed my hand and wrapped it around her elbow as we walked.
    " Have you talked to Rhys ? "
    " Mom, you just asked me that. I told you no. I ' m upset with him. I texted hi m earlie r and he never replied . " I was irritated. She would n ' t let me vent. I could n ' t stop thinking about the insanity of it all.
    Rhys spent Christmas on Tybee Island with his family and was staying until after the New Year, as h e ' d planned. Although I was unsure of turning down his invitation to join him prior to our fight, I was happy with my decision now that h e ' d never bothered to answer my text. I had become accustomed to his silence when he was angry. Well, I was angry too and had every right to be. I was n ' t sure even a phone call was a good move at this point.
    My mother read my mind as she said , " He probably did n ' t reply because I ' m assuming h e ' s a little hurt and could use some reassurance right now . "
    " What do you mean ? " I asked.
    " Listen, you have an amazing thing with that man and you are blowing it by obsessing over what could have been . " She turned to me quickly . " Get your head out of your ass, Violet. Stop worrying about the man who left you and start paying attention to the man who loves you . "
    " Mom, i t ' s not that simple. He said some thing s — "
    " Things that he did n ' t mean , " she scolded.
    " He lied to me again . "
    " He protected you, again , " she said as she let go of my arm . " You have got to learn to choose your battles, baby. H e ' s not in this to hurt you and right about now h e ' s thinking yo u ' re not in this at all . "
    I paused in the street, thinking of how Rhys must have felt when I reacted to the situation. Of course I had hurt him. I was so worried about me, how I felt, too selfish to think of how it affected him. My reaction to Alex and his shit was ruining my