I grinned like crazy. My heart felt incredibly full.
Anna’s phone chirped and she held it up. “Mum’s trying to FaceTime. Let’s see if we get to see more than her nostrils this time.”
“Don’t answer it, Anna. We can call her later,” Lucas said, trying to take her phone.
“You know she’s curious about Morgan, indulge the poor woman.” Anna skipped out of reach, holding her phone above her head. I got a good insight to what they must have been like as kids.
“You told your mom about me?” I asked Lucas, surprised. I didn’t think we were at the talk to our parents about each other stage yet. Then I was smiling like a crazy person again.
“Maybe a little,” Lucas answered vaguely.
“A little? You called Mum when you got back from London and told her how you finally met the one. You were gushing to her like a school girl for hours.” Anna was having a lot of fun throwing her brother under the bus.
He had told his mother I was the one?
My insides twisted up and I couldn’t get a breath.
The one?
Really?
“Shut your gob, Anna, or I’ll do it for you,” Lucas shouted, lunging for her again.
Anna tapped her screen. “Hiya, Mum. Tell Lucas to stop being such a bully.”
“Lucas, leave your sister alone,” I heard a woman’s voice say.
“Ugh, you always take her side,” Lucas complained but I noticed the way his voice softened. He stood beside Anna so he could see his mother. “Hi, Mum. You’re holding the phone too close to your face again.” He waved at the phone.
“Ms. Bradley is the best. You’ll love her. We all do,” Alan said, grabbing a handful of chips and stuffing them in his mouth.
I didn’t comment, only watched the siblings chat with their mother. Ms. Bradley asked Lucas about training. About his games. She asked Anna how her test went and whether she had remembered to schedule an appointment for her annual eye exam. Hearing their interaction reminded me a lot of how I was with my mother. And it made me miss her so much. I had just spoken to her last night. Her results had come back inconclusive so she was scheduled for another round of tests. I didn’t like her going through all of that on her own. It made me feel guilty for being here with Lucas enjoying myself.
“Okay, I’ve talked with the two of you enough. That’s not why I’m calling. Let me say hello to this woman who has my boy on the straight and narrow for once,” I heard Ms. Bradley say.
Wait. She wanted to talk to me?
I sat up straighter and smoothed my hair over my shoulder. Alan leaned over and plucked a stray hair off my shoulder. “You look fab, love.”
Anna turned her phone in my direction. “Mum, this is Morgan Carter, Lucas’ girlfriend. She’s lush isn’t she?”
Anna came closer so I could better see Lucas’ mother. Ms. Bradley held the phone close to her face, so all I could see of her was blue eyes the same color as her son’s and a lovely lined face with a nice smiling mouth.
“Morgan, it’s lovely to meet you. Well, not really meet you, as I’m not there. But I’ve heard so much about you. Lucas tells me your American.” Ms. Bradley jumped right into the thick of it.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m from a tiny town in Virginia,” I answered her.
“Don’t call me ma’am, it makes me feel old. Call me Louise.”
“Mum, hold the phone away from your face,” Anna instructed. Louise adjusted the phone so that now we could see her chin and nose, but not her eyes.
“Mum, seriously, just back it up an inch or two. You don’t need to hold it so close,” Lucas tried to tell her.
“I hate these blasted things. It’s supposed to make life easier but ends up making things more difficult. I suppose it’s nice to see each others faces,” Louise complained.
“If you’d use your laptop instead of your phone, we’d actually be able to see you properly,” Anna said, rolling her eyes.
“It keeps asking me to update things. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
