“Do you think we should order in instead of cooking? I don’t want her to hate what I’m making.”
“Absolutely not,” I shake my head so she gets the memo. “All Kate does is eat out. It’ll be nice for her to have a home cooked meal, and I think she’ll appreciate the effort.”
“If you say so. Now go get that done, and then we’re okay for the most part.” She turns back to dusting before pausing. “And we’ll try to be less touchy feely in front of y’all tonight.”
“It’s fine, Mom.” I love that she’s worried about that, but it’s not necessary. “After what she’s told me about her parents, the fact that y’all still show your love grosses me out less.”
“You probably shouldn’t have told me that.” She winks and returns to dusting. Why does it feel like I gave them the go ahead to make things as embarrassing as possible for me?
The doorbell rings and my mom rushes around the living room. She’s fluffing the pillows again and doing one last glance to make sure nothing is out of place. I don’t know why. I mean, I do, but Kate knows how much time we spend in the living room.
“Can I answer the door now?” The fear of Kate leaving if I don’t answer right away is spiking.
“Yes, yes. Go ahead.” She shoos me toward the door before standing still with her hands in front of her. Dad is sitting in the recliner and she scowls at him. “Get up Edward. You can’t be sitting when she comes in.”
Groaning dad gets up and stands beside her as I’m making my way toward the door. A quick look back has me shaking my head. They look like that painting of the farmers with their pitchforks. Faces devoid of emotion, and focused ahead. So much for them not being weird. I hope Kate’s ready for this.
“You made it,” I say before the door is even all the way open. Her eyes are on her shoes. She has a bottle of wine in one hand and flowers in the other.
“Am I early?”
“Not at all,” I grin at the flowers, “you know, it’s customary for me to give you flowers, not the other way around.”
“They aren’t for you,” she rolls her eyes, “they are for your mom. And the wine is for everyone. One thing my parents drilled into my head is you don’t show up somewhere empty handed.”
“I think it’s a dumb rule, but it’s appreciated.” Opening the door wider, I wait for her to take a step inside. She doesn’t move. “Are you going to stand on the porch all evening?”
“Oh, sorry.” Finally, she moves one foot over the threshold. I take the bottle of wine from her, and usher her further inside so I can close the door.
“Mom, Dad, this is Kate,” I hold up the bottle I took from her, “she brought wine.”
“These are for you, Mrs. Charles.” Kate holds the flowers out for my mom. “I wasn’t sure which flowers would suit you, so I grabbed a few colorful ones. From what Xander has said about you, I think these fit in perfectly.”
“Oh, thank you, Kate,” Mom takes the flowers and smells them, “they smell divine, and they are beautiful.”
“If you bring her flowers every time you come over, I’m gonna have to up my game.” Dad chuckles as he wraps his arm around Mom’s shoulder and kisses her on top of the head. Yeah, Mom definitely took it as a challenge and told Dad.
“Well, you know where to come to get them. And, you’ll get the family and friend’s discount.” She winks at him at my parents, and it’s adorable. So far so good. It looks like meeting my parents won’t be a complete disaster for either of us.
“I’m going to put these in a vase and get dinner started.” Mom turns toward the kitchen.
Before she can take too many steps, Kate speaks up again. “Do you need any help?”
“Honey, you don’t have to help me cook. You’re a guest.”
“I’d like to, though. Cooking isn’t my strongest suit, and I’d love to join you, even if it’s only watching you.”
“There isn’t much to cooking spaghetti, but you can come see what I add to it.”
“Thank you.” Kate glances up at me with a small smile and follows my mom into the kitchen.
A part of me wants to follow them. To make sure Mom doesn’t say or do anything that’s going to upset Kate. She hasn’t exactly had the best parents from what she’s told me. I don’t want my parents to add to that parental stress she carries around with her.
“Sit down, son,” Dad’s voice is gruff as he makes his way to his recliner. “She’ll be fine. Your mother isn’t a monster.”
“I know,” I run a hand through my hair and take a seat on the couch while he flips through the channels to find something to watch. “She doesn’t have a relationship with her parents like the one we have. I worry is all.”
“Xan, she’s a grown woman who owns her own business. I’m pretty sure she can take care of herself.” He settles on an action film since Mom isn’t in here. Otherwise, it would be another romcom we’ve seen a million times. “Besides, this will be good for her and your mom.”
