“No.”
“Do you want to tell her?”
“Of course.”
“Right.” He slapped his thighs as he stood up in an universal sign that the conversation was over.
After rummaging in the jacket he’d left slung over the armrest, he fished his phone out. He tapped it quickly, then put it to his ear.
“Helen? Was your day good?”
Oh shit. He called Mom.
“Great. Is the casserole almost ready, then?” He nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. “I’ll get wine on the way… Thank you, honey. I’m bringing our boy for dinner.”
He angled the phone away from his ear, and I heard my mom’s squeal from the other side. “He can’t wait to see you too. We’ll be there in two hours with good traffic.”
Hanging up, he threw my change of clothes at me, a grin on his face. “Now you’ll tell her yourself.”
Surprisingly, the ride to my parents house was not awkward at all as I filled Dad in on my plans for the rest of the renovations, talked about work, and how Beck and I met.
He listened, nodding, then told me about the trip to Hawaii he and Mom were planning to take on their anniversary next year. Sure, they’d argued sometimes, they were human after all, but in the end, they’d remained a solid unit throughout my entire life.
Would I ever spend years with someone and still be happy like they were? Maybe their relationship ruined the idea for me as I’d kept looking for the perfect girl. I had so many questions. Was Beck the answer to all of them?
Once home, Mom greeted me with squeals of delight, her long, brown hair, pinned haphazardly on top of her head. “You’ve been taking good care of yourself like you promised, right?” She eyed me up and down, probably checking if I was eating enough.
“Yes, Mom.” I didn’t roll my eyes, even though I really wanted to, the comforting atmosphere propelling me back to my teenage years.
“Good, now go freshen up before dinner. You have ten minutes.”
I mock saluted her, clicking my heels, and she laughed, batting my hand away.
Upstairs, I washed my hands and face and crept into my old room. It was the way I’d left it before I moved out to college. I glanced around it and felt the need to either smack myself in the forehead or scream into the pillow. The walls were covered with posters of comic book heroes in tight uniforms, flexing their abs. The display shelves held figurines of Nightwing and Beast Boy looking like underwear models, standing next to Superman with buns of steel. How had I never noticed I wasn’t exactly straight? Maybe I’d felt weird enough already. Who knew?
“Cay! Dinner!” My mom’s voice carried through the house, her tone loving and strict at the same time, just the way it had been when I was a boy.
“Coming!” I hollered back, stampeded down the stairs, and skidded to a halt in the living room.
The table was set, and I felt like a dick for not helping, but I plopped onto my chair and inhaled. “It smells delicious, Mom.”
“Thank you. Now dig in so you can have energy to tell me what made your dad bring you here. You don’t visit often enough.”
“Maybe I just missed you that much.”
“I bet you did, but I know the two of you well enough to see you’re hiding something.”
Oh god, here we go.
I opened my mouth to speak, but she raised a finger. “Ah, ah, ah. Eat first.”
I did. As always, the casserole was fantastic, and I told Mom so, to which she waved a dismissive hand but grinned. She told me how my high school had changed and how she loved how the new generation cared for the environment. She’d been a history teacher when I attended school but had been the principal for six years now.
“So what’s new with you?” Mom asked the moment I polished my plate. She leaned forward and rubbed her hands like a comic book villain. I knew what she wanted to hear. But her wish wouldn’t come true.
“I didn’t get anyone pregnant, Mom. Don’t be too excited.”
“I didn’t say anything.” She made an innocent face that fooled no one.
