What should I wear?
What should I say?
I hate that my anxiety over Kyle’s pre-wedding get together has been steadily growing over the past few hours and now it sludges through my veins like antifreeze.
I take one last look at my reflection in the mirror and sigh. After a long deliberation with myself, I’ve chosen a simple beige sweater dress that skims my curves and brown, flat ankle boots to complete the look. I know I look nice, but I still feel a flicker of dread as I anticipate all the pleasantries which will be required of me tonight.
As I wait for my wings to finish crisping under the broiler, an incoming call distracts me. It’s my mom. I live in the basement apartment of our house and she’s literally two floors above me but is probably still in bed, so this is how we typically communicate with each other.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Hi, honey!”
I can already tell by her simple but upbeat greeting that she knows I’m going to Kyle’s. I may not be the most social being on the planet, but the way she worries about me becoming an underemployed recluse is almost offensive.
“What are you doing?” she asks in a saccharin-like voice, pretending not to know what my plans are. “Were you busy?”
“I’m getting dressed.”
“Oh, are you going out tonight?”
I roll my eyes to myself. She’s a horrible actress.
“Yes, Kyle and Dena are having some friends over at the house, and I promised to bring chicken.”
“Oh, that’s what I smell.”
“You want me to set you aside some? They’re almost done.”
“No, take it all over to Kyle’s. I’ll eat something later.”
“What time are you going to get up?” I ask, wondering how long she plans on staying in bed today. “It’s six o’clock.”
“You worry about me too much, sweetie. I’m just a little tired from the long week. I’ll get up in a few. Anything else going on besides Kyle’s tonight?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? Because something seems different in your voice?”
“Nothing’s different, Ma.”
I swear my mother has an acute spider-sense when it comes to her children. I’ve never been good at hiding anything from her, and Kyle hasn’t even bothered to try. He just tells her everything and lets the chips fall where they may.
“Is Elijah going with you to your brother’s tonight?”
I’m going to kill Kyle if he snitched.
“He wasn’t invited.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course he’s invited. He’s your boyfriend.”
Barely.
“Yeah, uh, I’m just kidding. I’m flying solo tonight.”
“Oh, is Elijah at work? It’s so commendable that he works as hard as he does. Our young people need to see more outstanding police officers like him in the community.”
“Yeah, he has a shift tonight.”
