“NO,MARILYN, IT WASN’T Asevered head,” my mom said into the phone. “Maegan is fine, by the way. Thank you for asking.” She jabbed the button on the cordless phone to disconnect the call. “It’s times like these you miss slamming the old-fashioned phones down to hang up on someone. Stabbing that button isn’t nearly as satisfying.”
“That makes how many calls since Maegan got here?” my dad asked.
“I lost count,” my mom replied.
“At least fifteen,” Milo said from beside me on the couch. “We’ve only been here for twenty minutes too. This must be a record for nosy calls.”
“Not a single one of them asked about her well-being?” Dennis Miracle wasn’t pleased that no one asked about his baby girl. “You remember that when these same people expect you to work ridiculous hours procuring some nineteen fifties vase or a British teapot that is rumored to have traveled over on the Mayflower. You need to start charging more for your time.”
“I will, Daddy,” I said, nodding my head. “I’m going to need a list of names, Mama.”
My mom, thinking I was serious, pulled a pad of paper and pen out of the drawer in the side table and began writing names down. It was best to give her something else to focus on before she started knocking on doors and giving them a piece of her mind.
“You and Lulu should stay here with us tonight,” Mom said.
“She has a date with the cop,” Milo told her before I could respond.
“Really?” my mom asked, looking up from her Nosy List.
“It’s not a date,” I told her. “Elijah is just picking up dinner for me at the diner and making sure that I’m okay after tonight.”
“You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend. When are we going to meet this fella?” Dad asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend, Daddy, so there’s no reason for you to meet him.”
“If there’s food involved then it’s a date,” Mom said, looking at me over the rim of her glasses. “Is that what you’re going to wear?” I looked down at my outfit and didn’t think there was anything wrong with my casual jeans and sweater. Saturdays were about comfort for me since they were my longest work day.
“Don’t forget about sex,” Milo tossed out there. “I saw the sparks flying between the two of you this morning, so don’t tell me you’re not planning to shimmy on up that sexy-as-fuck tree.”
“I don’t want to hear this,” my dad said, plugging his ears and most likely praying he could unhear what Milo had just said.
“Milo, stop it,” I hissed.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Elijah and I aren’t dating. We’re just…”
“Fu—”
I covered his mouth before he could finish. Technically, Elijah and I were fuck buddies, or neighbors who fucked, but that wasn’t something I wanted my parents to know. Not only that, I didn’t like reducing what I shared with Elijah to something that sounded so crude. I didn’t have expectations of a happily ever after with the man, but a girl could hope. Right?
“Enough,” I said firmly. One hand still covered Milo’s mouth, and I used my index finger on my free hand to point at him as a warning. “Are you going to behave?”
“Mmm hmmm,” Milo mumbled against my palm. He dramatically gasped for air when I lifted my hand. “You don’t let me have any fun, Maegan. It’s like you go out of your way to steal the spotlight.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was born first and our parents were overjoyed with their dark-haired angel, but then you had to come kicking and screaming into the world with your gleaming blonde hair.”
“Oh, whatever,” I replied. “I had zero control of our birth order or the color of my hair.”
“Let’s talk about my coming out confession over pot roast, carrots, and potatoes,” Milo countered.
“You remember what we had for dinner?” my dad asked.
“It was a momentous occasion in a young lad’s life,” Milo replied huffily.
“My pot roastispretty spectacular,” my mom teased.
