I pull into his parents' driveway and give him one last smile before I turn the car off and we get out. It's the first week of September, still hot, but I'm ready for my Fall festivities starting soon. It might be cliche, but I want my Pumpkin Spice and flannel.
Tyler knocks on the front door and we wait for someone to answer. It's only a minute, but I squeeze his hand and give him a slight nod before the door opens.
"You didn't have to knock," the woman says. I'm assuming this is his mom. I realize then that I don't know her name. Tyler has only ever referred to her as 'mom'. Slight panic hits me, but I smile and hide it. "Come on in."
"Thanks," Tyler says. "Mom, this is Brandt, my boyfriend. Brandt, this is my mom, Miranda."
"It's nice to meet you," I say, relieved that he gave her name. "Your house is nice."
I look around. We're standing in the kitchen. It's wider than it is long. The kitchen area, with the counters and appliances are to the left, the table is on the right. There's a staircase straight ahead, with options to go around it or down a hall. We're led to the living room, where Tyler's dad is sitting watching a sports game. He stands when we enter.
"Tyler, how's life treating you?"
"Not bad," he says. He hugs his dad and turns to me. "This is Brandt. Brandt, this is my dad, Walter."
"It's nice to meet you." I hold out my hand and shake his. He has a firm grip and smiles.
"I hear good things about you," Walter says. "As long as you're treating my son right, we won't have problems."
"Of course," I say with full sincerity.
"Right, well, how about dinner then?" Miranda says. "We can eat here or at the table. Tyler?"
"The table is fine," Tyler says. We head back through the house to the kitchen. Tyler and I sit on one side, his dad sits at the head of the table. His mom brings out the main dish, a baked salmon. It looks delicious.
"I read online that this was good for you," Miranda says. Tyler looks at me and smiles. I've made him salmon a few times. "I also have some roasted veggies and water or juice to drink."
"Water is fine, Mom. Thanks."
She busies herself, telling all three of us to just sit while she dishes everything up. It's only a few minutes later we all have full plates. The food does look good and I take my first bite. I hear Tyler let out an appreciative hum as he chews. "This is great. Thank you."
"You're welcome," she says. I can see that she's still tense. She watches him eat in the way a mom who worries watches. It doesn't come across as creepy or overbearing. The sound of forks against plates is the only noise for several minutes while we eat. She’s the one that breaks the silence. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm good, Mom. I promise. I'm taking my meds, work is good, classes are pretty easy this semester so I'm not stressed over that."
"Are you going to the college for classes?" she asks. I can see she's making an effort. I remember Tyler saying that they didn't agree with his choice of degree. I know it upset him more than he let on.
"I'm taking everything online. This semester, at least. I'll see about next semester. The good thing with this degree is all the jobs are online anyway, so I'm sure I could get away with a virtual degree."
"What are you going for, again?" Walter asks. "It was something with marketing or, uh, what was that thing? Something with jingles and stuff."
"That about sums it up," Tyler says. "I want to go for marketing as my first choice, but journalism is also a backup plan."
"And there's a good market for those?" Walter asks again.
"If you know where to look or have connections, yes. My professor for one of the classes does a lot of networking and if we maintain a certain grade percentage in his class, we can get invited to one of those events with CEOs and other businesses looking to hire."
"You didn't tell me about that," I speak up. "That's amazing."
"Thank you," Tyler says. He gives me a soft smile. "Garrett and Remington said that once I get my degree, they would also hire me to do some things for them."
"Those are the two men that were here, right?" His mom speaks up. "To help you move."
"Yeah." Tyler's whole demeanor changes. I heard all about that day and I was so mad at his mom. This woman sitting across the table from us. "They're great guys."
The conversation dwindles down and I don't know what to say to bring it back. I finish my plate and stand to take it to the sink. I grab Tyler's as well.
"Oh, please, Brandt, let me take those." His mom stands up. She grabs hers and Walter's.
