Chapter 17

“I didn’t fully grasp it until I was fifteen, but my parents have always been the hovering type.”

“I remember when I was six, I was dying to join a ballet class like the little girl down the street. I wanted a leotard and a tutu so bad! But my mom said ballet shoes would wreck my feet, so she wouldn’t let me go.”

“Sleepovers were off-limits, and I could only go to birthday parties if they were just a few hours long.”

“I wanted to experiment with different hairstyles, but my mom would only do pigtails or a ponytail. I wanted to chop my hair off in middle school, but that was a no-go too.”

“I wasn’t even allowed to hang out with friends at their houses, the mall, library, or ~anywhere~, unless my mom was there. It drove me nuts, and I tried to get them to ease up, but they said it was their way or the highway.”

“So I felt trapped. Eventually, my friends stopped inviting me to parties or outings because my parents were always breathing down my neck,” Anelise said, taking a sip of wine to moisten her mouth, then continued.

“Mom tried to make it up to me by buying me books. So when I was lonely and couldn’t hang out with my friends, I would read. I read more books than I could keep track of. I swear I read every book in the school library and borrowed from the public library.”

“Anyway, I started to pull back to avoid the pitying looks and snide comments as my friends made fun of my parents. My circle of friends started to shrink, they didn’t want to deal with ‘the girl with the weird parents.’”

“I tried to talk to my parents about it again, but they made it clear that they were in charge, and if my friends couldn’t understand that they were just trying to keep me safe, then they weren’t really my friends.”

“I finally gave up trying in eighth grade and just buried myself in my books. When I was fifteen, we went to Mexico for my Aunt Peg’s wedding. She’s Mom’s sister. Anyway, that was the first vacation we’d ever taken, and I was thrilled!”

“Flying on a plane, seeing the ocean, it was like a dream. I wanted to explore the resort, but my parents wouldn’t let me go anywhere without an adult, not even with my cousins. I was so mad I ran back to our room crying.”

“I guess my family saw how tightly my parents were controlling me and didn’t like what they saw. I went down to my aunt’s room to ask my mom a question, but the door was open, and I overheard a good chunk of their conversation.”

Michael was gently rubbing her arm with one hand and holding her hand with his other. “What did you overhear, Ani?”

“Peg was telling Mom that they were smothering me and actually stunting my growth, not to mention with all the reading they encouraged, they weren’t letting me do any physical activities. You see, I was already overweight.”

“She really let my mom have it about getting me healthy and losing some weight and signing me up for activities that required me to move. I was shy and had poor social skills, which was obvious.”

“My mom was shouting back about how it was her and my dad’s decision on how to raise me. Her sister then dropped a bomb, yelling that I shouldn’t have to pay for their insecurities about what had happened with their first child.”

Michael stopped rubbing her arm. “First child? What did she mean by that?”

“My mom screamed at Aunt Peg about how she had no idea what it was like to lose a child to SIDS and told her to go fuck herself,” Anelise said.

Michael felt awful for Kim and Neil, knowing they had suffered such a terrible tragedy and how they were coping with it. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he lost Ollie and felt his heart lurch. “Oh, Ani. I’m sorry!”

She pulled his arm and kissed his hand. “My Aunt lowered her voice and apologized for yelling but said it wasn’t fair to me the way they were being so overprotective. And Mom said they were just trying to keep me safe.”

“Peg then told her that ensuring safety was one thing and stifling me was something else entirely. I’ll never forget Peg’s warning that they were either setting me up to be a social outcast or preparing me to rebel and run away.”

“I left before I could hear any more. I was reeling and just kept to myself. I decided before we got back home that I was going to take control of my life and make my own way in the world.”

“So I joined the school newspaper, started tutoring at the elementary school, and began taking online classes at the community college. Since I loved books, I took all the English classes I could at my private high school.”

“My favorite English teacher helped me choose classes and guided me. He had a good friend who taught at Vanderbilt, and he told her about me. In my senior year, they offered me a full ride.”

“And because I had taken so many college classes, they got me on the fast track for my master’s degree. I helped speed that along by taking some classes in the summer too.”

Michael was amazed by how she had steered her life and was actually very proud of her. “So how did you convince them to let you go to Tennessee? That must have been a tough conversation.”

“My English teacher and his friend, Mrs. Hallings, met with my parents and the principal to tell them what an incredible opportunity it was, and if I’m being honest, they completely guilt-tripped them into letting me go.”

“The time leading up to going to Nashville was rough. Any little thing I did wrong, they threatened to not let me go, and it was a very tense summer for me. I was never so relieved as when I saw them drive away after I moved into my dorm!”

“But my dad made it ~very~ clear that they could bring me back home anytime they wanted to. The first few weeks were really tough. Luckily, I became best friends with my roommate, Leslie.”

“She and her mom, Naomi, really helped me to become empowered and realize that I am in charge of my own life and destiny. The whole Rothchild family is like my second family, and I love being around them.”

“They’re all amazing people, and to be honest, I love them more than my own parents. Don’t judge me! I’ve vacationed with them, spent holidays together, and they’ve sort of adopted me as their own.”

“Last summer, at a party, Leslie’s dad, Johnathan, introduced me to some guests as his adopted daughter. They let me be myself and support me in everything I do.” Her heart warmed at the thought of the family.

“Wow, Ani. That’s really something!” he said, trying to digest all she’d told him. He’d never have guessed that about Kim and Neil, but then again, he’d never seen them with their daughter.

“Leslie got me to join groups on campus, took me to parties, and really helped me come out of my shell. I started eating better and walking to lose weight.”

“She introduced me to the world, pop culture, and sex. I mean, she and Naomi taught me about my body, how to respect myself, and how to make guys respect me too.”

“I can always ask them anything, and they never make me feel stupid or embarrassed. And trust me, I had some dumb-ass questions at first!” She laughed.

“I doubt that!” he responded, laughing along with her.

“No, seriously, I once asked if orgasms cause pregnancies and not sperm!” she confessed, and he burst out laughing.

“Okay, I take it back! That’s a pretty wild question!” Michael replied, once he’d stopped laughing.

He continued, “But seriously, Anelise, you’re an amazing woman—passionate, smart, kind, and beautiful. I feel so honored to be part of your journey.”

She turned to him and kissed him gently, then asked, “So you’re not going to bolt after everything I’ve told you?”

He shook his head. “No way. You’re mine until we reach Chicago, and you head back to Nashville.”

Hearing him say that made Anelise’s heart sink a little, but she knew it was for the best. Michael didn’t want to admit that he’d been thinking about how they could make it work once they got back, but he had a job and a child in another state.

She was still in college, and after everything she’d been through, she deserved to live life to the fullest. He kissed her again, took a long sip of his wine, and pulled her back into his arms.

He took a deep breath. “And since we’re sharing tonight, I think it’s time I told you about Ollie’s mom.”