So, tonight, that was going to happen.
I hopped out of the car and instead of walking to Erica’s front door, I walked across the lawn to her parents’ house. The car door slammed shut and I could hear Erica running after me. She latched onto my arm, trying to stop me, but I just dragged her behind me.
“What are you doing?” She seethed at me. We hadn’t discussed this, but I needed us to do this.
“We are going to tell your parents now.”
“What?” Erica shouted and then slapped a hand over her mouth. At that moment the porch light came on and the front door opened with Erica’s mother standing in the frame looking down at us standing at the bottom of her porch steps.
“Well.” She put a hand on her hip. “You two finally going to come in here or what?”
I watched as her mother left the door open and walked back into the house. She knew we were going to come inside, even if Erica was reluctant about it.
“This was not how I wanted to spend my night,” Erica whispered beside me.
“Think of it this way, peaches. We do this now and she stops snooping around.”
“You don’t get to call me peaches right now.”
I laughed at her, turning around and kissing her nose, then her lips, just before we entered the house. I wrapped her hand in mine as we stepped inside, smelling cinnamon and spice throughout the whole house.
“I’m in the kitchen,” Erica’s mother announced as I closed the door behind us. It was a quaint house, small, but only because it was filled to the brim with anything that could remind you of Erica. Photos, drawings, you name it and you could see it on a shelf or a wall as you walked through the house.
We stepped inside the kitchen to see Erica’s father at the dining room table with a paper in hand and her mother moving around the kitchen with an empty tray sheet in one hand and a full one in the other.
I rushed over, taking the full tray out of her hands.
“Thank you, son.” She placed the empty tray next to her bowl of mixture while I placed the full tray off to the side. “If you’d like to help, take those off and place them on the paper towel.”
She pointed toward the towel that was already laid out next to the cooling rack. I grabbed for the spatula next to me and started doing as she asked. Erica had taken a seat next to her father and they were both watching us with intent.
“What’s your name?” Erica’s mother asked me.
“Chase, ma’am,” I answered her and gave her the now empty tray, taking the one she just filled up and placing it into the oven as she set the timer next to us.
“There will be none of that ma’am stuff around here. You call me Len or mom, I won’t answer to anything else.”
I chuckled and then answered her.
“I can do that, Len.” It’s not like I didn’t want to call her mom, but I wanted that damn ring on Erica’s finger before I did that.
“And you call me Drew, son,” Erica’s father spoke up. I watched as he placed a hand on Erica’s and it all clicked into place. I didn’t need to explain to them who I was. They just accepted me and I had no idea why. But looking at Erica I could see how it was possible. They loved their daughter so much, they knew whomever she chose to bring home, that was it.
“It’s nice to meet both of you.” I nodded at Drew and then brought my attention back to Len.
“It’s finally nice to get to talk to you without our daughter trying to shoo me away or keep you locked up.” Len let out a huff and gave Erica a look that was filled with daggers.
“Stop acting like I didn’t catch you trying to look through the windows!” Erica let out a laugh and Len reciprocated it. They were so much alike it was crazy. Not in looks, but in personality, so full of life and radiating sunshine wherever they went. You could tell their love for each other ran deep.
“Chase.” Len took the tray I was taking out of the oven from my hands and pushed me toward the table. “Sit down with Drew, and, Erica, you come and help me.”
I did as I was told and took the seat next to Drew. I was only there for a second before the questions starting coming in.
“Where do you work?” Drew asked first, not looking up from his paper that was now back in his hands. I watched as he read intently while waiting for my answer.
“I manage the Editing department of The Ink Well.”
“Do you and Erica work together?” Len asked next. She put in another tray of cookies just as Erica was reaching over to take one off the plate.
