His eyes were fixed on the porch, and I followed his gaze. There was a plump, black woman waving in our direction. She was wearing a floral print dress and had a white dish towel thrown over her shoulder.
Trainer helped Dominic out of his booster seat while I stepped from the truck. I liked that he did that. Instead of hurrying around to open my car door, he prioritized Dominic, which earned him far more points in my book.
Dominic wasn’t nervous at all. He’d come out of his shell so much in the last few weeks that he liked meeting new people now. I wasn’t even sure why I was anxious.
When we reached the porch, Trainer’s foster mother pulled him into a hug. “Raul, you look so handsome today,” she cooed. He’d pulled his long hair into a ponytail at the back of his neck and trimmed his beard. I had to agree with her. He looked good.
“Thanks, Mama. This is Erica,” he said, pulling away from her. “Erica, this is my foster mother, Tammy Whitford.”
I stepped forward with my hand extended. “Nice to meet-”
My words were cut off when she engulfed me in a hug as well, squeezing until I could hardly breathe.
“I’m thrilled that Raul has finally brought home a woman. And you’re lovely,” she stepped back, but kept ahold of my arms as she looked me up and down. “So pretty.”
“Oh, uh, thanks, Mrs. Whitford.”
“No, no, no. It’s Mama Tammy or just Mama if you’d like. After fostering children for twenty years, I don’t know how to respond to anything else. Now, this must be your boy.”
Dominic had been lingering just behind me, and when Tammy spotted him, she flashed a warm smile in his direction.
“Yes, this is Dominic.”
The four of us headed into the house. I realized how hungry I was when I saw a pan of sliced roast beef on the counter, still steaming as if it had just been pulled from the oven. There was also a pan of buttered potatoes and one of glazed carrots. Talk about comfort food.
“Can I help you with anything?” I asked.
“Aren’t you a doll?” Tammy smiled. “I’m all done in here. Just a matter of grabbing plates and loading up. Please, don’t be shy. I don’t need leftovers.”
“That’s true. She usually sends them home with me,” Trainer said.
“Well, I have to know that you havesomegood food.” She leaned closer to me and spoke in a stage whisper, “He’s hopeless in the kitchen.”
“I heard that,” Trainer grumbled.
We all grabbed a plate off the counter and started loading them up. It was a little chaotic, especially with Trainer’s large presence in the small kitchen, but we all managed to get what we wanted and take a seat at the kitchen table.
“Your home is really nice, so clean,” I said once we were all seated.
“Thank you,” Tammy replied, shooting Trainer a smug look that I didn’t understand.
As we ate together, Tammy shared stories about Trainer, some that made him groan and roll his eyes. Like the time he locked himself out of the house in his underwear when he was seventeen.
“I’d made him take his shoes off outside the day before because he had gotten them muddy at football practice,” Tammy began.
“Football?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I gave it a shot. I was the biggest kid in my class, so it seemed like a good idea. PThe problem was that I don’t actually like the game.”
“Bit of an oversight on your part,” I said drily.
“Anyway,” Tammy continued. “I was already at work when he stepped outside to grab the shoes. Of course, he wasn’t dressed yet, just wearing a pair of boxers, and when he closed the door behind himself, it was locked.”
I giggled at the image in my mind.
“I’m happy you guys find this so amusing,” Trainer said, letting out a long-suffering sigh.
Tammy kept talking as if he hadn’t spoken, “The worst part was that he not only missed the school bus, but was outside, trying to climb up onto the roof when it drove by. They all got quite a show.”
