Page 60 of A Constant Love

“Tyler, she has been carrying around this huge secret for months, destroying herself, just to keep you safe. To me, that sounds like the definition of love.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to call and see if Sam was okay. Maybe she hadn’t gone through with any of this and she had come to her senses.

But the line went straight to voicemail.

Fuck.

Next, I dialed Gabe’s number. After three rings, he answered with a gruff, “Hello?”

“Gabe, please tell me that Sam is okay.”

“Well, she’s in the hospital.” My stomach sank. “But she’s going to be fine. She’s already been asking about you.”

“I’m on my way.” I hung up the phone. “Come on, Tess. We’ve got a plane to catch.”

Chapter 37 - Sam

I hadn’t gotten much sleep since being in the hospital, so when I finally was able to get some shut eye, I was expecting to open my eyes and see my lovely boyfriend sitting beside my bed.

But I was not that lucky.

No, instead, I opened my eyes to find none other than Maria Wendell sitting by my bedside.

My jump back reaction to seeing her was akin to someone seeing Medusa and turning to stone.

“Oh, what the fuck?” I said.

“Good morning, Sam,” she said while scrolling through her phone.

“How’d you get in here?” I said while trying to sit up. My head was still throbbing.

“I told them I was family.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sorry you had to lie about something so heinous. Did you come in here to smother me with a pillow before your son arrives?”

“No, not today, dear.”

“Then, why are you here?”

She put down her phone and turned toward me. “You came to my house, barged into my office, and yelled at me.”

Slowly, I tried to find my words. “I apologize for my manner of speaking to you, but I meant the words that I said. I won’t apologize for those.”

“I didn’t come here to get an apology from you. I came here to offer one to you.”

My head swiveled around as if looking for the hidden cameras. When I didn’t see any, I said, “Go on.”

“Sam, I started out a lot like you. I came from a very small town in Colombia where women were treated as property, and no one had any money. I was determined to make a better life for myself through a path of hard work and perseverance. So many of the other women from my village though would talk about how they wanted to come to America and find a rich husband they could marry…and eventually divorce, taking half their money. Call me a romantic, but I never wanted my life to end up that way.

“When I came to New York, I met Theo at school, and we fell in love. Built our own American Dream. Had our babies and watched our legacy grow in more ways than one. Then, one day, my baby walks in with a girl who he looks at the same way his father looks at me. And I wonder is she the type of woman like me, or she the type of woman those other girls from my country were?”

I shrugged. “You could have just asked.”

“You’re right. And I should have. I think part of me saw me losing my son, and I just went into Mama Bear mode.” She smiled. “You know when Tyler was born, I looked at him and thought ‘this is going to be my heartbreaker’. All of my children were beautiful, but Tyler was the epitome of gorgeous. And as he began to grow, he was sweet and creative and practically a genius. Along with all of those things though also came a very strong sense of independence, meaning that he wasn’t a child that needed someone hovering over him. He was far quicker to leave the comfort of our home than any of the others. The other three call me every day, religiously. They ask for help or for advice or just want to tell me about their days. Not Tyler. I think for a long time now, I have just been grasping to hold onto any part of him I have left.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Sam, I think a part of me is jealous of you because my son shares his life with you. All of his life. He hasn’t shared even small parts of his life with me for a very long time now.”

Being this close to this beautiful, Colombian mother, I could see that the perfection she always tried to portray wasn’t quite as perfect as it seemed. She had laugh lines around her mouth and tiny crows’ feet danced along her temples, showing signs of a life that had been truly lived.